Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1895-04-26
ESTATES IN EUROPE.
A NEW YORK CONCERN WHICH COL.
LEcTS lEGAclES ABROAD.

Most of the Legacies Are Small-The Largo
Ones Usually Turn Out to He Myths-One
Case Where . Servant Impersonated His
Employer.
There is fourishing on down town
east side street a Legacy Advance com.
pany with counselor at French and
German law as general manager. The
offices are handsomely appointed, and
apparently the business is profitable.
Most of the clients of this company are
Of French or German birth, and il they
can satisfy the general manager that
they have an inheritance coming to
them from Europe they may obtain
from him an advance ON it. The COM
pany will either buy the inheritance
outright or it will collect it on commits
sion. New York foreign population is
large, and many of its members are
living hand to mouth existence wait
ing for relatives at home to die and
leave them money. The Legacy Advance
company will not discount the claims Of
prospective heirs because the laws in
this country will not permit. In Eng
land this sort of discounting is recog-
niZed business.
IF it were only permitted here"
said the manager Of the company, there
would be millions in it, but it isn't,
and we don { do any OF that kind Of bust
ness i know of one company in Lon
don that has made over $1,000, 900 in
these discounts. ;"
This New York company finds that
there is business enough in collecting
inheritances, and some of the men and
women who ask it for aid give it phan-
tom chases. This is particularly true of
the French claimants. They are always
and on general principles expecting
something from somebody. Every time
the French papers announce the death
of a wealthy man without heirs there is
to be found some one in this city who
is ready to claim relationship and part
of the estate. The Legacy Advance COM
pany takes no chances. When a claim
ant satisfies the manager that he has o
reasonable claim to an inheritance
abroad and is willing to give power
of attorney to collect it, the manager
cables for information to his agent in
the town where the estate happens to
be. If he receives satisfactory evidence
that the claim is good one, he makes
an advance to the heir here and sets in
motion his machinery for collecting the
legacy.
1t is easier to collect legacies in Ger
many than in France, and it is easier to
collect them in either country than in
the United States. Moreover, it is
cheaper. An estate may be settled in
from six weeks to three months in Ger
many, whereas in this country it would
take year to bring about the same set
Element.
'.Most of the legacies that we have
for collection" said the manager. "are
small ones ranging from 2, 900 to 10, 600
marks Occasionally we have big leg
acy for collection, but generally big
legacies prove to be myths For in
stance, here is letter that I have just
received from a man in the west, who
claims that the city of Amsterdam owes
him SIS, 900, 600. An ancestor Of his
settled there in 1895, he says, and died,
leaving q big fortune, which the city
appropriated, as there were apparently
L.
that he has absolute proof that he is an
heir to this estate. Unfortunately for
him, all such claims were declared void
| by law passed in 1855. Perhaps were
it not for that law he might be able to
collect something Who knows? As it
is, however, he is wasting his time, and
/ shall have to write and tell him SO. !"
do you have many bogus claims pre-
sented to you?''
"Yes. there are a good many such.
, Sometimes the claimant himself is fool
ed. Not long ago a well dressed man
| called at our office and asked rs to COL
lect claim for 30, 900 marks from an es-
| tate that had been left in Switzerland.
The man showed rs his papers identify
| ing him, and gave US q description of
the property there and a complete his
| tory of it. We communicated with our
| agent in Switzerland and found that an
estate had been left just as this man had
| described, and that he was one of the
heirs. We were taking the necessary
steps to collect it when tramp came
into our Office. He was stability dressed
and looked as if he had been kicking
around the streets for months.
Are you collecting legacy in
| Switzerland for Blank?' he asked.
1--we are l answered, surprised
that this man should know anything
| about it.
"'Well. you are on the wrong track,
| he said, because l am Blank, and the
other man for whom you are acting is a
| fraud.
His appearance didn't tend to cor
roborate his claim, but he told substan.
TALLY the same story about the estate
that tho ether man had told, and my
curiosity was aroused. He said that the
man whom we supposed to be the real
Mr.. Blank was. or rather had been, his
servant. He had waited for an opportu-
nifty and had then .obbed his master Of
all his money and his parers. Armed
with the papers, he had been passing
himself off as the real Mr. Blank. This
tramp told such a circumstantial story
that was impressed by it. l got him q
shave and then had him photographed.