The Savannah morning news., 1903-10-13
BEGGARS WORTH
100000 ARRESTED.

"BI1nkie" and Dear Friends"
Known to Have Become wealthy
at Aims Getting.
From the New York Herald.
"Blinkie' and Dear Friends" two of
the -Wealthiest and most troublesome
professional beggars in the country,
were arrested by John E. Godfrey and
Thomas F. Hayes of the Charity Or
ganization Society yesterday 1t is
known that the two men are worth at
least $4,000, the fruits of nearly forty
years of shrewd aims getting.
Dear Friends" who is Sc years old.
and whose right name is William
Vaughn, has more than $4,000 in
Brooklyn banks and in real estate, and
"Blinkie," who is about the same age
as Vaughn, is known to be at least as
wealthy
"Binkie" has been a beggar in Wall
street and the financial district for
twenty years. Ten years ago, he col
lected large sums of money going about
among the wealthy men, telling a sad
story about the loss of his eye and
asking for money to get an artificial
one.
He is a clever letter writer, and OBJ
tanned many greenbacks and checks by
writing to we'll known men in the big
buildings down town, telling them that
he had formerly been the engineer or
janitor of the building and had lost his
eye in his position. ..
After he obtained the eye he made a
practice of going into offices with trem-
ulouS voice, as if weak with hunger,
taking the glass eye from its socket
and offering to pawn it for rs cents,
for a morSel of food"
In the office of the Charity Organiza-
ton Society, there is stock of docu-
ments relating to "Blinkie" from which
a calling list of the wealthiest and most
aristocratic people of New York might
tsl made. There are letters written by
"Blinkie" for assistance and inquiries
sent by the recipients of the letters to
various charitable institutions asking
for information. Among those who
have been touched by "Blinkie IS" crafty
appeals are f. Prentice Parmelee, John
D. Rockefeller's sOn-in-law; Adrian
Iselin, Percy r. Pine and a score of
others
An official of the Charity Organiza-
ton, Society said yesterday that
"Blinkie's" knowledge of the wealthy
people of the city was astonishing. He
knows all about their families. their
church relations, their clubs, their
families, their church relations, their
clubs, their country homes, their close
friends, and makes good use of all this
information.
"Blinkie" during recent years has
extended his operations over wild
er area and has not tried to use the
same benefa ctor more frequently than
once in two wears. For a year or
more he has had three partners, known
as ,"Sly Tim who has one arm,
The Dog Faced Man. and an old
time beggar known as "Ex-Cop" and
'ExM Mail Carrier"
The four have been dividing their
earnings during the last year, and it
was through a quarrel and dissolution
of partnership that "Blinkie" was ar
rested in Macdougal street yesterday
He will be arraigned in the Tombs
Police Court to-day, and while six
months is the maximum sentence for
begging and vagrancy, continued eff
forts will be made to keep him off
the streets and compel him to live
on his income.
Dear Friends was arrested on a
Houston street ferryboat yesterday
morning and made a scene in the Es-
sex Market Police Court when Mag
istrate Barlow gave him a six months
sentence. Vaughn is a powerfully built
man, and when picked up was hob
bing around on crutches and wearing
heavy green goggles
Hung about his neck was a huge
placard, in a glass frame, worn and
weather beaten. He has carried this
same frame, hung on leather straps,
for nearly forty years, and it has
brought him a fortune. Inscribed in
English and German is this legend:
Dear Friends. Ladies and Gentle
men-I have been cripple for many
weary years unable to perform man
nal Ia hor I + mako fhic
peal for your patronage.
To the lower edge of the frame is
attached an old sardine box. which
has held thousands of dollars in coins.
When VAUGHN was taken into court
yesterday he hobbled along on crutches
and slammed blindness, but when he
heard the six months sentence pro-
nounced he flung his crutches to one
side, threw off his goggles and storm
ed vehemently. He had been out of
the Kings. County Penitentiary only a
short time.