Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-08-05
First of the Humbert Family
Out of Jail.
WHAT NEXT ASKS PARIS
REVIEW OF WORLDS MOST IA
NOUS swINDLINa CASE.
Prison Life Of the Curious Heirs to the
Mythical Crawford's Myth
cal Millions.
Special Correspondence Of The Star.

| Special Correspondence Of The Star.
| PARIS. July %. 1905.
One of the highcst-class French swinders
ever known has Just been released from the
Fresnes prison near Paris. Roman Dau-
/ rignac the brilliant brother Of Therese
Humbert. has paid his part of the penalty
for borrowing SSO.0O0.000 on mythical
American Legacy and an empty fire-proof
safe; and all Paris Is beginning to ask:
What will they do next?'
There are those who say the Humberts
| have millions sailed down, and that when
| Therese and her husband Frederic are
purged of their sins against the Insurers of
the gay capital they will emerge trium-
| phant-because those who hold judgments
against them for $lGOO000Ge feel that they
have been sufficiently laughed at. Already
Roman is holding his head high. He has
| written a novel in prison.
| There was never a more typical South
| Of France buffer and sinner Brilliant ex-
| aggeratior. not to say picturesque lying.
| was his birthright The dancing light of
| the vine-ripening sun OF Gascony was in
| his heart When he lived with Therese in
I their palace of the Avenue de la Grande-
| Armee he felt natural passing up and down
it's monumental marble stairway, carpeted
! with heavy moquette. Paintings by the
| great modern masters lined the walls. On
! the second floor there was an immense pal
marium that led to billiard room unique
| In Paris
When the police came down on them for
swindling-after twenty years-they found
| a great gold-plated harp on which Roman
| played and sang like King David: but
| when he giving harp lessons to the
| wife of a saloon keeper of BuenoS Ayres
| he confesses he was just as hopeful and
! happy.
| ba ba3
| to the Argentine straight from Toulouse
| as gentleman adventurer; and there, dur
ing three years he had suffered such hard
| luck that when his sister, when she started
| the great swindle. sent him funds for his
! passage home. 1t took him only three days
| to spend it all in satisfying his long stayed
| appetites. The French liner would have
| started without him had not French ac-
| quaintance. NJ. Forval, who now lives in
| Paris, loaned him the price of a second
| class passage. This loan Roman never
| repaid But he wrote a Boosting book of
his adventures in the Argentine. and
actually got the French Academy to
| crown It.
Roman Joined forces with his sister in
| Paris, just after she had moved into her
| first fine house. in the Rue Fortuny on
| money borrowed from her earliest victims.
| men like Chaperon. the Paris linen mer-
! chant and Dr. Foures of Courson who
| had confidence in the austere responsibility
| of her father-in-law, the law professor and
| statesman Gustave Humbert who had just
| been made minister OF justice.
Vulgarity One Asset.
| Handsome in gypsy way, with coal-black
hair and flashing eyes and teeth. with a
strog Marselles accent, innocent of gram
mar and full of stories of adventure In the
| Argentine, Roman ran riot in his sisters
new luxury. 49,. g.
He had two rooms fitted to his taste and
his past as an explorer They were filled
,r,s$l,
| stands of savage arms, clubs, poisoned ar
| rows shields and knives-all purchased in
| haste from Paris dealers.
1t was at this time that Madame Came
| casse, now Duchess de Tarente. and almost
| the only grande dame still willing to
acknowledge former intimacy with Therese
| Humbert, became friendly with the family
She was all but scandaliZed when her first
velvet with great ostrich plumes of the
same hue hanging from her hat II thought
| she must have come from wedding" says
| the duchess; all the more so because Ro-
main was In evening clothes instead of
frock coat" He soon learned better
| The vulgarity that remained to them
| rather helped them. They Dragged happily
about the great legacy that had been left
| to ThereSe and her sister Maria by the &C.
centric American. Crawford. whom they
limited laughingly had been great admirer
of their mother. They lamented openly the
sacrifice demanded of Maria to espouse one
Of the Crawford sons whom she could not
| love, and they freely gave out news of the
very real law suit waged between them
| selves and the very real lawyers of the
| imaginary Crawfords over the non-per-
formance of compromise by which The
rese and her husband. Frederick became
custodians of the fabulous Crawford fort
une, first, until Maria should come of age
and then until Maria should marry the
younger Crawford or definitely refuse him
You Will remember the story. They had
! hundred million in gilt-edged securities in
| their famous freproof safe but they did
not dare touch them lest the Crawfords
| use the fact against them, and the law
| suits over the compromise continued all
| ways Money was needed to carry on the
| law suits. and it would have been foolish
indeed, for the beneficarieS of so many
millions in the end to haggle over a little
| usuriOus interest.
| The first considerable loan from a bank
was made in 1883 by Laleu of Cambria, and
| the same bank continued loaning them
| money almost to the end.
| Il came into relations with the Humberts
| through another banker, who was after
| ward condemned for malversation." tells
M Laleu. AT first l loaned them only
500 l asked for references, went my
| self to the Rue Fortuny. When | hesitated
| Therese asked me to see her father-in-law.
| Gustave Humbert. The latters. position in
| srired me with such confidence that |
marched. 1 am in to the tune of three
| Millions"
When asked what part Roman Daurinac
| played, the banker lauhed heartily 70
| main was perfect" he answered And |
| ask myself today IL he had not come to
believe the story from force of repeating 1t.
| His superb confidence and naive pride of
| his sisters wealth seems inexplicable other
| wise"
Roulina. the Paris jeweller, had blind
| confidence in Roman, trusting him with
fabulous values Of jewels approval
| which Roman always delivered to Tberese
| and brought back to Roulina with perfect
| honesty. In the end they had given him
| notes for 100000 francs
Dealt With Pawnshops.
| ut was quite natural" Roulina explained
| at the trial when they began their pur-
| chases and loans from me, they explained
| that they were making a serious struggle
| and would be unable to reimburse those