The Savannah morning news., 1903-08-24
NEW YORK TOPICS
Gossip and Current Comment From the Metrop-
oils
business" to the enterprising notary.
oils.


Many New Workers. have been great
ly interested In the progress OF the
Humbert swindling trial in Paris ever
since II began, fortnight ago, and
many "reminiscences of clever swindles
here have been brought out in con-
| sequence. Here is one that has hith-
erto been imprinted.
| A clever young man, bound to get
on, whatever the cost, desired to in
! terest some millionaires in a big
scheme which he proposed launching.
| In order to impress them properly, he
concluded that he must have offices
| in which to receive them. He, there
| fore, hired a whole floor in a modern
/ building-driVing out two or three
! small tenants-and established him
self in first-class style. He hired three
| stenographers, half a dozen clerks and
a private secretary. He installed a lot
of handsomely carved desk and other
office furniture, including the biggest
safe that could he had, and two
smaller ones. 1t took him two days
to get the safe in and 1t was about
week before everything was in read
mess. Then his to-be victims called
at his request.
| They were greatly impressed by the
air of elegance and hustle that was
| visible about the place. and before
| leaving 1t signed the contracts which
|
| His next move was to discharge his
| employees and disappear, taking the
precaution, however, to notify his
landlords, the owners of the bank,
that he could be reached at a certain
| address In case they should desire to
communicate with him.
He did not remove the furniture or
safes for two very good reasons-Ihrst,
that they weren't paid for, and to
remove them before paying would
have made him crimnally liable; and
| second, that he had no further use for
the chairs. desks, safe, etc. At the
end of the month all hands, including
his landlords, wanted to see him--his
| landlords to get their money, the furni-
| ture folk for a similar reason, and so
on. Though the employees had been
| discharged, they had been paid, and
they alone were not camping on his
| trail.
AS he didn't appear the landlords
and other creditors wrote importunate
letters to him, which he didn't an
swer. A few days later they notified
him that IL he didn't pay up they
should open his safes and take the
securities they contained-securitie
which, as they had been described,
amounted to vast sum of money,
which, in fact, they had seen in bum
dles-and use them to satisfy his in
debtedness.
The letter conveying this notiflca-
ton was also unanswered, and so were
a second and third and a fourth con-
tanning similar notifications.
Then the landlords acted. Sending
to the safe makers, who were, of
\ course. highly interested, they had the
safes opened. Inside they found only
expired insurance policies and a lot of
| I'm IN
bundles of stocks and bonds.
On being notified that his safes had
been forced the young man paid his
UNDERSTANDINGS a visit. He ap-
preached them both in sorrow and in
| anger.
Il am surprised at your action" he
said severely. 1T is true that / have
been dilatorv in paying, but 1 couldn't
help 1t. l got on the wrong side of
the market and my losses were heavy.
A few days ago, however, / managed
to recoup myself and on the very day
you wrote that you had opened my
safes / was coming to pay up. Now.
shall pay nothing. YOU" turning
to the safe and furniture men, 'and
you." to the landlords, may have
your safes, your furniture and your
offices. / don't want them any longer,
and before you prosecute your claims
against me please look up the code
| lou Will zee Dy SeCLlOHS 80 ana so
that, no matter what the provocation,
whoever opens a safe without either
court orders or the permission OF it's
owner is liable in criminal damages.
Begin your prosecution and l shall
start criminal proceedings against you
for breaking open my safes"
Landlords, safe men and furniture
dealers were all dumfounded, but in
clined to dispute his statements. When
they went to their legal advisers, how
ever, they were more nonplussed than
ever. for these gentlemen declared the
clever young man to be quite right
from the technical legal point of view
There are two endings to this story.
One has 1t that there was nothing
more doing; the other that the clever
young man actually made his land
lords pay him quite a sum to stave off
criminal prosecution. This is probably
an overstatement of what actually
happened, but 1t is certain that the
story, as told above, is substantially
true one.
There are few more interesting cur
rent newspaper developments than
that of commercial daily Journalism.
Until a few years ago the daily pa
per devoted solely to general business
news was unknown. There were daily
Price Currents and an occasional
commercial daily, whose publisher
published such items from day to day
as were handed in But there is now in
this town a real, live daily business
newspaper, with chief editor manag-
ing editor city editor, news editor.
and big staff of reporters, corre-
spondents and editorial writer's. all en-
gagged in gathering. presenting and
| commenting on the news of the day in
the business world.
In order to have all the news II
wants this paper takes much that is
Of no value, such as the general press
reports, because they contain much
business news. Moreover, this paper
frequently gets scoops" not only up
on their old-fsshioned rivals of the
Price Current" type. but also upon
the general newspapers of the coun-
try. Moreover. and this is the best
part OF IL, at least for the proprietor
Of the paper. the enterprise is a profit
able one.
There IL no reason I'm the world why
Il should not be. since there are week
lies and monthlies devoted 10 single
lines Of trade and business that pay
enormously, and there Is nothing In
herentiy impossible IN a successful
daily trade journal" yet every news
paper man who learns how successful
this one has proved IA invOluntarliy
forced into an expression Of great sur
prise. Duane.