Los Angeles herald., 1890-04-02
THREATS TO EXPOSE.
A Letter Which Got w. M.
Walker into Trouble.
1t Was Sent to Mrs. F. G. Ryan,
of Anaheim.
She Was TO Be Illustrated in
Several Newspapers.
A Peculiar Method of Collecting an
Alleged Board Bill-The Letter Was
Signed by "A Friend"

Yesterday afternoon, at 1 80 o'clock,
w. M. Walker, a middle-aged man,
whose appearance bore every evidence
Of respectability, appeared before Justice
Theodore Savage in the Township Court
with his attorney, for arraignment upon
the charge of having threatened to ex-
pose another. The court informed the
defendant that he had been arrested
upon complaint OF one +. G. Ryan OF
Anaheim, Orange county, Cal, who al
legged that ", M. Walker threatened to
expose another on the 18th day OF March,
1890, by sending to Mrs. F. G. Ryan of
Anaheim, Orange county, Cal, certain
letter, dated March 14th, and subscribed
IA Friend" The court then read the
following communication, which was
embodied in the complaint:
"Mrs. f. q. Ryan-MADAM: Are you
aware that when you left the hotel at
Fullerton without first paying your bill,
you committed criminal act? By the
laws of California guests at hotel have
no right to remove their baggage without
first paying their board. | regret that
you did so, as it gives the hotel man the
power to have you arrested for SO doing,
and he has good case against you.
Judging from the enclosed paper, he pur-
poses using the law against you; also
fully exposing, by publication, your act
in the papers. He also purposes having
cut made of you and your mother leav-
ing the hotel in Fullerton, each carrying
piece of baggage. Your husband will
appear in the distance in true Irish cos
tune, beckoning you to come quickly.
This will probably appear in the Cactus;
also in the Brattleborough, Vermont,
paper. You are probably not aware that
the Fullerton hotel-keeper will spend
twice the amount of your bill in having
manner in the pa lers, not only in Santa
Ana, but also in San Francisco, Los An
geles and Brattleborough.. A detective is
now collecting facts about your private
life in Vermont, and also your hus-
bands. The warrant of arrest for you
would have been issued this week, but
he wanted to get at some private affairs
to make the article more sensational. |
suppose you are aware that the news
papers take pleasure in publishing such
news. The public like such, and no de-
nial you can ever make will convince the
general public but that you tried to get
your board for nothing.
Yours sincerely, A FRIEND"
The defendant entered his plea of not
guilty to the charge just read to him,
and through his attorney demanded
trial by jury, whereupon his case was
set for the 9th inst at 10 o'clock a. m,
bail being required in the sum of 81 200
meanwhile. The defendants counsel
made an effort to obtain the release of
his client upon less sum, but the court
informed him that he was bound to take
into consideration the gravity of the
offense.
The above letter which was dated on
March 14th, reached its destination on
the 18th ult., and soon after receiving it
Mrs. Ryan referred it to her husband,
who placed the matter in the hands of
Detective A. B. Lawson, for investiga-
ton.
As both the letter and the address
upon the envelope were typewriter,
and the latter was simply post-marked
'Los Angeles, March l5th," the prob
lem to be solved, as to the originator of
the document, would to the average in
dividual seem almost to defy detection.
Detective Lawson, however, found two
clues to work upon Immediately on see
ing the letter. These were the peculiar
water-mark on the paper upon which it
was written, and the fact that it had
been written with Caligraph machine,
as seen from the type. With these
slender threads to work upon the detec-
tive commenced and in few days
traced the letter to a young lady type
writer, who, upon being challenged,
confessed to having written it for gen
tleman, who, it was alleged, was Walker.
The suspected man having been located,
the young lady typewriter was invited to
accompany the detective to Redondo
Beach yesterday morning, and she
readily identified Walker as the man
who had induced her to write the letter
for him, and he was thereupon arrested
and brought up to town.