The Savannah morning news., 1904-12-04

ignorant and illiterate among the inn
migrants is simply incredible to a
man of average business intelligence.
They will not trust their money to the
money order branch of the United
states postotfice. They believe that
when it goes through that mysterious
window it will never come out again.
Likely enough, their experience of
government methods and government
off1cials in Europe has not been happy.
Then, too, they do not know English
ana so cannot make their wishes
known to the money order clerk, or fill
the necessary forms. But they are
quite willing to trust the banker"
whom they can see face to face, the
man who speaks to them and writes
10 them in their own tongue, and who
seems to know exactly what they
want.
Here is a typical case which illus
trates the rise and progress of one of
these men. The other day an Austrian
named Kaiser, allowed out on bail by
a New York Judge on a charge of de-
frauding countryman, forfeited bis
bond and fed from American juris-
diction with fortune
Less than a year before he was
working as a laborer for IS a week
Then he became a runner for an i'm
migrants boarding house. and, being
a clever rogue, soon realized that he
might make money as a banker"
lie took tiny room on the second
floor of ramshackle East Side tene-
ment. and hung out his shingle. He
was in business for eight months, and
during that time he never RENTED
across the ocean a single dollar he re-
ceived. AS the result he was able to
take more than $4,000 with him when
he fed. He could not even have been
brought into court here had he not
branched out into another and more
dangerous line of crime-trying TO
swindle a fellow countryman by means
of fraudulent partnership.
The Frauds Are Hard to Prove.
1T is most difficult to run down
these cases and punish the guilty
parties" said Ignatius weltner.
prominent New York lawyer, who has
interested himself keenly in the frauds
at the request of the Austrian consul
general. 1T is almost impossible to
obtain legal proof on which a court
Will convict. The only thing to do,
as the law stands at present. is to
trap the alleged banker In some way,
or frighten him into an admission of
guilt.
Frequently. the man who says that
he has paid over the money, and that
his people on the other side have not
received it, has not even got a receipt
to show. II is simply case of his
word against the other mans Even
II he has the receipt, the banker
swears that he duly forwarded the
money. and how are you going to
prove II was not lost in transit?
Il was talking about a particularly
fragrant case with three laymen the
other day and they all exclaimed,
why. II ought to be the easiest thing
in tho world 10 railroad the scamp to
the penitentiaryl' told them l didn't
believe II was possible, but they could
not see why so asked them to come
with me to the district attorneys Of
fee.
81 laid the case before an assistant
district attorney, in their presence.
and he listened patiently. II was a
case I'm which dozens OF men COM
planned that they had been swindled
by the same person. They had their
receipts 10 show. and letters from the
people TO whom they had tried TO re-
init, saying that the money had not
arrived, after many months OF walt
ing for II.
Guiits, hut Unpublished.
when I had finished. the assistant
district attorney turned to me and
said
"Of course. the man is guilty: but
YOU know as well o. / do that there
IL no case with which to 80 into court
You know that n ! were prosecuting
H. and you were defending. you would
flmplay play football with a. Sup
pose even that you could bring the