Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-12-14
Mr.. PUGH is WAITING
A Client Whom He Would Like to
See. ] 70
A Man Who Had q Strong Box in q
New York BanhALawyers
SIa His Prey. i

One evening last week, while Mr. James
L. Pugh, assistant attorney for the District,
was enjoying his after-dinher cigar, a
stranger called at the house to see him on
business. The caller, who Is apparently
thirty or thirty-fve years old, spoke with
a decidedly German accent ard introduced
himself as Mr. Charles w. Muller. He had
called to enlist the services Of the son of
tbu venerable Alabama Senator in his
cause; and his cause was a claim that he
was heir to his mothers estate in Germany,
saying she had owned a brewery and prop
erty and had left only two heirs-his
brother and himself. He wanted the law
yer to collect his share of the estate. Incl
dentally he said he had $500. and his
mothers will, deposited in the Wilbur Ma
tional Bank at Oneonta, Otsego county, N.
Y. He said he was anxious to get to One
onta. so that he could get his money and
the will.
Don't bother about that" the lawyer
told him. III send for it for you
But" said the well-dressed man. you
can't get it. 1 will have to go there In per-
son and get it, but haven't the means just
now. l offered to pay the railroad company ,
take ME there. but the offer was refused"
This aroused Mr.. Pugh's suspicious, and
he told his visitor to call again, telling
would then let him know whether or not
he would take It, Soon after the man had
departed a letter was addressed to the
bank officials and yesterday Mr.. Pugh
of the Oneonta Herald and the Boston
Globe, giving accounts Of the mans opera
tons.
According to the articles in these papers
the man is known as Charles w. Schultz.
Lewis c. Miller and sometimes as Charles
W. Miller. 1t appears to have been his
habit to call upon lawyers and tell them
substantially the same story he told here.
Boston, New Bedford and Fall River.
Mass; New Haven, Conn.,, and Newark,
N. j., that he came to this country from
Konigsberg. Germany, where his father
had died and left wooden mills, which had
been operated by man named Bernhard
until the time of his mothers death. His
brother. he told these lawyers, lives at
Riverside, Mass, and there he and his
wife and children had resided. To sub
stantiate his statement concerning the
mills he produced samples of cloth. which,
he said, he brought from the mills with
him.
In each instance he seems to have told
the story of the money in the box in the
Wilbur National Bank, where he also said
was his fathers will. OF course each law
yer upon whom he called was to be his at
tOrney, and according to the statement in
the Oneonta Herald he managed to get
money from some of them, the amount
usually being enough to pay railroad fare
from the particular point to OneOnta, as
in each instance he said that Identification
would be necessary before he could get
the contents of the box. AS a matter of
fact. he has no box in the bank, nor has
he any funds there. The latest telegram
received at the bank making inquiries con-
corning the man was from Baltimore,
showing that ne was in that city before
he came here.
Mr.. Pugh has read the newspaper ac-
counts OF the mans doings, and has con-
cludcd that he does not want him for a
client. Much to the surprise of Mr. Pugh,
the man did not ask him for any money,
although he intmated that II he had car
fare he could get the $40 and the will
The stranger has not yet returned to as
certain whether or not Mr.. Pugh will take
his case.