Pamphlet Piffle Of Pious Phialanthropist

NZ Truth, Issue 1192, 4 October 1928, Page 1

Pamphlet Piffle Of Pious Phialanthropist

THE Quarterly .Dividends and House Purchase enterprise— a- Siamese-' 'twin society scheme, : born m Bristol, IJngland, and originally christened "Middle Age Pension Friendly Society," to be later registered under the Companies Act— has worked its way into New Zealand per medium of. correspondence during the past six years, so it is . not altogether new to the Doniinion. But William' Taverner,/ its founder and present overseas campaigner, 'is somewhat of . a stranger, though he'? out—right out--td make himself known. ..,-.■■•. JX, I_et us introduce ' Kirn. William Taverner, "; dpctori of divinity, , full--blown lecturer^ managing dirbctor of a Bristol printing works and late managing director; of. both the ; Q.D. and H.P. since their incepttefti, is at present the ( d_sciple of a- "W;orld-w.ide thrift scheme," though ye doubt whether our little old globe— rin the highly improb; able event, of . Taverner's , .endeavors meeting with any degreeyof successwill be : :h'pi'd' ; '_lt''' £»» -^ilfisPT^Tr^sss^rrT^JTV'. ..' .• ■ .-■ , ■'■ l ■ _■. . - . .' -' It has the' Mighty Atom beaten to a, frazzle, but -more of .that anon. Let us talk about Taverner— he's V so fcind pf doing it himself. ■' ' A few weeks ago William T., accompanied by his young jvife (who is secretary to the organization), arrived m New Zealand, , his ; mouth bulging with propaganda concerning his wonderful "world-wide . thrift . scheme," which is in' the nature of a "big practical brotherhood and sisterhood movement where rich and poor, band together to help each other." Furthermore, so rone of William's pamphlets tells its, it will "remove want and distress, shorten the days of grinding toil and thereby relieve unemployment, etc."— whatever the "etc." might' stand for! , Being a "thrift" scheme, it is onl_v natural that Taverner commenced to unload his heavy cargo in'Dunedi.a. Otago is at present the location ot the greater portion of "members," who have so far contributed about £2500 of. New Zealand money to the insatiable appetite of the Q.D. and H.P. As already indicated, Taverner wa_ "right out" to make himself known, Threadbare Thrift but unfortunately for . this Bristol Benthamite, certain knowledge became the common property ;of .Dunedinites long before he tripped down the gangway like a fairy . godfather. * And when "W. T. had unpacked hia bales of booklets, and piles of pamphlets m r.eadiness for his debut, he discovered that Dunedin,. though ever on the . alert .for . something sounding like "thrift," can be very circumspect when it becomes known that an organizer— particularly of an alleged "philanthropic scheme" — has been m gaol on a previous conviction for fraud. So, instead of getting straight to the hearts and purses of the Dunedin public with his Christian philanthropy, this Prophet of Paper Profits— for, -that is all the scheme amounts to — found Himself 'faced' with' a dubious audience asking for an explanation of certain extracts, from recent publications m " Condon "Truth" apropos of Taverner's . past, record. ; . , In an article dated January 11, London "Truth" wrote: "Taverner I is a rogue, who, for more than 20 j

TEMPTING BAIT FROM FISH-PONDS! - *> — — -■■-' Introducing William Taverner, Messiah of Money Market And Founder of Boodle Brotherhood

PARSON JINAMCIER'S ROLE OF FAIRY GODFATHER * (From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.) OYEZI OYEZI LET US HER ALD the arrival m our isles of fa £ucre, Founder of the Great Brotherhood (and Sisterhood) of Boodle; to wit, William Taverner, representing' Quarterly Dividends, Ltd. ,& National House Purchase, Ltd., late of Fishponds, Bristol, England. . And he has brought his "fishponds" with him! All he asks you to do is, have a dip— firstly (essentially so), into your own pocket, then into the fathomless financial fiords of the "Q.D. & H. P. " philanthropic scheme, which is claimed to he the "safest, soundest, and best thrift scheme ever formed." < ■ Very obligingly, William T. supplies all the "bait." By attending one of his meetings during his tour of the Dominion, ydu can obtain all you want qf it, but mind you don't swallow it, for IV. T. wheedles your good money out of your pockets with a very lavish line of language.

years (broken by his term of 15 months' imprisonment for fraud) has promoted schemes which 'Truth' has exposed as a peculiarly cruel imposition upon the small investors 1 of . the most credulous class. "His headquarters are at Bristol and judge Parsons has more than once given- m unmistakable' term 3 his opinion of the Quarterly Dividend hOCUS-.pOCUS. . .-. :;.>.- y . •...-.'.; '•'l&rtbtA ',-,ssooo^B6;. ■. he . spoke •of ..it j as -bastard flria-rice propounded with a "certain cheapjack glibness under the guise of philanthropy, combined with a flavor of religious sentiment." Further, on :-, March 21: "The irrepressible William Taverner and Quarterly Dividends, Ltd., the dummy company of Which he is managing director, bobbed up again m a case before Mr. Justice Astbury the other day, and, as usual, he received a severe judicial dressing-down. Ananias Taverner "The case was - an application to review the taxation of costs of a Bristol solicitor, who, for a time, acted for the company, but refused to do so any •longer m consequence of a characteristic exhibition of Taverner's methods Reporting the same proceedings, London "Truth" wrote: "Unfortunately, Tayerner, like other rogues, Jn a similar position, -' ; discovered that he could do, with impunity under the Companies Act what he was prevented from doing under the Friendly Societies Act. "The victims are not shareholders, but depositors, and as such have no voice m the management of the company to whom they have handed over cash on the strength of Taverner's fairy tales of the enormous benefits they will eventually receive. . . "In dismissing with costs the. application of the company as to the bill, Mr. Justice Astbury said that having heard Taverner m the witness-box, he could not believe a word he said, nor did he .believe Turner, a creature of Taverner's and a director of the Quarterly Dividends, Ltd., who also gave evidence. 'lit is now 20 years since a Chancery judge first remarked of Taverner that he seemed to suffer from a chronic incapacity to speak truthfully. . . "His foolish victims cannot bring themselves to believe that such a master of pious flapdoodle can be a swindler. Does he not open his meetings with prayer? . . ." The^e were Taverner's "testimonials" which put the Dunedin community on its guard against the "philanthropist" and his new-fangled "Put-and-Take" policy of world-wide thrift.

That he had anticipated something of his murky past reaching the shores of the Dominion is evident from the sheaf of manuscripts which he produced at a special meeting m Dunedin to "exonerate" his Christian character and to answer the "insinuations and innuendoes" of London "Truth." It is so simple a matter publicly to denounce the arm of Justice as the stake of martyrdom upon which one has been wrongfully impaled, that "N.Z. Truth's" representative took his place with some 300 Dunedin citizens to hear Taverner. In what , manner would he offer repudiation to the stigma of previous transgression tagged to him by. a judge of the English criminal courts? Had this garrulous gentleman something new to put across? You bet he had! And, like his "thrift" scheme, it was all fluffed up with sanctimonious colorings and put "forth betwfien bursts of emo-

tional . frothiness which might make Moscovitch green . with envy. 'What Taverner doesn't know about talking — particularly about himself— would just about represeht the conversational performance of. a dumb parrot. '.'•■-• He has the platform, pulpit and soap-box 'mannerisms of oratory all pulped up into one. big W*Mam Taverner. Arid he says/ itvis;vtKe ! '^ii-t^pf^dSfl^ thou^h-^rto! ■ 'tne'&vera^e.^ ;^t£3ou^^mbr^ lifce^ gab. '; /--.'.-■" .-■• ,;• .-:,(■ So far as Taverner is concerned, Trumpeter would ha^e been a far more appropriate cognomen, for William has an inexhaustible lung-valve when blowing his own trumpet. ' But the blasts of self-eulogy, even vimininiinitminiiiiiniiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiuiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiiiniiiiiiiiiiiiiui

accompanied by the big drum of piety, take a long., time to drown the incessant note which throbs on the conscious strings of an honest community: "Is he a fraud — is he a fraud?" After producing letter upon, letter purporting to have been written by men of impeccable character and professional eminence' ih the Old Coun-' try, W.T. turned with a triumphant arid characteristic pose to answer a bundle of questions, which he had openly invited through the evening newspaper. : 'Again, Mr. Taverner, how simple it is to give the affirmative or negative- — whichever best suits your purpose and character — to queries concerning matters of which the official records are thousands of miles away! It i's ; significant that neither Taverner nor any one of his associates m the twin companies with which he is concerned, has taken legal proceedings against the London, journal which

was so outspoken concerning the "philanthropy" schenie. To a question along these lines, Taverner declared that he Avas only Avaiting to "get 'John Bull' but of the way" — which referred to a pending libel action against the journal of that name — and then he would proceed against London "Truth." But why the delay?- Expense should not hold up the case Av^en the very .nd^i^, of -the . Q.D. a.hd H#it£nter prise;: dragged rthro.ugh { ||^^M^^ . ..'. A_i<p<?>. a rush .of;priyate,rsubScripti6_is t^l-glft ■ the case which terminated m imprison- j ment for himself,; surely there would | be a veritable rush of the. "thousands who have benefited" — as Taverner also claims— to deal the crushing blow of shame at any journal daring to lift ita head m libellous utterance against this benevolent campaigner? When asked: "What is your

usual occupation?" Taverner cunningly eluded the full depth of the question by turning his versatility to humorous strain. That he was a doctor of divinity, lecturer and managing director of a printing Avorks m Bristol — and not a "Bolshie" — hardly' met the query on all fours. Taverner asserts that he receives no salary from the Q.D. and H.P. over and above, his travelling expenses, but that — as an; original depositor: of £1,00 — he now enjoys the dividends on £6000. ■ He also claims that but for a small percentage of the company's funds being spent on "management," the bulk of the work attendant upon its interests and . extension is done by honorary representatives. , ' How, then, has William Taverner been keeping, 'the pot boiling during his many years of altruistic devotion to the 'Q.D. arid ja.P.— to say nothing

of sundry trips to various parts of the world? . ' So much for the pious "philanthropist" before turning to the red-herring trail which he has", dragged . from his Fishponds across the track of small investors who might pick, up the scent. To attempt a full investigation of the Intricacies of the Q.D. and H.P. joint functionings, as presented m pamphlet and booklet form, would itake up the greater part of this issue. !|-&JTo dissect- | Taverner's florifgr bus ..jjfraftts 6s. ; ' osr_.'" / cohnectibh- v with the $ch"e_~fe wciiild^add* a, very uninteresting supplement,: for, m his own -words, it is admitted' that if *you missed any portion of his discourse on the subject, ft would appear as "double-Dutch." After carefully studying the main .booklet, which outlines— not to say camouflages — the doublebarrelled scheme, "N.Z. Truth" has come to the conclusion that it is more than "double-Dutch" at any The Trap Springs period of perusal; m fact, it constitutes a very romantic form of "double-dupery." Dupery, not perhaps of a kind which lines the pockets of one or two of its instigators, but a trap into which the more gullible of our citizens might easily fall — a scheme which must make rapid progress or crash. Take, for instance, the following catch-phrase m a booklet sent out, ostensibly by the scheme's Dunedin "honorary representative": "Here are the figures proving, how £2. can become £1000." Then, turning to a booklet for which one has the privilege of paying 2d. (a poor start for a benevolent scheme!): "It is the Greatest, Safest and Best Thrift Fund ever formed . . .do all lh your power to make this a world-wide blessing. The scheme is PHILANTHROPIC and not commercial. We give our services free. It is a co-operative Brotherhood and Sisterhood," etc: In lengthy land — to the average reader — inexplicable phraseology, the booklet goes ' on -to mention that "loss is Impossible"; "generous dividends"; "increasing dividends"; and similar block-lettered, leg-pulling piffle. It helps us to realize what a pack of fools we were until William Taverner was inspired with the brain-wave of looking after "Everybody _ else first," which is said by one of his. "supporters" m England to be the office motto of the Q.D. and H.P. ! Boiling the whole thing down to precisely what it means, one has only to take out from the booklet this single statement: "The more applicants Aye have, the more money we require." This just about explains the crux of the great Q.D. scheme. A. depositor puts m a sum of money with the object of later securing a "loan." His name goes down on a "waiting" list, and, as similar believers throw m their cash, he and his fellow-deposi-tors are able to collect "dividends" on their deposits. Subsequently, as still more depositors come to light, they- are credited with the "loan" amounts, which, m turn, are hanged, drawn and quartered • — and placed back into the furnaces of the Q.D. and H.P. finances to yield . more extravagant "dividends." With fifty per cent, of deposits taken to a "reserve fund," the companies undertake to pay out exbi'bitant quarterly dividends which are '_ never "under" 1/- m the ' £1. There is no trust account, the reserve fund being the only representation of capital. A further 3 ' per cent, of deposits is carried to "office^ management" and the balance goes to liquidate "loans." Obviously, the

pends on multiplicity of deposits; once there is a deadlock m that direction, Dhe manna ceases to fall. But dish up the bubble-and-squeak project m the frills of religion, roll it m the batter of cleverly-compiled eloquence, and it presents a tempting' morsel for the appetites of minor investors. William Taverner is a man who knows his audience and can touch the keys of human sympathy like a modern Demosthenes. - His local "membership" — wherever he might be addressing a meeting — is tuned up to the right note of harmonious support by the very stark realization that if. Q.D. and H.P. get the X.0., it's all U.P. with at least a portion — if not all — of whatever each individual has entrusted to the scheme. The booklet tabulates thl- ee means by.wbich the "reserve fund" is stabilized, and made remunerative. In specifically . criticizing this particular instance of the companies' methods, "Truth" is satisfied that the public, of New Zealand will be amply Lawyer's Warning warned : aga|nst delving-7-cash m hand y-into' tlie labyrinth of Tavem'er's "world- wide thrift schenie." ' ! It is stated m the booklet that the companies have the. bulk, of their investments m mortgage securities yielding 6 per cent. : At the head office of .N.Z. Truth" m Wellington there is a true copy of mortgage papers sent by the Q.D. and H.P. to a woman m Dunedin with whom they were intending taking a mortgage. Before signing the . papers, this woman presented them to her solicitor for advice. On the professional man's perusal of the documents, which had not been signed by a member of the legal profession, he advised his client not to carry out the transaction. Furthermore, the documents are so phrased that their terms of mortgage would tend to clog the, legal right of redemption. It is the opinion of the solicitor . concerned that if the papers forwarded to his client from the Q.D. and H.P. are a* t> M ..;ple of the legal validity of the companies' reserve Papers So Cheap! fund investments,' he would' treat the companies' documentary assets as so much -waste paper! In perusing these "legal" papers, it has been noticed that they were printed by the "In victa .Press, I_td., Fishponds, Bristol," as also were the pamphlets and other literature which has come from overseas.. While we remember , it— -Taverner mentioned something about being managing director of a printing Arm m Bristol! Before leaving William T. to his blissful benevolence, there is just one question, which, We feel. sure, will not cast any shadow across his path of glory: ".Mr. Taverner, your second marriage took place the day before you sailed / from England, when you married a lady who is secretary ; to your companies. The Q.D. and H.P. funds are paying your travelling expenses, are they not? Well, how do you like New Zealand for a honeymoon?"