The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1905-03-30
MARRN GANG FLED ON YACHT?
WHICH rs NOW OFF LIVERPOOL,
POSTAL INSPECTORS SAY.
Sophie Beck Planned This Mode Of Escape
and stocked the Vessel for Three
neutrality-suspicious. Cran sighted on
MISUNDERSTANDING Made Contract.

bupUf hNfh NlullVNN LUIS WNAV VI NbNANN
and stocked the Vessel for Three
MOnths-NlystrriOu Cran Sighted on
LlyerpOOl-SWindlers Made Contract.
PHILADELPHIA. March 20 Tho post
office inspectors who have been running
down the get-rich-quick swindlers here
declare that Sophie Beck the woman who
had most Of the brains Of the gang. Is now
on an ocean going yacht, beating about
unfamiliar harbors and endeavoring to
reach London. With her, they say, are a
number Of the missing men responsible
for the rise and fall Of the Storey Cotton
Company and the Provident Investment
Bureau. She led them 70 tho yacht and she
u trying TO pilot them to safety
Information Of the presence Of the yacht
near Liverpool was received by the local
authorities to-day in a cablegram. 1t was
Suspicious yacht mysterious men and
q woman ON board, believed 10 be crowd
wanted in Philadelphia, outside Liverpool.
Watching"
BY n curious coincidence too, Receiver
Broadly Of the Storey concern received
from the Liverpool branch OF the house
a check for $500. This will be added TO
the assets Of the firm. The Liverpool
branch bad parted with the coin before the
exposure came.
When the crash came the inspector
learned that it was Sophie Beck who had
planned the campaign for the escape
Of everyone wanted in connection with the
conspiracy, mapped ont the escape Of all
her confederates. gathered tlOOO.OuO Of
the funds Of the Storey Cotton Company
Of which she acted as stenographer, and
then vanished.
They lea ned all that. but they failed
20 learn how Sophie Beck had managed TO
elude them. And when the inspectors
went 10 hunt for Frank G. Marin, alias
sJudge' Franklin Stone and some Of the
other men who are charged with being
implicated in the conspiracy, they failed
90 find them or 10 learn how they had es-
capped.
Then they were tipped OF that a yacht
had figured in the disappearance and they
Immediately sent warning to the English
police The cabegram to-day ia their
first answer It now appears that Sophie
Beck secured yacht somewhere, far from
Philadelphia. had it brought into the New
York harbor, had it wait there until she
gathered her little band Of Confederates
together, and then set sail for Europe. One
of the inspectors said tonight that Sophie
Beck had laid her plans for escape so care
fully that she even stocked the yacht with
provisions to last three months or more.
Another phase Of the situation WAS voiced
tonight by Receiver Mclean Of the Provi-
dent Bureau. we have just come into
information, he said, (which leads Us to
believe that the Storey and Provident
concerns were only a part Of huge con- I
spiracy and that it, operations covered I
only a small part Of a field which was de- |
signed to embrace the whole country.
Our informant is man who was formerly I
with one Of the allied concerns. /
lie has told us Of the existence Of a written /
n greement which is in the possession Of
friend Of Francis and Marin and other /
leaders Of the enterprise.
a written agreement was drawn up and !
igned by all. The possibility that any
ne Of the companies might he prose cuted :
ly the authorities made it inadvisable TO
Rave copies Of the contract where Fed
rral officials might fall upon them. Only
G. ne copy was therefore made and It was
given in charge Of man known TO all whose
trust worthiness could he relied upon.
This man. whose identity was given us
by our informant, We have seen. We de-
handed that he produce the agree ment, but .
he denied having such a document in his .
possession or knowing anything about it,
We believe that he has it, and we are now .
as to whether legal steps can .
bc taken against him for its recovery.
There is no e idencs that he was actually .
implicated in the swindles. We expect to .
have the paper in two or three days Then
thore will be many arrests and what has
gone before will be eclipsed entirely"
Another thing that developed was that
on the books Of the Provident Company
thsre was a special list Of ministers W, H, /
l.atimer, against whom two warrants have
been issued charging him with being the
promoter OF the concern evidently intended /
10 make a specially Of preachers Several .
had been communicated with and had /
invested some Of their money before the
crash came.
WIlKEsBARRE Pa. March GA war
rant has been issued by United States }
Commissioner Hahn Of this city for the ar
rest OF Handsome Harry" Iatimer OF the /
Provident Investment Company Of Phila- /
delphia. II charges him with using the !
ails for fraudulent purposes and was /
worn out by Post Office Inspector John V, ,
Hobby. Hobby and two other officers ,
have been securing this part OF the State /
and are pretty well convinced now that /
Iatiner il not near this CITY