The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-11-18
Howard Hedden Tells How He
Wrote Carpenters Letters.
HE PREPARED THE ARTICLES AND
FRANK SIGNED THEM.
Says the Noted Traveller and Corre-
spondent BuHcOed the American
Newspaper Readers His Tale
Falls to Pieces, However, and
Heddcn Now RepOses In Jail For
an Unpaid Hotel Bill.

The society for the prevention of
frauds upon the American people
ought to take Frank G. Carpenter. the
noted newspaper correspondent IN
hand, for no such fraud as he has been
perpetrating upon the readers of news
papers and periodicals since the begin
ming Of the China-Japan war COM
menced, has ever been chronicled-ac-
cording to the tale of Howard Hedden.
The hitch in it all, however, is that
Hedden turns out to be the fraud. and
is now in jail, where he apparently be-
longs.
The truth only came to Eight last
evening when this young man whose
card reads: Howard F. Hedden, Off
cial illustrator and correspondent of
the Tyro Press Syndicate" was arrest
ed at the instance of Don Porter, pro-
prietor of the Te1npleton hotel ON a
charge of obtaining hotel accommoda-
lions under false pretenseS.
Hedden came to Salt Lake seven CIR
eight days ago and attached his eu-
phorious title to the Templeton regis
ter. He did not wair long before he
informed Proprietor Porter what a dis
trrguished parsonage he was and what
prestige he had gained as an American
writer Then to cJinch his statement
he disclosed to Mr.. Porter very much
on the sub rosa, that all the time cor
respondent Frank G. Carpenter was
writing to American publications from
Japan, chronicling the events of the
war, he was IN reality in America and
had never left his native heath but
that the articles which had appeared
over his signature were really written
by himself (Hedden) and sent here to
Carpenter, who attached his signature
to the stuff and syndfcated it.
Later Mr.. Porter was further in
formed that owing to the fact that his
guest was an illustrating artist and
possessed all of Mr. Carpenters bril-
liancy as writer, the contracts which
he held with magazines and other pub
locations had been abrogated and
turned over to Hedden. Nor did he
stop there. He told Landlord Porter
he was a cousin of E. L. LomaX, gen
eral passenger and ticket agent of the
Union Pacific and a part of his mis-
sion was to write up Salt Lake for the
Union Pacific, a special feature of
which was to be an elaboration on the
under especial instructions
from Mr.. LomaX.
The ever increasing volubility of the
young man caused Mr.. Porter, anon. to
begin to suspect the glowing tales were
slightly exaggerated, especially when
the week rolled round and the board
bill was not paid. Then he. wired Mr..
concerning his distinguished re-
lative and received the reply that he
had no such relative that he knew of
and had never heard of such person.
Things came TO a climax last evening
when the star boarder came down and
announced his intention of leaving and
asked Mr.. Porter to exchange receipts,
the promised write UP to square the
hotel bill Mr.. Porter demurred and
finally had Hedden arrested.
To Chief Pratt Hedden also revealed
the combination by which he and Mr..
had fooled the American
people and talked so fast that when the
chief escaped by having the fellow
locked up, he involuntarily gave ut
terance to an exclamation he had
heard at the theatre a few nights ago,
He took my bret away" Chief Pratt
was not so considerate of Mr. Carpen-
ter as Mr.. Porter had been but made
MS fraud public and intimated the in
tention of having him brought to ac-
count.
Hedden will have a chance to tell
Judge Wenger all about it today.