Evening star., 1900-07-07
Said to Be Waiting Claimants in
the English Courts.
SCHEME FOR FLEECING AMERICANS
Just Now 1t Seems to Be Working
Very Successfully.
DU PING THE q GULLIB L E

| Special Correspondence Of The Evening Star.
LONDON, July 1, 1900.
Some particularly voracious next of-kin'
shark must be at large again among the
| multitudes of hopeful Americans, who have
| an idea that they are part heirs to vast
| fortunes lying unclaimed In chancery. The
reason for saying is that the Amer
fican embassy in London has been
| swamped Of late with letters from almost
| every city in America, asking all sorts of
| questions about these wonderful estates for
which the English government is pictured
| as yearning to find owners.
| Five years ago the swindle OF which nine
out of every ten of these applicants are
| dupes grew SO monumental that the embas-
| sy sent two of its staf over to the United
| States in 1894. They ran down and smashed
| George Gascogne Howard" who had been
| taking fees right and left from prospective
| heirs to mythical millions. After Howard
entered dungeon cell the volume of the
embassys correspondence from American
| heirs fell off decidedly. But it remained
| true-and from this you can imagine what
| the original state of things must have
| been-that the letters received about "es-
| tates" still formed more than half of the
| embassys miscellaneous mail
| Recently y, however, the American officials
! IN Victoria street, London, have been forced
| into the unwelcome conclusion that bust
ness has been resumed either by How
| ard. or by some of his confederates for
| the correspondence the subject of "un-
claimed funds in chancery' has increased
suddenly to extent that recalls its most
| palmy and to the embassy. maddening
days. l am tod at the embassy that. II il
| keeps on at this rate. there will be nothing
| Tor 1t but second crusade against the in
| stlgatorS-the neXt-of-k'n' agencies.
Too Much for Mr. Lowell.
Every ambassador has had to srapple
SWind1a I
stock of adjectives was adequate to most
| contingencies, but after he had had one of
his assistants make a searching investi-
| cation which exposed the whole plant,
without the slightest result. except perhaps
an increase in the number of queries from
the heirs, he threw up his hands, wrote
terse memorandum, in which he made use
| of the expression those foolish dupes"
reiterating that they might as well expect
| to gain possession of a castle in Spain
| as to wrest a non-eXistent fortune from
the English chancery court, and then sat
reSignedly down to watch the pile of 'ap-
plications' grow.
Other ambassadors contented themselves
| with sending to each heir printed form
| which apologies for Itself on the reason
| able ground that the ambassador is receiv-
| ing hundreds of similar letters from for
| tune hunters. informs him plainly that he
| Is in danger of being swindled, repeats that
| the embassy is not permitted by the State
| Department to help him. even if it could.
| and winds up by beseechng him, if he is
determined, to engage a reputable lawyer
and not bother with missing heirs
agencies.
The Ridiculous Reality.
| The truth about these vast estates in
| chancery looks little ridiculous beside the
dreams of the heirs. The actual amount of
| property and unclaimed cash in chancery
| is 100000. and 1t reaches that amount be-
| cause it consists of over 1900 lots. More
than half of these unclaimed funds do not
exceed $3.50 each, and only a twentieth OF
| them amount to s. 000 more.
Aside from these funds there are, of
course various estates against which the
claimants never have made appeal to
chancery, the great English court to which
| all such matters are referred. But 1t is
| the unclaimed funds that usually make the
most alluring bait, because, the next-of-
kin agent blandly explains, there is no one
already in possession TO fight for them. All
| you have to do is to deposit SO or SIS with
the agent to enable him to establish your
claim. Later he reports progress and
makes a little more money. And he keeps
on reporting progress and wanting money
as long the heir will send 1t.
Although this $5,O0.0o1 rs spoken of COM
| monty unclaimed to the further dis
comfiture of the American heir it must
| be said that the owners of a large percent
age of 1t are known, and will in time c aim
| their share. These are persons named in
certain wills as legatees after the death
reached their ma jority. And when you have
deducted this percentage you must sub
| tract still another. In a great many cases
| after a death there is about enough money
| to pay the creditors. Naturally, most of
| them turn up, but occasionally one fails to
| do So and to this and kindred slips great
part of the unclaimed funds owe their
existence.
Real Millions in Chancery.
| The tabled millions" in chancery had a
| foundation in reality. The chancery court
| does hold millions-s290 100000 in round
| numbers-but they are not, as American
Claimants have been induced to believe, the
| fortunes left by English gentlemen who
deserted their country for the new world.
| They are merely various legacies held by
the chancery court just as a bank would
hold them-in favor of persons of unsound
mind, the owners of annuities and the like.
One of the sights of the chancery court
is the odd gathering of humanity that
comes to receive its dividends. Here the
honest laborer is elbowed by the crook.
who is elhowed in his turn by porty
| bishop, who scorns to cast eyes on the ex-
ballet dancer behind him. She, however, is
not scorned by the English nobleman who
may be next in the van. Mixed in the
crowd are trustees, hundreds of ministers
(nore of them than of any other class,
| foreign persons with titles. some without
them-all wedged. gasping, in the paymas-
| ter generals room
In the days when Dickens wrote BLEAK
| House" and pointed the finger of scorn''
| at the court of chancery with his "Jarn-
| dyce vs. Jarndyce," the court was pain
| fully slow. and a man whose estate was in
| litigation was likely TO wait as long for
| his money as If he had written magazine
article. Since then the court has been
reformed, thanks, in part, doubt, to
| the public opinion Dickens created. and
now 1t gets through its business rapidly
| as any other court, and if genuine heir
| to the unclaimed funds in chancery turns
oy1 ha paf r1nn
before he dies of old age. Consequently the
mysterious millions that have formed the
| thin fabric of many costly dreams have
dwindled steadily.