Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1903-09-19
A. L. MCGOWAN, Who Worked
Merchants on Fake Adyer
Using, In Custody
FOUND AT ST. PETER, MlNN.
Promoted the Home Talent Production
of "onIy a Gamblers Daughter"
Here Last Spring, and Skipped Out
After Securing Money for Program
Advertising.

C. w. MCGOWAN. smooth CRATER
working fake advertising scheme
who swindled business men of this city
last May to the extent of about $50. by
advertising III a prograr1, was biough!
to the city this morning by Sheriff r
j. Shoemaker who located the man al
ST. Peter, Mimi, and instructed officers
there to arrest him. MCGOWAN is in
jail, awaiting his preliminary hearing
MCGOWAN, who is man about sc
years OF age. worked an old advertising
scheme, and how he ever managed to
get the confidence of the business men
so cleverly is a mystery. usua ly, in
placing advertisements in programs,
merchants do not pay until the pro-
grams are printed and their advertise
nents shown to them. In this case,
however, MCGOWAN was smooth elough
to set some of his money in advance.
He never had the programs printed,
and left with the money.
MCGOWAN came to the city early in
May and looked up the officers of the
Retail Clerks Protective Associat ion.
He presented a proposition to them to
put on home talent siiow, but before
action Was taken by the association a
was called. and the proposal
put before the entire body. McCowan,
who said he always Went by his pro-
fessional name, c. W. Mack. met with
the clerks and outlined his plans. He
represented that he was at the head OF
a theatrical company of twenty-five
people, and that he would put on at the
Odeon, assisted by home talent, and
under the auspices of the association a
stirring s.eio- drama, Only Gam
bier's Daughter" The piece had never
failed to be a drawing card in other
cities and with a loca, organization
back OF the production it could not help
but prove a great attraction. Mack
was very liberal In his terms, slnd it
was this bait that caught the unsus-
pecting clerks. He offered to stand all
the expense of the production himself,
and would give the organization 10 per
cent of the gross receipts for two
rights. The show was to have been
put on for two nights, May is and 10.
and was so advertised The perform
ance was never given, but no exIlana
ton was made at the time, furthe' than
to say that the plans had fallen thru
The real explana ton was that Mack,
the promoter. had skipped, and the
clerks realized that he had no COM
pany, and never intended giving a
show.
L. ,t.,x
that Mack had left the city. business
men who had taken space in the elabo-
rate program he was having prepared
wondered where they were going to get
any returns from their investment. The
more they looked into the matter the
palmer 1t was that the money had been
thrown away. Roy Moffett, president of
the clerks association, took immediate
action. and filed an information t,harg-
ing MCGOWAN with the crime cf OBJ
tanning money under false. pretenses.
The warrant was placed in the hands
OF Sheriff Shoemaker, and he has been
working on the case all summed. Nc
Cowan was located once, in Minnesota
but delayed telegram. to Sheriff
Shoemaker. did not permit him 10 get
a reply back to Minnesota in time to
secure the mans arrest. 1t Seems, that
MCGOWAN found Minnesota good
field, and has been working st. Peter
with the same scheme. He has served
two thirty-day sentences in tina. city
and had only been out of jail a short
time when turned over to the sheriff
MCGOWAN will be arraigned before
Justice Clark some time this after
noon.