Omaha daily bee., 1899-06-20
VERY CLEVER CATTLE BUYER
James D, Bates Cuts Very Wide swath in
South Omaha.
FINDS CREDIT WHEREVER HE WANTS IT
Gets n GOOD Account mt Two Banks
and Draws Money for Expenses
-Fetchcs Up Later Bc-
hind the Bars.

James d. Bates is an enigma. His meth
eds are conundrums that the shrewdest de-
| tectives of the police force are trying to
solve. II their efforts meet with success,
and by the light of investigation Mr.. Bates
| is shown to be all that he asserts OF him.
! self, financially and socially, sensational
libel suits against several prominent bankers
and business men will doubtless follow.
on the other hand, 1t may appear that
| James d. Bates is the cleverest and boldeSt
sharper who has yet tried to operate in the
| west.
| The facts of the case are these: Mr..
! Bates is man of small stature, well
dressed, affabe in manner and with an ac-
cent noticeably English. Thursday morning
! he appeared at the Stock Yards exchange,
/ South Omaha, and made himself known to
several of the largest firms trading there.
Mr. Bates, by way OF Introduction, pre-
sented a card bearing the inscription:
Wilson, Sons & Co., dealers in live stock
for export trade only; main office, Liver
pool England; branch, Baltimore"
On the ppdr margin of the card were
the names Of the firm, Joseph, Charles and
! William Wilson and James d. Bates. In
! the lower left-hand corner was the name
of the presenter.
| Received with Open Arms.
Mr.. Bates was received with alacrity by
the South Omaha brokers and he passed the
day with them looking over the yards and
grounds. Friday, introduced by a we'll
known commission firm, the newcomer pre-
sented letter of credit at the Union Stock
I Yards bank. 1t was signed by the firm
/ wilson, Sons & Company and in amount
, was unlimited. 1t stated that Mr.. Bates
was member of the firm and that his
| drafts of exchange in payment for cattle
would be promptly honored
AT this bank Mr.. Bates drew upon the
Baltimore agency for $1,000. The amount
was placed to his credit. Since that trans
action $500 has been drawn for personal
expenses and about $4,000 to purchase cattle.
AT the South Omaha National bank a
$4,000 credit is said to have been made on
Mr.. Bates account upon his drawing draft
for the amount against the branch house
in Baltimore.
Saturday morning circumstances occurred
that appeared suspicious to the bankers A
representative of the Eagle Loan company,
Douglas and Twelfth streets, visited the
bank with a check for $3.50, which Bates
had given him for diamond ring. This
check was presented to Cashier Mcpherson
and was cashed. The ring was then turned
over to Bates by the pawnbroker. Shortly
after this transaction Mr.. Mcpherson hap
pened to be looking out of the windows of
the bank, when he saw Bates logging 1t up
the tracks toward Omaha as fast as he
could.
investigators begins.
After a consultation by bank officials tele-
grams of inquiry were sent to Wilson, Sons
& Co. at Baltimore. Word was returned by
the telegraph company that such a firm
-,
were undelivered.
called into requisition and investigation de
veloped that the mercantile agency could not
find Wilson, Sons G. Co. in Baltimore nor al
| Liverpool either.
The Chicago headquarters Of the Hammond
Packing company, whose managers have a
| thorough acquaintance with an export buy
ers We're then queried as to the standing OF
the Liverpool firm and the answer came
back that no company of such name was
known.
At the first suspicion the police had been
consulted and special detectives were de-
tailed by Captain Donahue to shadow Mr..
| Bates and keep the station advised as to his
movements. When every effort to find the
company Mr.. Bates represents resulted in
failure Cashier Mcpherson found through
information from Captain Donahue where
the Englishman was and had a talk with
| him. The vain hunt for his financial hackers
| was described and Mr.. Bates was asked to
explain.
| Nothing was simpler. Mr.. Bates said
there was no such firm in Baltimore, but
that there was financial representative,
Jthn Gilman by name, whose address was
! Is Charles street The explanation was
satisfactory and Mr.. Mcpherson wired to
John Gilman and had the kilograms there
addressed to the firm delivered to him.
There was no reply.
Saturday afternoon the Union Stocks Yards
bank wired John Gilman, asking him to tell
what he could about Wilson, Sons G. Co. and
act business for the firm, but | am not their
| financial agent and l do not know ]. d.
| Bates"
Bates is Arrested.
Then the arrest was decided upon and Mr.
Bates was taken lnto custody Sunday evening
at Minnie Fairchild's house, 100 South Ninth
street. He was intoxicated At a confer
ence with Captain Donahue he denied en-
phatically that he is a swindler.
"Wait and see" was all he could be in
duced to to say. 81 am the person / claim
to be and I'll bring libef suits against all
these men who have caused my arrest"
| The charge against him was obtaining
money under false pretenses,
OF the $500 advanced by the Union Stock
Yards bank for personal expenses there has
been recovered $780, found in his pockets
! when searched at the jail, and the diamond
ring purchased from the pawnbroker.
| The money at the jail has been at
| tached.
Saturday Bates bought five loads of ex-
port cattle, which he paid for with a check.
and Mcpherson now has the cattle, having
served notice on the stock yards company
to hold the same subject to his order.
J Bates started out by hiring a stenographer,
a bookkeeper, two yard men and one cattle
/ buyer All these people are now out of
positions or else trying to get back to the
! Jobs they threw up to go to work for the
newcomer.
The escapade Of Bates was the talk Of the
! yards yesterday and the majority Of the
commission men went around with broad
! grin on tdeir faces and joshed one another
! about taking up with a stranger so quickly.
! A sensational story tcld by one Of
the South Omaha bankers regarding the
! Englishman. 1t was said that he came TO