The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-30
A BRILLIANT SWINDLER.
David Coleman and His Very Clever
Methods.

Has Made Good His Escape to the
Other Side.
From the Philadelphia Press.
New York, July 27.-David Coleman
must be esteemed, perhaps, the most bril-
liant gent Us of swindling who has made
this city his temporary home for many
day. His name or this name is inscribed
upon at least two of the books of the
banks of this city and one of bank in a
neighboring town in which are registered
the names of new customers or depositors.
In each of these banks he was welcomed
as most desirable client, and in each of
them within twenty-four hours he had
been discovered to be an expert swind-
Ter
The methods of the police by which
professional scoundrels are recorded and
their wherea bouts from time to time as
certaiued will not serve in the case of
David Coleman. All that the astute de-
tectives have been able to discover is that
he had some brilliant exploits in forgery
and evil persuasion in Richmond.
The officers are not even sure that the
Richmond gentlemanly villain and David
Coleman are the same person. The police
find no record in their books of any com
David Coleman may have been a member.
Therefore they have no clew to begin
with. and as MIR. Coleman came whence
nobody knows, so he has departed whittier
nobody can discover, and he has taken
with him some $4,000 in cold cash
as politely and sklllfully wheedled out of
astute business men as like exploit was
ever done. He has, moreover, with him
certificates of stock of three corpora.
tions, the half title in a piece of Jersey
real estate and nobody knows how many
other valuable Things.
The story of the doings of this accom-
plished scoundrel is worth telling, partly
as an interesting narration of crime and
partly that others may be warned
against him or so warned that the police
may be able to apprehend him. A bust
ness proposition appeared IN one of the
papers as an advertisement about three
weeks ago, and il seemed to be so sin
cere a proposition from a capitalist
who had money to invest in a safe and
profitable business that Mr. Coleman
received certainly three propositions,
probably a good many more, for it was
David Coleman who published the adver
tisement
One of these came from Charles S. Hig-
gins, man who has been a prominent
and very successful manufacturer of a
household article for many years, but
who has had lately unpleasant expert
ences with ungratetul stockholders. An
other came from a former clergyman
who found business more to his liking
and who had been running a silk mill in
New Jersey for some years. A third
came from a manufacturer of furnaces,
and if there were others written by men
who have since then had exciting expert
ences with David Coleman, as the police
say there are, these men have pocketed
their losses and concealed their humilia-
ton in silence.
With those gentlemen with whom Mr..
David Coleman did negotiate he created
soon after the first interview most re-
markable opinion respecting his business
talents He was a rich gentleman who
| had made money in the far west ana who
had settled down in Washington, purpos-
! ing to spend the rest of his days there in
| the enjoyment of it.
| But he had found, although past go
| years of age, that a life of idleness in
| Washington was not congenial to him
and he had no taste for politics. He had
a very firm opinion that some of the dem
| ocratic senators were scoundrels, and that
neither the Democratic party nor Grover
Cleveland had lived up to their privileges,
and as it happened that most of the gen.
tlemen with whom he was thrown in con-
tact were republicans or Inundated dem
ocrats, Mr.. Coleman speedily found him
self esteemed as man of sound views
upon political sub. ects.
COLEMAN AS A BUSINESS MAN.
But it was as a business man that
David Coleman gained special admira-
ton. He spent an hour or two every day
talking with one of the more prominent
brokers of New York, who would feel
Inundated if the public should now know
how he, after having once got the better
of Jay Gould, twice of Russell Sage,
several times of jim Keene, and other
shrewd operators, had been completely
hypnotized by the fascinating manners of
David Coleman.
Mr.. Coleman was especially indignant
when talking of the sugar trust, de-
clariug that that was a security which
no wise man would touch with 10-foot
pole.
In examining Mr.. Higgins property he
uosed around like an old miser, blowing
through the books. figuring up the ca
pacity of the plant, speaking in a brusque
and almost insolent way when his opinion
met with opposition, coquetting with Mr..
Higgins like girl with her first lover,
and at last with some show of reluctance
agreeing to buy nearly $4,000 worth of
stock and to pay for it in spot cash.
MIR. Coleman had submitted cheerfully
to few little formalities He had shown
q letter WQlcl seemed 10 nave DeeQ wrlJ-
ten by the president of the Colum bia
Bank in Washington, commencing Mr..
Coleman as one of the banks stockhold-
ers and Washington's best citizens. and
especially commencing his fortune to any
with whom he might propose to have
business dealings.
1t never occurred to Mr. Higgins to
write to the president of the Columbia
Bank thanking him for being the means
of bringing so capable business man as
Mr.. Coleman into relations with Mr.
Higgins.
While Mr.. Coleman was negotiating
with MIR. Higgins he was also bamboo
ling a very smart lawyer of Nassau street,
so that this lawyer consented to act as
his counsel, and TO represent him in ne
gotiations which were going on with the
New Jersey silk manufacturer. These
little operations being insufficient for MIR
Coleman, he engaged in another with the
owner of furnace mandatory and per-
haps some others.
All these negotiations came to an nu-
happy climax on Tuesday, but we have
not had all the facts until to-day. Upon
Monday Mr.. David Coleman, his high
silk hat, his neatly trimmed black beard
perhaps also neatly dyed, his flashing
black eyes, and his somewhat sweltering
suit of conventional black, appeared in
the Lincoln Bank with Mr.. Higgins and
also with one Of the directors of the
bank.