The Irish standard., 1904-12-17
TWO ADVENIURESsES,

|
semblance between the doings of Mrs.
Cassie l.. Chadwick and Madame
Humbert. The parallel is close be-
tween the French Gascon Mile. Daurig-
nae and the daughter Of IL Canadian
farmer, Betty Bigley. Both were of
the farmer class, and carried through
life Il sort Of innocent rusticity that
disarmed suspicion. Their PERSONAL
ties are different, but their schemes
of securing money are based upon the
same human frailties. Madame Hum
bert, as a wife and mother, was an eX-
emplary woman, while there are sew
eral chapters in the life of Mrs. Chad
wick which might be headed Mrs.
Hoover, Madame De We're and Mrs
Bastedo that would not bear inspec-
ton. She, however, later contracted
an honorable marriage which aided
her materially in furthering her specu-
lations. For the victims of Mrs. Chad
wick there can be little sympathy.
They went into the shady business
knowing the scandalous background,
and lured on by the promise of usury
and personal gain. 1t would be inter-
esting to know whether or not Mrs.
Chadwick copied her ideas from
Madame Humbert, but probably she
did not, for her criminal career, if the
stories now going the rounds of the
press are in any respect true, COM
menced in her girlhood. AS Betty
Bigley, she had printed on her cards,
"Heiress to $15,O0O," and with this
simple device was actually able to
borrow Il few hundred dollars. Mad
anne Humbert in her girlhood was not
an "heiress," but had contracted
wealthy marriage, but the subsequent
schemes of the two women, although
much alike, show the French woman
the more intellectual. Mrs. Humbert
managed to have her alleged millions
tied up by litigation. The litigants
were all imaginary persons and thus
the better situated to secure a writ of
court locking up millions of securities
in a safe in one of the office buildings
Of Paris. Everything was imaginary,
excepting the safe. When creditors
became impatient, Madame Humbert
could at least show them the safe and
assure them that the result Of litiga-
ton would soon open the safe and
make her the possessor Of millions.
The safe was finally opened and dis
closed couple of collar buttons. In
| this respect also Madame Humbert
differed from Cassie. Cassie had the
papers in box, but what great
chance she ran in attempting to get a
reputable business man to certify to
the eXistance of these securities. 1t
will be very hard for most men to be-
lieve that Iri Reynolds, the man who
attached his name to a certificate GER
tifying that these securities were in
existence and were genuine, was free
from criminal fault. Madame Hum
bert took no such chances. 1t was not
necessary for her to secure the help
of any business man or banker. Her
ltigants, her securities were all ina
ginary, and here she displayed the SUI
perior genius. The mystery in the
background is what enabled these
women to work upon the hard-headed
men Of finance. Madame Humberts
ltigants were ashamed to come for
ward because Of their shame for the
source from which the millions were
derived, the treason Of Marshal Bal
zaine. Mrs. Chadwick told the avari-
cious bankers, who were her dupes
that she was the illegitimate daugh-
] ter of andrew Carnegie, the "Steel
King" and she was thus able to secure
untold wealth for the mere asking
But here again the Chadwick scheme
was inferior to Madame Humbert's,
for Il two-cent postage stamp proper
ly directed would have brought the in
formation from Mr.. Carnegie that
would have disclosed the whole fraud
ulent scheme. OF course, the hard
part Of this species of crime is the
loss and suffering which it entails up
OH innocent third parties. There will
be scant sympathy among the aver
age people for the bankers, money
lenders and able lawyers who were
victimized by Mrs. Chadwick. The
lesson to be learned from such es-
capades us Mrs. Chadwick's and
Madame Humbert's are frightfully
simple and commonplace. Every man
should understand that when he is
asked to part with his money without
seeing or understanding where it is
going, that this is sure badge of
fraud. None of the people who were
asked to make immense loans to Mrs.
Chadwick seemed to have had any
curiosity to know anything of her past
or to insist on an explanation why
woman with an annual income of over
three-fourths of million of dollars
should need such large loans. I'm
usual pains were taken to verify the
signature a Iri Reynolds, the GUS
todian of the securities, but no one
asked Mr. Carnegie as to the genuine
ness of his sigma tures Tbns +ro;no7