The Savannah morning news., 1904-02-03
BOY SWINDLER
A PITIFUL SIGHT
SAID HE NEEDED A DOCTOR.
HAD HIS HEAD BANDAGED AND
WAS CRYING IN SEEMING PAIN.


the Train with Detective Frank
WaII-Says He Was Put Up to All
His SvindIing Games by n Man
Named II. ID. Lawson, Better
Known as "Beautiful Billiards"
Will BE Given n Hearing To-day.
Harry Miller, lying on a pallet
In a cell at the police station yester-
day, with a cotton bandage around his
head. a perfect picture of misery
made the positive assertion that in his
swindles perpetrated in Savannah he
was aided and abetted by man by the
name OF R. d. Lawson, known as
Beautiful Billiards"
Whether the idea was from the lurid
pages of a dime novel. or not it is
certain that the youngster did not
falter in his description of the man
who he said gave him the informa-
ton that made it possible for him to
tell such straight stories to the Sa-
vannah merchants. who were caught
by his plausible stories.
When a Morning News reporter met
Detective Frank Wall, and young Mil
Ter at the Union Station Yesterday
morning. when they got off the train
from Jacksonville. in many cases De-
tective Wall would have been taken
for the guardian of the youngster. He
was neatly dressed. and bore himself
with precision as he walked out of the
station and across the street to res
taurant. There were no staggering
gestures of a self made hero about
him. He handled the handsome grip
he had gotten from a Savannah mer-
chant with perfect ease of manner and
pulled his long coat snuggly up around
his throat as he walked out into the
cool air.
His Head Was Bandaged.
When seen at the station house he
presented an entirely different picture.
He had not even pulled off his over
coat, but was lying at full length on
blanket on the floor of the cell. When
a reporter stepped into the cell he
raised himself on his elbow, and put
his hand to his bandaged head as if in
pain. He seemed to have been sleep
ing, but he soon commenced crying. Il
am in such pain" he said
Il
physician be sent to him so that his
head, which he said was paining him
dreadfully, might be attended to.
when l was in Atlanta some time
ago." he said. "a negro hit me on the
head with brick, and since that time
il has given me considerable trouble.
While ! was in st. Augustine l had a
physician to examine it, and he said
that an operation was necessary. Ac-
cording to his statement, a piece of the
skull was pressing down against the
brain. and until this is removed l will
suffer from it,
The young swindler is a decidedly
handsome chap. He has ruddy cheeks,
small black eyes and a nose slightly in
clined to retrousse. He is small for
the age of IA, but is well formed, and
when he dons the brown crush hat and
long box coat he looks the part of a
wealthy mans son.
He said that he was sure that he
could find the man who was the cause
of all his trouble. II can't tell just
where he is to be found" the juve-
nile said. but l know he hung out
around Cad Bryans place. l met him
on the Ogeechee road several days ago,
and he told me what to say to the
merchants. l was going to get him
a watch as soon as 1 got my clothes.
but when they found out what l was
doing, he said that the best thing
for me to do was to go to Florida, and
that he was going to Jacksonville. and
that l could go along with him. At
Jacksonville he gave me the letter
to the hotel people in st. Augustine.
AS long as had it l saw no objections
to using it so that l might get board
at the hotel. He got me in to all of
this trouble and 1 wish l was dead"
Buried Face in Blanket.
lie sobbed bitterly as he buried his
face in the dark blankets, and his
anguish seemed to be real. He said
that his half brother had paid him a
visit during the morning. and had re-
fused to have anything more to do with
him.
The police took a picture of Miller
during the day. The boy says his
father travels for a North Carolina
house. but did not know the name.
He said he had been in Savannah about
two weeks, coming here from Atlanta,
where he stopped over a day or two.
In the opinion of the police he is one
of the shrewdest youngsters that has
ever free lanced it over the country.
He does not incline to the lower class
of literature as is usually the case
with boys who have tendencies to out
lawry, but prefers such authors as
Shakespeare. When asked he said
lA4eil Ills AdNOIll6 DOOh was Hamlet,
and when questioned he really exhib-
tied a complete knowledge of a num-
Der of Shakespeare's plays.
The letter which was written to the
proprietor of the Ponce De Leon Ho-
tel at ST. Augustine, purportng to be
from Banker Taliferro of Tampa, was
cleverly executed. The police have
no doubt that this letter was written
by the boy swindler himself, as it is
known that he is a stenographer of
some ability.
Would Not Let Him in Corridor.
When asked why he would not let
the boy out in the hall the turnkey
on duty said. "Ah,' have had expe-
rience with these boys. This one is one
of the shrewdest we have had to deal
with yet. He was over here with that
boy Herman that is in Jail now Her
man is smaller than he is, but he could
pick one of these Yale locks the same
as If he had key. I dare not trust
him out for l am afraid he would get
a chance at the lock and make his es-
cape.
The boy swindler will be given a
hearing before the Recorder this morn
ing, and if those who suffered through
his swindling games push the cases
against him he will probably be re-
manded to the City Court. In the
event these cases are not pushed the
authorities of st. Augustine have re-
quested that he be sent back there so
that they can handle him for the swim
dies he perpetrated.