The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1903-01-12
.BLACKMAILERS SET
SAIL FOR THE OLD
COUNTRY
Men Who Made Use of Girls
Letters Written 25 Years
Ago to Actor Montague
Embark for Europe
Gushing Epistle of a
Woman Now Marriedto a
United States Senator.

New York, JAN 1O.-To Archibald
Mahon. St. Paul, Mimi: Victor La
Prix, James Osborne and William
"The news contained in this tele-
gram,' said Detective Afahon, who re-
ceived it, yesterday, Fsshows that an
end has been put to one of the cIev-
crest criminal scheme ever concocted
IN the country. I refer to the use.
made by b1ackrnailerS of the letters
written twenty-five or thirty years
ago by young girls in New York city
to Harry Montague, the handsome So
ciety actor and matinee idol.
THE story of the affair, as publish
ed in t h e Globe Sunday morning,
was substantially correct, except that
the letters We're recovered and burn
ed & week ago.
La Prix, Osborne and Simpson We're
I the men who used the letters and
could have been tried for biackmail.
However, it was not public policy to
bring them to justice. Their wings
have been clipped. They have left the
United States, and the police of for
elgn countries have been notified of
their character and their record. They
can dc no further damage.
IL they had been arrested, tried and
convicted, as they deserved a public
scandal would have been the result.
The writer's of the letters are the
wives of some of the most noted men
in the country. Many of them have
daughters just growing into woman
hood
While no sensible person would re-
gard the letters as a disgrace, vet it
would be nightly unpleasant for these
families to have the matters come out
in a trial
member it, here are the words of a
letter signed by girl who is now
the wife of a United States senator:
Adored His Mustache.
"oh, Mr.. Montague, how I would
love TO meet you You are simply
adorable on the stage. You are not
only q good actor, but you are more
OF a gentleman than Lester Wallac!x
And then, your mustache and curly
hair. They are simply divine
Now, as matter of fact. there is
nothing wrong. in this letter. There
IS not even the intention of wandering
but the staid senator's wife would not
like to have her daughter know what
she wrote when she WAS single.
There were three men who decided
the fate of the bIackmailer-on from
New York, one from Denver, and the
third from ST. Paul. They decided that
II was Inc pGSL lIllIlS IOf The QuDl1c H.
terest of the country that the men go
free with their wings clipped, so that
they could do no more harm. They
refused to prosecute and so we officers
could do nothing but let them 60 We
saw that they left the country, after
giving up all the letters, and notified
the foreign police of their coming. That
was all we could do.
Nov, a word as to the men. La
PrlX is tall, courtly Frenchman, with
the mannerS--borns to him, l fancy-
of an ariStocrat. He speaks several
languages and is at home in all So
ciety. He lives at the best hotels in
the country and has been put up at
several of the noted clubs. For the
last year, however, he has been too
much addicted to the use Of 8bsinthe.
osborne and Simpson are rogues
OF more common sort They each
have good education, but neither
one bears the earnarks of gentle
man. 1t was for La PriX to formulate
the schemes for blacknlail and for his
two companions to carry them out.
Trapped by Decoy Letters.
TT was owing to "a remark which
La Prix made in a swell saloon in
Minneapolis, while he was under the
influence of absinfhe, which led to the
detection of the men. Decoy letters
We're used, and when we confronted
the men we had documents which we
had secured in their rooms which
made the case hopeless for them.
La PriX took the matter coolly and
agreed to give up all the letters he
had and leave the country He said
ne and his companions had made at
least 100000 out Of the letters in the
last ten years. They declared that
they had been used before they came
into their hands by another gang of
blackmailers. They did not know how
much the Others had obtained, but
thought the amount might have been
large.
Neither of the three men, so far as
know, is known to the police in any
of the large cities. / believe they have
worked no other graft but blacknail.
In that they have been successful be-
cause of the fear the persons who had
been blackmailed had of publicity
Had it not been for the pluck of
the st. Paul woman and her husband,
The men might have continued their
operations successfully for years. The
New York and Denver people also en-
tered heartily into the plan for prose-
cutlon They wished to avoid pub
llcity, If possible, but wanted to have
the letters destroyed at all costs.''
Mr.. Mahon is the superintendent of
an Eastern detective agency. He has
had two men working with him in ST.
Paul and Minneapolis, but has not
called on the local police for assist
ance.