Evening capital. (Annapolis, Md.) 1884-1910, 1885-06-16
THE FAMOUS HUNGRY JOE.


a nnnre sseerer we hns EIoetms al over
the Counsry.
ssAra bunoo victims numerous - asked
d reporter az Inspector Byknes, OF New
York. The reporter wnn referring 60 the
case Of Hungry Joe. who had just
been sent mo for four years.
ssWhy. said he. ST could ahOw yun
ovar twenty letters which Ihnve received
aimee Hungry J0o'a' arrest. urging me
q bo 1ure and not allow him 70 escape
conviction. These letters ere nom
clergyman, bankers, merchants, actors,
men in ST ranks Of society, and all Of
them, presumably, nc some time or
other the victims OF this man. Some
Of them, know, have been. Now, 4
there arc oil these that have communi-
Gated with me and great many moro
doubtless who have not. ere victims q
one operator, Just think how many there
must be when the total number ok
operators IS considered.
aThese men are known. When I
arrested Joe for the last oifense. he said
IA me repr0achfnlly, Now. Inspector.
this ID really too bad that ron should
have had ell this trouble: why didn't
you let me know was wanted, and I'd
have come 10 your Office at once. he
knew we'll enough, said the Inspector,
laughing. ssthat had been hunting for
him, and he had been evading me for
three days.
81 had reason to suppose he was stop
ping at certain house and we went
there and watched it, and finally, one
81
build, and leaving the officer, went
and rang the bell, and when the girl
came to the door said quite carelessly,
Mary, tell Joe want to see him for 3
minute Hes downstairs, said she.
Wen, ten him to comegup, said !, and
when she went down I followed, and
there was Joe IN the front basement
why, Inspector, said he, jumping up
and shaking hands with me, now this
is an unexpected pleasure; what's up 2
!" where's Your coat and hat p said /.
for he was ii his shirt sleeves, and it was
then that he got of his polite little
speech that was telling you about. /
tell you, when it comes to politeness,
Joe amt no SLOUGH. Well, we brought
him down here and placed him with
seven other men, and then brought the
old gentleman whom he had robbed in.
BE picked him out in an instant.
ssJoe'g real name Is Joseph Lewis, but
be has gone by the names Of Francis j.
Alranley, Ashton and Poet. He was
born in Chicago. On the right side Of his
upper lip he has the scar OF cut re-
ceived in an alteration with another
bunco man IN Chicago. He Ia pre-
eentable fellow, extremely polite and
fairly well educated. He made o strike
when he victimized Oscar Wilde. he
got $500 out of him. He tackled Barnum
the great Snowman actually went some
distance with him; but soon smoked who
he was, and gave the whole thing dead
away to newspaper man, getting . big
advertisement. One day Joe went up
to Central Park and picked up a man
there that was looking at the menagerie.
he found out the hotel where this
gentleman stopped and went and took
rooms near there, and finally swindled
him out Of 81, 900, and the man bore
the loss and looked as pleasant as pos
sible, utterly refusing to appear as q
complainant. Last summer Joe went to
Long Branch. OF course these men
combine business with pleasure and
manage to stop ct the best hotel and live
on the best. We got from there great
number Of complaints, but could do
nothing. He had with him down there
chap we call Western Sam, and an
other called 'Brocky, from his face being
slightly pitted, and the three made 4
daisy trio, and worked the Branch to
the Queens taste.
"What do they do with al their
money ?"
''They spend it freely It comes easy
and goes just as easy. These fellows
don't value money at all they some-
times soy they have all the bankers In
the country to draw upon. Joe has been
arrested twice In Chicago: once for
deecing q man in Chicago and the other
offence / have forgotten but IN both
cases the victims refused to mako
complaint. Five different times he has
been arrested in Philadelphia. He b
the man who went up to Speaker RAN
dali, representing himseh as the son Of
Mr.. Drexel, Of Drexel, Morgan q Co,
and Randall treated him very nicely.
BE was afterward told who Joe was,
and when afterward the real young Mr..
Drexel called upon Mr.. Randall, heBaid:
Get away from me, you scoundrel, OF
I'll have you arrested, and Mr.. Drexel
thought Mr.. Randall was crazy. Wash
ington was favorite resort Of JOe's, and
Il Is with bunco men generally. After .
week or ten. days there they locate q
man or two and will hire furnished
rooms and sometimes have to wait q
week OK two before they can catch their
man, but they are almost invariably
successful in the end It's q business, ?
continued the Inspector, iust ns much
as reporting i, and i youl excuse me,
/ think IL needs more cheek and quite
as much brains. The bunoo man has the
lists issued by al the mercantile
agencies, and he studies IL and has the
standing Of the principal business men
in the small cities and towns. All he