The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1896-03-28
TWOYOUNC INGRATES
officials Should Beware of Prcfigate
Kin.
WORKED A CLEVER FRAUD
The superintendent OF Insurance
of Missouri Finds His Confi-
dence Betrayed by His
Own Son and Nephew.
From the St. Louis Republic.

The glamour of a fast life in a me- |
tropolis, the fascination Of wine, wom- !
en- and song, furnishes the basis of a !
story in which Charles Waddill and |
Stuart Maston, his cousin, are the |
chief actors. The scene of the story is
laid in the offices Of the superintendent |
of the insurance department of the |
state of Missouri. Major James II. |
Waddill, young Waddill and young |
Naston-the former is 26. the latter %
have left the city for parts unknown. |
1t is almost an established fact that
they, in the capacity of clerks in the 4
insurance department succeeded i'm /
getting hold of lot of money they /
were not entitled to. and in spending II
in a manner BETTING the way IL was !
acquired.
Charlie waddill is the son of the |
state superintendent of insurance, and /
young Maston is nephew of Mrs. /
waddill The Maston boy-for he is l
scarcely more than a boy-has been a
rover all his short life. and Waddill has /
been n thorn in the side of his father 4
from his early youth. year ago last I
July Mr.. Waddill sent his son to take I
the Kelley cure, and the youth, who 4
had been married and had separated /
from his wife. seemed to have reformed. !
Major Waddill. believing that the refor- |
nation was permanent, gave him po-
sition in his office at salary of SIPS
month. About the same time young
Maston. who had been making an ex-
tended tour of the West, turned up at
his home in Kansas City. From there
he came on to st. Louis and visited his
uncle. He is an affable young fellow,
and favorably impressed the kind
hearted major. who made place for
him i'm his office.
Charlie Waddill was given a posi-
ton on the regular clerical staff, while
Maston was given employment in that
4. Of
the closing up of the affairs of defunct
state insurance companies In a short
time IL was noticed that both the
youths were cutting a wide swath, but
so cleverly did they disguise the fact
from Major Waddill, with whom they
live. that he suspected nothing up to
short time ago. On March he became
convinced that his son was drinking
again, and called him to account. The
boy gave an unsatisfactory explana-
ton, and was suspended for 30 days
without pay. Since that time his father
has not seen him, though he lived at
home. Last Wednesday morning there
came to the ears of Major Waddill ru-
mors that there was some crooked work
in the department having charge of the
affairs of the defunct companies. and
the name of his nephew was mixed i'm
the rumors. He called young Maston
into his office and talked kindly to him.
Maston denied that there was any
truth in the rumors. Then he obtained
permission to go home, representing
that he was not feeling well.
The permission was given. He went
out to Major Waddilrs house and
found Charlie there The two had a
conference and as a result of 1t they
went off together Charlie telling his
mother that he had been discharged
and was about to leave the city. She
found later that he had taken not only
1T olN I,,2 L., III
valise. The two left town together.
announcing at several saloon before
they left that they were going to Kan
sas City.
1t appears from the way the affair
looks at this time that Maston took adj
vantage of his position TO confidence"
people who have claims against the st.
Louis companies that have failed and
that young Waddill was i'm on the
scheme. They were high rollers around
town and Maston. in his boyish ignor-
ance, was foolish enough at one time, in
a bar room conversation, TO give the
snap away" They realized considera-
bic money out of the scheme, and let II
go like princes
Some 16 years ago, or Whereabouts.
the Columbia Life Insurance company
of st. Louis failed. Ever since that
time its affairs have been in the hands
of the state insurance commissioners.
Each succeeding commissioner is ex-
officio receiver. Recently Commissioner
Waddill found he had enough of the
funds of the defunct company on hand
to pay a dividend of 1.52 per cent, and
all claimants were so notified II was
at this time that young Maston showed
himself a financier of no mean abil-
ity.
He knew full well that there were a
number of claimants who despaired of
ever getting a cent out of the assets of
all the claimants. He and Waddill had
conference and agreed upon a scheme
of profit. They invented one or more
mythical personages, who had a burn
ing desire to buy up the claims against
the company. To each OF the claimants
or to the claimants for amounts large
enough TO justify the risk-they sent
letters i'm the name of the mythical
personages, offering to buy the claims
at a fixed valuation, away lower than
what they knew that the claims would
bring.
In hundreds OF instances they re-
ceived favorable answers and the rest
was easy. The claimants are scattered
all over the country, and assignments
OF the claims were secured by the ener-
getic fnanciers in the name OF the
mythical spectators. Young Maston
drew all the checks for the claims. and
addressed all the envelopes to the
claimants. He also made out the ma
jority of the checks. which were signed
without question by the confiding ma
jor, who had the utmost confidence i'm
his bright nephew. Every check to
persons whose claims had been bought
up by the mythical spectators was di-
verted to the pockets of the young
schemers. through the manipulation OF
the envelopes sent out by Maston, and
the checks were cashed by him. IL is
asserted on the authority Of Maston
himself that the graft" was good for
81. 800 a month.
Major Waddill is stunned. He can
not realize that his son and nephew
could be guilty Of the conduct ascribed
TO them. He has done much for the
boy who bears his name and enter
tanned toward young Maston the feel
ing OF love and confidence that ami
mates a fatheS When he suspended