The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-07-26

successfully Worked on Presbyterian
SOjourners at WinOma.

Special to the indianapolis Journal.
EAGLE LAKE, Ind, July 24-The pious
fraud seems to be an inseparable adjunct
wherever two or three people are gathered
together in the name of religion. Winona
has been remarkably free from the wiles
of impostors, but this week a case has come
to light which, to say the least, will result
in a vigorous investigation of all appeals
for aid hereafter presented. 1t seems that
the same people who were exposed here, to
the amazement of sympathetic friends who
aided them, have been and are still travel
ing over the State, and when last heard
from were headed for Indianapolis via Wa
bash. A few days ago man, woman and
two children drove into the park in a COW
cred wagon. The woman represented that
she was a daughter of Rev. James Hunter,
of Ohio. She and her family had been liv-
ing in Iowa, but by failure of crops had
been driven back to the homeward road
Friends had sent them away with ham
pers filled, and this was the first time they
had been compelled to ask aid. So desper-
ate did the case appear that collection
was taken up at the morning devotional
exercises and a handsome sum was devoted
to the relief of the distressed family. Not
satisfied with this, Mrs. Welles. for this
was the name she gave, visited the cot
tages to enlist sympathy and aid. On one
porch in the twilight there was a large
party of cottagers, and among. them Rev.
Charles Little, d. D., of Wabash. Now,
ministers as a class are not as sympa-
thetic in these cases as they might be had
they been swindled less often but DR.. Little
said nothing and helped in the collection
taken up on the porch. The woman said
they could now go directly home. They
came into the State by way of Valparaiso
and Plymouth. DR.. Little returned to Wa
bash. The next day his hostess on the
evening just referred to received the fol-
lowing letter from him.
Dear Mrs. -: | do not want to shake
your faith in mankind or rather i'll woman
kind, but in this case | cannot resist l
have just had a call from a man and a
woman who presented tale of peculiar
necessities. Their home has been west of
here, and they are travelling to her fathers
house in Ohio. Their father is a minister,
viz: the Rev James Hunter of st Clairsville
Presbytery. This fact did not rest alone
on her own statement but her husband as
serted the same to be true, and, as if that
was not enough. they presented letters es-
tablshing the fact. Kind-hearted friends
had given them provisions enough to last
until now upon leaving home. hence this
was the first appeal they needed to make
for help. l asked where they had entered
the State. and found they had made bee
line via Monticello and Logansport. When
they had finished | told them of the scene
at your cottage and the tender-hearted col
lection you took for a daughter of the Rev.
James Hunter. but they assured me that ii
must have been some other party assum-
ing the role of daughter to the Rev. J. II.
OF course l could not contradict them. but
declined to help too many daughters of the
above-said clergyman in the same week l
suggested that it would greatly pain the
sensitive nature of any Presbyterian cler-
gyman to have a daughter begging her way
through the land, and recommended that
they telegraph to him for help, and deposit
the team with the operator, not to keep,
but as an evidence of good faith. They left
me- thinking it the wise thing to do
The result of this evidence is to show
that, whether there is true daughter of
Rev. James Hunter or not there certainly
is a fraudulent one, and she is swindling
Presbyterans in various parts of Indiana
with uniform success. Naturally. Winona,
was one of the objective points, and here
the work was done well. The PTesbyterians
at Winona were anxious that the fraud
should have an airing in the Journal for the
rntectinn of nthers In the State.