The Savannah morning news., 1902-09-13
LAY IT ON TOLATHROP
MATTHEwsON AND WILKES SAY
HE CAUSED ALL THEIR TROUBLE.
SIGNED CHIEF REILLY'S NAME.
AND EMPLOYED THEM TO COLLECT
POLICE HISTORY ACCOUNTS.

Over by the Recorder to the City
Court to Be Tried for Cheating
and SSvindIinG-They Were Con-
vtcted and Sentenced to Pay a
Fine of $50 Each, Go to Jail for
Six Months or Leave Town in
Tventy-fOur HOurs-They Chose
the Latter Alternative and viii
Quit Savannah To-day Their
TroubIes-PoIice Would Like to
See LathrOp But He Cannot BE
Found.
NJ B. Matthewson and E. B. Wilkes
when arraigned before Recorder My
rick yesterday morning on charge
of cheating and swindling, brought out
in their testimony some additional
facts in regard to the methods of G..
A. Lathrcp, Jr., the man who got out
the pictorial history of the police de-
partment They had been arrested
they were policemen and collecting
money on subscriptions to the work
after notification had been sent out
that only Sergt McCool and Detective
julius Stark were authorized to solicit
the money.
The Police Benevolent Society, which
the money was supposed to benefit.
was represented by Mr.. Walter Hart
ridge, who s-questioned the accus-
ed and put some light upon the sub
ject. Both men in their statements
laid all the blame on Lathrop. They
said he had employed them to collect
and solicit subscriptions and had given
them the credentials which they had
when arrested, and which Superintend-
ent Reilly said were forged. They said
they knew Lathrop had signed them,
for they saw him when he did SO, but
as he claimed he was authorized to
sign for the chief. and as the book
was gotten out they supposed for the
police department, they thought the
paper to be as good as if the chief had
signed it in person.
LathrOp n Slick One.
Lathrop had imposed on them also,
they said, and had gone off without
their knowledge, leaving their accounts
unsettled. They denied emphatically
that they had any intention of wrong
doing, and did not know that their
right to collect money had been stop
ped by the police department. AS to
the charge that they had represented
themselves as policemen they denied it
absolutely.
After listening to their tales of woe
and hearing the testimony of the mer-
chants whom they had either gotten
money from or tried to, the Recorder
remanded them for trial in the City
Court on charge of cheating and
swindling.
Among the police officials, the wish
is expressed that they could lay hands
on Lathrop. He, however, has gone,
none knows where, and there is little
hope of ever coming in contact with
him. The two men tried yesterday are
looked on somewhat as scapegoats
whom Lathrop fooled and left behind
to stand the results of his slick work
1t has developed that some Of
the business men who did not care
to insert an advertisement in the book
but wished to help the benevolent
work along had made cash contribu-
tions to the fund and of these Lathrop
not only did not make any mention,
but failed to account for the money
thus received.
Made Good Haul.
How much was received from this
source had not yet developed, but the
plot is unfolding daily and the de-
nouement may be startling. 1t is also
said that Lathrop went to the Tender
loin and collected there. All the DO
lice benevolent fund is likely to get
is contained in a lot of uncollected &C
counts that Lathrop left behind him.
Most of these are considered good. but
they are those that were not so easily
gotten at.
Later in the day Matthewson and
Wilkes were tried in the City Court
and found guilty and sentenced to pay
fine of $25 each or to serve a six
months sentence, but in consideration
of the fact that the men had been
more sinned against than SHINING the
sentences were suspended on condi-
aion that they leave town, which they
promised to do this morning.
Mathewson's and Wilkes story.
Mathewson and Wilkes were seen
about the matter, and the former made
a statement relative to the case
1--WE entered into 10 contract with
the police department" he said. "Lath-
rop was the man who signed the con-
tract. We were employed by him, and
we had no knowledge at all as to the
terms of his contract with the police.
We are not parties to it, and l do not
see how we could have been held La
BILE for any breach of his contract
of which Lathrop may have been
guilty.
I'VE acted throughout under I.ath-
rops instructions. We made returns to
him for all collections we made. and
all the advertising cards, for insertion
in the book, that we collected we
turned over to him. We, therefore. are
not to blame for the fact that MANY of
these cards did not appear in the pub
LEGATION.
"Lathrop left us in the lurch. We
mad an appointment to meet him on
thursday. 1t was on Wednesday thar
this appointment was made. We were
at the place appointed, but he did NOT
snow up, and we have not seen him
since.
I'VE think we have been greatly mis-
understood in this matter, and we
have suffered unjustly We should
never have been arrested, for we We're
guilty of no crime. Lathrop was the
man responsible for the wrong-doine
which was his own. The men said
that Lathrop got off with $500 or $500
Wanted Free Tickets.