The St. Louis Republic. [volume] (St. Louis, Mo.) 1888-1919, 1902-11-30

| as 1t was impossible Tor my brother to raise
the monev at once he entered into negota-
tons with them to gain time.
' you see, 1t was all a plot to get him In
their power SO that they could forcs him ia
do as they desired in carrying out some Of
their schemeA
'When he begged. for time-and what man
would not do % in the face of dishonor and
disgrace in the eyes of the worlds-they Of
fsred II upon one condition.
They would releas. him from immediate
payment II he would sign q paper agree
ing to marry whoever they selected a. q
wife for him and to give them Q certain
per cent Of the dot.
This was the first intimation that my
brother had that the syndicate" included
marriage brokerage In their business
st" WAS A SAFEGUARD.
He got around them by agreeing to give
them the commission II he married in &C
cordance with their instructions It was
his only loophole Of escape.
'The arrangement seemed to satisfy the
men. and when the matter was settled 30
that my brother need not fear dismissal
from his regiment he at once set about get
ting the money from another source SO that
these men could be paid back md conse-
Quently lose their hold upon him.
when the debt was cancelled my brother
At once denounced the men publicly. and
both Of them were arrested
Among their papers were found docu-
ments which. It was thought, implicated
Frau Won Outflow In the plot and she. too,
was confined in prison.
'NThis was In the latter part Of the year
1888 and the trial has Just been finished.
Since this episode" continued Baroness
Won M~uenchhausen, Berlin society has be-
come convinced that nan Of the suicides
among army officers might be traced to
brokers.
when one Of them has found himself
too deeply involved to be extricated and Is
on the point Of being forced into > mar
rage with an unknown woman death has,
In some cases. no doubt, seemed preferable
to q living disgrace.
Few would have had the temerity to de.
nounce 30 powerful q combination, but my
brother hoped to save others from being
brought In their power. for many men like
the ''syndicate' for wives. are caught In
the web through simply getting financial
aid
II do not consider II by any means a lack
of keenness to have been drawn into a plot
of this kind, for these people. work 20
cleverly and unsuspiciously that not even
the most alert would detect their real char
acter until after he IL too Tar implicated to
free himself.
''The marriage syndicate 10 simply a
means of extortng money from men who
are on the verge Of madness and who. to
66vS tAiCii5CiSGS " lie oCokl GIl0u
are willing to bind themselves to such an
abominable contract
Frau Won Outflow was a noblewoman Of
the best standing. In her Berlin house,
which was far from being q pretentious req
idence. she received some of the highest
official and social representatives In thu
German capital.
There was not, up to the time Of the
d~enouement. the slightest thought Of her
connection with marriage schemes.
''To be sure, she generally had Americans
stopping with her. though there was not al
ways a manageable daughter In the party.
However. It II thought that this associar
ton with Americans served to help her In
many ways, for through them she learned
Of title-seeking heiresses.
Eat the time of my brothers expose she
had two sons in the army. q daughter mar
ried to an officer and another engaged to
one. 1t is thought that they knew nothing
sons went to South Africa"
HOW THE NET rs SPREAD.
In Berlin. 30 says Baroness Won Muench.
hansen. are three houses, apparently of the
highest r~espectability and expensive places
In which to live, which are known to the
city authorities to be marriage bureaus.
In each one of these little hotels. or
boa-rding-houses. the hostess made a bid for
the patronage Of wealthy Americans with
manageable daughters.
Their houses arc frequented by some Of
the nobility and by handsome guardsmen,
and any marriages arranged between the
American patrons and these i~mpecunious
men are put upon q brokerage basis.
: A stipulated percentage Of the dot must be
handed over to the manager Of the house.