The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1903-05-31
MAY HAVE BEEN CHANCE, hut
A Letter to He Translated Hard on the
Heels or . Translator Out OF Job.

Heels or . Translator Out OF . Job.
we got started the other day on what
looked like new swindle. said post office
inspector, "but nothing came Of IL because
the man who told us Of 1t refused to back
it up should it come to showdown.
"A machinery manufacturer in down
town street came to us and said he thought
he had been swindled. A young man Of
good appearance had called on him and
introduced himself az translator Of Span
ish and Portuguese. He suggested that
the manufacturer must receive a number
Of letters from Spain and other foreign
countries and that he would need some one
to translate them.
As matter OF fact the manufacturer
doesn't get an order from foreign country
more than once year, and he was rather
tickled that the young man should think
that he did an extensive business. So
when the young man suggested that the
manufacturer could help him out by giving
him any foreign letters that needed trans
lating, the manufacturer said that he would
be glad to. The young man left his name
and address and went away profusely
thankful.
About three days later the manufac-
turer got seventeen page letter from
Havana written in Spanish. He studied
the letter for some hours wondering what
it could mean and them calling to mind
the young man, sent for him. He turned
the letter over TO him. told him to translate
1t and send In the bill Tho young man
made the translation in very short time
and brought 1t back with q bill for $40
attached.
As the manufacturer read the transla-
ton he became nightly pleased. The
letter p,nported to come from a Spaniard
who had contracts for but lding big bridge.
The job was one OF considerable Importance
and the Spaniard wanted to know how
much iron would be needed. what It would
cost. where he could get it, what he would
have to pay for the machinery and the best
way OF getting Y to Cuba
As the mantlfac turer waded through the
letter he thought he saw a great light.
Considering the size Of the job, the writer
seemed to be very ignorant Of the ms and
would naturally be used, were missing,
and there were other things about the letter
which made the manufacturer suspicious.
After ponderink for some time he de-
cided that there was something more than
who could translate Spanish for a COM
pensation, and the arrival Of the letter from
Cuba. The more he thought over the thing
the hotter he became and finally he landed
in here with his complaint.
we looked up the young man and found
that he had deskroom In an ONCE building
near Wall street. He got very little mail
and apparently his business wasn't very
prosperous.
We saw that il he was swindler we
would have hard job in catching him,
and we asked the manufacturer II he would
prosecute II we found out that his little
transaction with the young man was ir-
regular. By that time ne had cooled down.
He announced that he had refused to pay
the bill, wasn't out anything. and, there
fore, didn't want to be put to any unneces-
sary trouble.
THAT put an end to our investigation, as
We would have no complainant even II We
did make out case against the young fell
low. We waited for some one else to come
along and kick on the same thing. but so far
there has been nothin' dom. The young
man may have been all right and perfectly
honest. but the thing didn't look good on the
face Of it,"