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The Potomac Refining Company advertised a refinery and ore deposits four miles north east of Harper's Ferry, W.V. on the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. The first discovery was of manganese, "that rare and necessary mineral which is used in large quantities in arts and industry." The company also planned to process limestone, marble and iron ore.
In 1910, the company put out a prospectus, with a title "Sixty Dollars a Second". On closer reading, it is not the Potomac Refining Company that is making this kind of income, but people like Andrew Carnegie, John D, Rockefeller, Meyer Guggenheim, Charles Goodyear. The implications are that investors in the Potomac Refining Company will do likewise.
"The Potomac Refining Company will make 900 per cent profit - it is a unique business, one that no combination of unfavorable circumstances can cause to fail, and one of far-reaching importance in the economic world."
The New York Times of May 10 1912 reported that seven men connected with the company were indicated on fraud charges in Baltimore.
This document belongs to Karen Gray and is used with permission. Another version of the sales pitch can be found at Portfolio de luxe (1910).