Just
what she had in mind the Manager could never quite tell. But one thing
was proved in this and similar activities: The "Countess" and most of
her sisters who have been trying to put over coal and other contracts in
Paris, have little or no real authorisation for their performances, and
the principal result has been to prejudice French and Italian buyers
against us.
In seeking to make French contracts, some of these adventurers (and they
include both sexes) make the most extravagant claims. One group
circulated a really startling prospectus. At the top was the imposing
name of the corporation with a long list of branches in every part of
the world. Then followed a list of names of individuals and firms with
their assets supposed to be part and parcel of the corporation. One man
whose name I had never heard before and who was set down as a
Pittsburgher, was accredited with assets of $250,000,000. Under other
individual and firm resources ranged from one to twenty-five million.
The list included the name of a great American retail merchant, without
his consent I might add, but the promoters had cunningly misspelled his
name, which kept them within the pale of the law. The total assets of
these "concerns personally responsible for all orders entrusted" was
precisely $340,000,000. In spite of this dazzling array of
misinformation, let it be said to the credit of the French buyer that he
failed to fall for the glittering bait.
Pages:
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68