Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-26

Rich man. poor man, beggar man. thief;
doctor, lawyer, merchant, chief; butcher
baker, candlestick maker-au of you, be-
ware Of the blackmailer!
Recent Developments in New York would
seem to show that welI-known brokers and
members of the 400" are by no means
overlooked by the blackmailer. But do
you feel that personally you are in no
danger? That your position among your
fellows is too secure-a blackmailer would
be too shrewd to try to drag you down
from the heights? That your station is too
lowly-such one would not deign to stoop
so far? That you have done nothing in
secret which would murder your good name
were 1t to come to light? That. therefore.
no blackmailer would think of marking
you for a victim?
Blackmailing the Small Fry.
Is this your frame of mind? Yes? Well
There is a certain man whose income Is
not over $500 a year, whose name Is not
known outside the small business circle Of
which he forms a part. who has never made
any particular hit In 1t, and who. IN brief.
is just such a man as goes to make up the
run of the race.
To him year two ago, there came
a stranger of genteel appearance.
y
II have called to see you about a little per-
sonal matter to which. 1 feel sure, you
will appreciate my calling your attention.
It is this: Could you tell me whether the
statements here set forth are correct%
With that the caller handed to the other
what. to all intents and purposes, was a
proofsheet of an article that had been pre-
pared for publication in the leading news
papers of the city. The business man rec
ognized the styles of type in the headings
and body of the article almost as soon as
he realized that staring him In the face In
cold type was correct and detailed recital
OF an incident in his life that he had taken
particular pains to hide. Pale OF face and
with trembling hand, he read the article
through; then he gasped:
But it would ruin me among my friends
to have this appear in the!
The caller was eXcruciatingiy cool.
LAS to the effect it would produce. you
are the better judge" he said politely.
IAN am interested In knowing Is whether
what we have ascertained is true?
"Of course" he went on, as the other hes
itated to answer. If you say that the In
formation contained in the article Is not
true, that is the end of it. If, on the other
hand. it is true-wel, If you prefer not 10
have the public get hold of the information,
daresay that can. be arranged quite easily.
In fact we are not anxious to put you in
this light before your friends But We have
been at some expense preparing the articie;
If you would care to defray the expense-!'
Held Him Up lot YoO.
1t turned out to be $50 With a. sigh OF
relief the business man handed over that
sum and put his name to receipt which
explicitly stated that the money had been
paid to defray in full expenses to which
the holder had been put in the giver's be-
half; and bidding his victim good-day, the
blackmailer departed to intimidate the next
victim on the list by sticking under his nose
q proof of an escapade in his hfe
For nearly three years this man worked
this game, weekly bleeding several victims
OF the inconspicuous type described. he
would probably be at the game today but
for an attack of heart disease which caused
him to be gathered to his fathers. During
all the time he levied blackmail 1t Is doubt
full whether his income was ever less than
$3.50 q week, gathered in sums varying
from $25 to $50. according to the money
value he placed beforehand on each OF his
victims not one Of whom could truthfuily
give testimony that the article mad peen
prepared for publication in the -. In
fact, 1t had not. The blackmailer stood
in" with a struggling printer. who set up
and printed the articles in the style OF the
-, and when a victim saw proof.
he at once recognized the style of type and
Jumped to the conclusion that unless he
stopped 1t the article would appear in the
- forthwith.
Blackmailing the Innocent.
8. k1s
that numbered among its members the
social elect # city In the middle west
Mrs. B. was an aspiring social climber. and
she recognized that If she could secure for
herself the presidency Of the club her posi-
ton In society would not longer be a mat
ter of conjecture.
Mrs. A. s term would not expire for nearly
a year That was too long to walt. Mrs
A. must be forced to resign. and resign IN
II nipy 60 n a
tie speech, perhaps. in which she would
plead Ill health. But how to force her TO
do so?
That was the puzzle until Mrs. B. recalled
to mind that in Mrs. AS girihood, when
she was at boarding school, she had car,
ried on what the other girls OF the schooi
had called a mad Irritation with young
man Of the town. Mrs. B., counting on the
well-known feminine trait OF treasurihg
all letters Of a love-like nature. and the
careless habit of a writer of love letter
not to date 1t, set out to secure package
of the epistles which had been written 10
Mrs. A. ten years before by the young man.
BY what means she was successful DO
not know-suffice it to say that she got hold
of a score or more of letters In which the
customary expressions or youthful love ana
affection were used-nothins more But the
great and alI-important thing was. they
were undated, and with no date line they
read as If they had been written but yes
terday!
Began Dropping Hints at the Club.
And straightway Mrs. b. began dropping
hints In the club and elsewhere-hints that
she could deny with apparent innocence
were they tracked back 10 her-about an
attachment between the president OF the
club and a certain young fellow everybody
who was anybody knew. Naturally. gossip
took the hints up and developed them, so
that it was not long before Mrs. A. became
aware of the malicious gossip sentering
about her name.
In her dilemma she sought her husband
and explained the situation to him. She had
shrewdiy guessed that the letters had been
stolen. and a hasty search had confirmed
her suspicious. He advised patience-there
was noIhing else to do, for Mrs. Il. had
covered up her trail very adroitly, and
neither husband nor wife suspected her.
So the contest narrowed itself down to
which could stand the suspense the longer.
Several weeks passed. still Mrs. A. showed
no inclination to break down under the
strain Another month-and Mrs. b. IS pa
thence gave way. She made an Informal
call on her victim and during the course of
her stay, innocently and laughingly asked
If the other had any idea of resigning the
presidency of the club owing to the mean
things thag were being said about her and