Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-09-20
WHAT WAS HIS AIM :?
The Extensive Operations ofa Young
Man From CuyahOga Falls.
HE LEAVES HIS HOTEL SUDDENLY.
Denounced as Fraud by the Firm He
Claimed to Represent.
THE POLICE NOW SEARCHING FOR HIM.


firm of Brown s. Taylor, proprietors Of the
Hamilton Hotel, notified Police Inspector
McAleese of the mysterious conduct of
James c. Johnston, one of the guests at the
house. Johnston registered at the hotel ON
September as from Cuyahoga Falls o.
Mr.. Taylor said of him last evening:
"He represented that he was travelling for
Elliot. Ottenheim & Elliot, large cigar
house of Baltimore. know the house to
be good and reliable one. Johnston had
grip and lot OF cigar samples. He
was given room No. 81. My suspicious
about, him were excited because ne
remaited at the hotel SO much,
and did not 60 out to work
like OF her travelling men. He was drink
ing nsarly all the time. He seemed to be
doing good deal of advertising, and had
the solicitors for the newspapers after him
every lay. He would take them to his
room arh order up drinks from the bar.
Last Nj dnday stopped his araccount, and
told my hlen not to let him have anything
more.
Last Tuesday wrote telegram to send
to his ho,se, but did not SEND it. I met the
proprieto, of one of the weekly journals and
asked hin about Johnston. He said that
he had known Johnston for some time and
that he was all right. Although Johnston
boarded here, he received his mail at the
Hotel Anderson. I saw lot of letters he
had received there. They had the business
card of Elliot, Ottenheim & Elliot on them,
and that quieted my fears. Johnston did
not pay his board bill last Saturday, and
put it off from day to day ever since. This
morning he left the house after breakfast,
and did not return to dinner. When we
looked into his room we found that his grip
sack and things were gone. How he got
them out of the house do not know. He
left two dirty shirts, some collars and about
40 cigars.
AN EMPHATIC TELEGRAM.
cat about o'clock telegraphed to the
Baltimore House and received the follow
ing reply: Johnston is fraud and not in
our employ. I then went to Inspector Nc
Aleese with the story. Mrs. Brown, the
wife of my partner, saw Johnston in Allie
gheny at about $3.50 o'clock this afternoon.
He turned back suddenly when he saw her |
approaching and walked away rapidly. He |
owes us about S45 for boarding and bar. 1 |
would like very much to get hold of hin. |
He is young man, about 80 years old,
good-looking and well-dressed. He has a |
small, light mustache."
Johnston's plan of work, as he himself |
described it, was to place his cigars with |
grocers and retail tobacconists and then to
advertise them as being agents of Elliot
Ottenheim & Elliot.
Since Johnston came to the city two
weeks ago, he has been conducting some
very mysterious negotiations with advertis-
ing solicitors of the various newspapers.
Explaining his business to them, he pro-
posed to advertise on an extensive scale,
offering to contract with several of the large
dailies for 10, 900 lines of paid local matter.
His proposition was made in a business-like
manner, and his statements of what he had
done in this and other cities were told with
a confidence that indicated that he was all
right. The strangest part of the transaction
was that he offered to hand over to The
DISPATCH a sight draft, remarking that
the paper could thus have the money in its
Office before printing line of the advertis-
ing matter. This liberal proposition was
made to several other papers. The only re-
turn asked by Johnston was that some dis
count should be allowed for cash.
THEY WERE BIG CONTRACTS.
The size of the contemplated contracts
required some time to consider
them. For several days Johnston was sur
rounded at the Hamilton Hotel by a beyy
Of enterprising solicitors from local papers,
1t was during this period that Johnston be-
gan drinking heavily, and some of his
had the audacity to blame
his bibulous habit upon the solicitors re-
ferred to.
Mr.. Johnston, however, seemed most
anxious to get his advertisement into The
DISPATCH. In his visits to this Office he
said that mis- business was very large, that
I. c. jenkins, of this city, had already
sold S43, 1000 worth of his cigars, that
Haworth & Dewhurst had handled large
quantities of his goods, and that Ar
buckle & Co. were, at the present
line, preparing for him a list of !
heir suburban agents for the purpose
If extending his trade He further alleged :
hat while in Cincinnati he had published
'ome %, 900 lines of advertising matter in I
he Enquirer The Pittsburg papers all I
irew up the contracts in due form, and pre- :
ented them to Mr.. Johnston last Saturday. :
He did not at that time furnish the sight !
traits, as promised, but said that he must I
end on the contracts to Baltimore for sig
natures; that when they returned the drafts /
would be handed to the publishers. r
HIS ACTIONS SUSPICIOUS. I
The delay, together with the drinking t
md suspicious conduct OF Johnston at the t
lotel, prompted DISPATCH man to in t
,estigate the matter quietly. A call was :
made at the store of T. c. Jenkins, and }
Manager Llewellyn stated emphatically
hat they had never sold dollars worth of p
,oods from Johnston's hands. Haworth & s
)ewhurst entered as emphatic denial, and g
& Co. declared that they had t
lever heard of Johnston, much less agreed D
o furnish to him list of their agents.
After this, when a rumor came from the Z
hamilton Hotel that Mr.. Johnston had =
allied to pay his weeks board, THE DIS il
'ATCH made another move, telegraphing to Ct
elliot, Ottenheim & Elliot, at Baltimore, G
n inquiry as to the reliability of one John
ton, who was representing himself as their tt
gent The following reply was received N
esterday afternoon: 81. G. Johnston is a ci
raud, Expose him." Al
There is much speculation as to John
tons object. What did he expect to ac- E
omplish? Mr.. Taylor, of the Hamilton, | tt
aid: "He borrowed money from several
eople. know of one advertising solicitor A
rom whom he borrowed So"
Inspector McAleese said, at 10 o'clock n
1st night, that he had not yet been able to S,
,cate Johnston. fl
FIRE In AN OFFICE. =,