Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1903-08-24

the presence OF All three When Maria
should become the bride Of Crawford
the whole sum should be her dowry,
All these things had been done, but the
CrawfOrds were remlss I'm some de-
tail Therefore, October 81, 1895, the
liumherts obtained a legal summons on
the 'Crawf0rds' to obllge them to exec
cute their agreements II was actually
served on Crawford az Paris hotel.
ANA a Crawford visited Maitre Par
mentler IN llgyre aud entrusted to him
the legal handling Of the Crawford
interests. Thus the Crawford irheri-
lance obtained standing In the courts,
which the swlndlers were careful to
maintain by intermInable litigation. The
'Crawfords' were suing and sued In the
courts, therefore they existed The
Crawfords hagglod only over terms;
they admitted the Crawford wills and
the Crawford coinpromise;' therefore
these existed. These documents dealt
with an inheritance OF $4,000 900,
therefore that existed Nothing could
be thinner than this fabric OF fraud.
yet so cunnlngly was II woven that 1t
deceived Christian and Jew alike, and
few money lenders of France were un-
willing 20 open their Golfers to SO rich
an heress who paid such muniflcent
percentages, The magnificent settling OK
the new story, the $4,000 mansion In
the Avenue de la Grande Armee, bought
in 1856 from the creditors OF Count
Bramcki, who by the transaction,
merely became Therese's creditors. the
laylshness Of the living and entertain
ment, the association OF the highest In
France--all helped to give the fraud an
apparently solid basis of fact, and the
perpetuatiOn of the swlndle by tying
up the inheritance through perfectly
lawful proceedings In the courts was a
stroke Of genius, nothing less. so IL
came about that Therese Humbert, by
borrowing OF Peter to pay Paul and
then paying Paul only enough to make
her credit good for more, was able TO
maintain her position as the rich
heiress and one OF the great ladies' OF
France to the very end. Most of her
operations were conducted In her own
name, but when creditors pressed she
sometimes had recourse 10 that Of lie.
long, in which she secretly maintained
q fiat In the Place Nlntimllle. The bub-
BILE was never more irrldescent than
Just before II burst. On the night OF
May 6, 1902 blazing with jewels, she
occupied her $4,000 box at the opera. one
Of the first In The French republic. on
May 7. 1902, she was a miserable fugi-
tive from Justice. Shrewd to the last
she hid among the great crowds drawn
TO Madrid by King Alfonso's accession,
In Madrid she remained while the pc.
lice OF four continents sought her ana
while the cables were busy reporting
arrests OF suspected persons In many
parts of the world. And whether or not
with the connvance Of the police, IN
Madrid she stayed seven months, until
arrested December 10, 1902.
During her swindling operations,
covering more than twenty years, u IS
estimated that Therese Humbert float
ed paper 10 the amount OF not less than
Si4O 10000 In this enormous figure is
included, Of course, commissions,
bonuses, renewals. transfers, and new
loans 10 pay old ones Her actual In
today Is figured roughly at
above si2. 900 900. Much OF this Is repre-
scented by notes payable after the con-
clusion of my actions-at-law Ten |
creditors dead, either by suicide or as
must be added to the total
OF her responsibility y
How easy is the descent to Ayernus!
The millions the reputation, the glory |
and the glamour. all are gone and In
their place have come poverty disgrace
the dungeon cell, What a marvellous
thing II all wasl How many and how
distinguished were the dupes OF
Madame Theresel 1t is all over and the
past is past. Yet who can but eN-
claim when reading of the truly Won
derful and unique career Of the daugh-
ter OF the broken-down. dreaming
farmer Of Toulouse, Great is Therese
Of the Humbertsl
..-,. ,,rc,oeoI, Land me five |