He was a member of the School Board at one time. He is a politician. He is a professional bondsman and is manager of the Chicago Mercantile & Reporting Agency, also an employment and collection agency and professional bond agency at 171 Washington street. They take a fee of from $2 to $3 and agree to get employment, but few are ever employed. This money is put into his pocket.
He has been engaged in many questionable concerns. Among them he and his pals secured a charter for the United States Express Company and tried to shake down the company and prohibit them from doing business in the State of Illinois. The matter was taken into court and a Federal injunction issued against them.
They have a habit of looking up firms, for instance, say the Blackenberg Express Company, and get someone to do business with them, then they will go in and see if they use a corporate title and force them to settle in some way.
Bulfer and Tuohy were proprietors of the Chicago Mercantile & Reporting Agency: Daubach was a clerk in the office and Burnett was a solicitor for the company.
Bulfer was the apparent head of the concern—in fact the brains and dominating spirit.
Tuohy's name appeared as manager on the letterheads of the company and he was plaintiff in all suits brought upon alleged contracts.
Burnett, as solicitor, called upon small merchants and solicited accounts for collection upon representation that the Chicago Mercantile & Reporting Agency would deduct 25 per cent in case of collection.
If a merchant gave Burnett some bills to collect he (Burnett) would ask the merchant to sign his name on a piece of paper giving authority to the Chicago Mercantile & Reporting Agency to collect. Or if a merchant upon whom Burnett called would say he had no bills, Burnett would secure his signature upon representation that he must show his company that he had called upon him and solicited.
Each witness with but one exception testified that no contract was shown him and that he was not told by Burnett that in signing his name he was putting it to a contract to furnish the company with at least 25 valid claims during the next thirty days following and to pay the company a fee of $20.
Louis Perlman, the complainant-witness in the case tried, testified that he gave Burnett a claim for $2 to collect and at the solicitation of Burnett signed his name to a paper giving authority (as explained by Burnett) to the company to collect. Nothing was said to him about a contract, but at the expiration of 30 days he received a letter from the Chicago Mercantile & Reporting Agency, signed P. L. Tuohy, manager, that he was indebted to the company in the sum of $20. Upon calling at their offices to ascertain the cause of such indebtedness he was shown a contract signed by himself, agreeing to furnish the company 25 claims and obligating himself to pay $20 on that day. The victims were all men and women of the poorer classes, mostly small shopkeepers, and such tradesmen in the outlying districts.