The San Francisco call., 1897-04-17
ANOTHER MADRID
GAME Of C|NCH
This Time Mr. Rice of Hay
wards Was Intended
as the Victim.
The Same Cd Relative IN Dis
ireSs With a Lovely Daugh-
ter, Rosa.
The Same O Story Is R hearsed Pay.
ing Va,nly on the Cupidity of
Proposed Dupss.
OAKLAND OFFICE SAN FRANCISCO CALI
QnS Rr0a aH wav A nril LIZ

9Oo broadway, April 10.
Through the good services OF the Span
ish Consul at San Francisco H. D. Rice
of Havwards has been saved from being
fieeced and possibly from death and
bcd system of swindlipg has been ex-
posed that is being operated from Spain
to California.
The details OF the scheme have puzzled
the police for some time and at different
times communications have passed be-
tween officials in this country and those
ut Madrid, but with no pronounced bene-
fit. The case of Mr.. Rice is the second
one that has come 10 light with absolute
certainty as 70 the plan of procedure, the
other one being located at Napa.
The plan OF the bold operator is nearly
uniform in all cases. There is always
man in trouble in Spain who has lovely
daug hter, for whose future he is most
soilcltous. He suddenly discovers that he
has some relatives whom he has not seen
since childhood in California. He writes
10 them and says he is in trouble and has
large estate which e will deed to his
Californian friend if the latter Will only
look after his girl. The transfers of prop
erty and the young lady are both 10 be
brought out here by a Catholic priest
when The necessary assurances have been
given.
Some time ago II. D. Rice of Haywards
received letter from Spain that caused
him certain amount of uneasness. The
Rice family is one of the oldest and best
known i'll Haywards and came from Con-
nectlcut many years O. At the time of
receiving the letter Mr.. Rice vas recover
ing from an accident that necessitated the
amputation O. leg. Having plenty OF
leisure time he decided TO open up a cor
r-spondence with his unknown and un-
remem bered relative in SDaiQ
After several letters had passed Mr..
Rice laid the whole matter before the
Spanish Consul in San Francis SEQ, and on
comparing notes both were convinced
desperate te system of swindIing was being
practiced that embraced both fraud and
murder.
81 received the first letter from Spain"
said Mr.. Rice to-day, ''a few months ago.
and after | read it l did considerable
thinking. The writer referred to me and
my family in very familiar terms and
stated that we were related / did not
seem to recollect the name, but as there
are lots of Rices in the district where
was brought up l thought possible that
might have forgotten at least one. He
recalled certain scenes in Connecticut,
where my family came from, and so at
first l concluded that the letter might
really be from some forgotten relative
MY friend then went on to detail how
he had left home in Connecticut many
wears ago and had gone TO sea. He fo-
lowed a roaming life for several years and
finally driited into Spain, where, he tells
me, he married. All this happened years
ago, and now he is in trouble with beau
tiful daugh hter IA years of age on his hands
He tslls me her name is Rosa, and that
she Is at present in a Catholic school near
Malaga. Evidently things matrimonial
do not always run smoothly in Spain, for
my distant friend has had trouble with
his wife, who is at present in Madrid
He then proceeded 10 tell me of his
trouble, but did not say exactly what it
consisted of, but he assured me that his
estate was in danger. l was rather sur
prised, but / answered his letter and told
him l would like to know NJ ore of him and
bis family troubles. I told him that !
could not RENE m Der now, but that if !
knew more, perhaps 1 could recall him.
His next letter was more of surprise
than his first. He said his circumstances
we're such that 1t had become absolutely
necessary for him TO Dnt his estate into
the hands OF others, and said he would
sooner transfer 1t TO me than any body
else. he said that this would be done if
would take care of Rosa until she should
come of age. l wrote that l would do all
IN my power TO help his daughter If he
arranged matters so that she should be no
expense to me.
In reply to this letter my friend sent
me two photogra phs. One was OF himself
and the other was of Rosa. They were
pictures of people who seemed TO be very
intelligent and respectable and were
taken in a Spanish city. This letter also
told me that the money he was anxious to
entrust to me amounted 10 $50, COO. which
he had placed already in an English con-
Germ Tor me to use for Rosa.
He stated that he had made arrange
ments to send Rosa across the ocean in
company with a Catholic priest whenever
! stated that was ready TO receive her.
l replied that / was preparing for her re-
ception and that she should be well cared
for.
1.-The next letter was a doleful one. Nv
alleged friend told me that he had SUD.
denly been arrested and locked up in
prison. DE said 1t was fortunate that his
money was out OF his hand, as he would
have lost all had he still en- in possession
OF it when arrested. He greatly regretted
that he was unab @ to send Rosa owing to
the lack of the necessary funds He had
neglected 10 leave out even enough for
expenses, and the British law ompelI-d
the payment of a certain tax on the trans
fers of property. After reciting his
troubles he concluded by stating that
5000 was necessary for this purpose, and
asking if could let him have Thai am cunt,
which l could take out of his estate when
it had been transferred to me.
"At this stage of the game / began to
be suspicious. Things were decidedly in
terestlng, so went to San FRANCISCO and
laid the whole matter before The Spanish
Consul. After / had concluded my story
the Consu said | was lucky man.
He then told me that the affair was
gigantic fraud and that this was the
second case that had been brought to his
notice.
"These letters from alleged relatives in
Spanish prisons are a new system of
fraud" said the Spanish Consul. 'Some
time o farmer who resi- ed near VIM
ters received just the same kind OF letters
and telling just the same story The poor
fellow al Winters believed IN the sincerity
of his correspondent and was at last per-
suaded to sell his farm so that he mi ight
20 TO his relatives ard In that case The
girl was IA and a Catholic priest was to
bring her over"
The Consul assured Mr. Rice that the
man would certainly be killed and never
heard again if he ever set foot In the
Span sh Town he started for on any such
errand. He advised the Haywards man
TO have nothing more TO do with the man
IN Spain.
II made up my mind to have some
more satisfaction with the fellow said
Mr. Rice, land so | wrote TO him again,
telling him that owing to Improvements