Los Angeles herald., 1905-04-10
TWO FAMOUS WOMEN
From the Philadelphia Ledger.

From the Philadelphia Ledger.
The revelations in the Chadwick case
tax credulity, and seem to belong to
the domain of fiction. They revive
memories of the Humbert case. When
Nine Humbert was summoned before
the French courts for swindles which
made crimes of address perpetrated
by the famous confidence men and
women who had preceded her appear
like petty offenses, NJ. Coquelin the
famous French actor, said that her
trial would be one of the greatest
dramas in history. Gullibility is not
confined to light hearted Frenchmen,
lulled in confidence by the persuasive
arts of womankind.
The Chadwick affair, while scarcely
approaching in dramatic interests the
Humbert escapade, or rivaling the
latter in the total of losses sustained
by the victims. promises to take high
rank among the adroit swindles that
have astonished the world The cases
are similar In that both of the women
negotiated enormous loans upon myth
ical securities, purporting to represent
value much greater than the sums
secured. lie Grande Therese," as the
French designated Nine. Humbert. pro-
fessed to be entitled to an inheritance
of twenty million dollars, which she
offered as security for loans amount
ing, it is estimated to fourteen million
dollars. She promised to produce the
fictitious brothers Crawford, American
millionaires, on whom she based her
story of the vast inheritance. The
alleged title deeds and securities were
held in a safe, which had been care
fully sealed by the French authorities
without seeing them. Upon these un-
seen documents and forged instruments
as security she secured funds from all
classes-bankerS, usurers, small
traders.
Technical objections to the opening
of the mysterious safe prevailed for
many months. The intricate ma
chiaery of the French courts was skill
fully manipulated by Nine. Hum
bert's lawyers to postpone the newt
able disclosures. Before her downfall
she was generous to fault. The
great men of the republic basked in
her favor. The families of Presidents
Carnot and Faure were intimate with
her, and generals, senators and depu-
ties sat at her table. This patronage
impressed the business world, a fact
which was adroitly used to secure
money from those who are fascinated
by appearances.
Mrs. Chadwick, less brilliant and sue
cessful than Nine. Humbert. and SOON
er caught in the meshes of the law,
has her bundle of fictitious securities,
and, like Mime. Humbert. has Travelled
far by means of a plausible manner.
an unabashed front and sufficient
knowledge of business methods and
the wariness of money lenders to al
lay suspicion and accomplish surpris.
ing results. The resemblance between
these two criminal life dramas is strik-
ing at least in the final scene-an emp
ty safe, securities discovered not to be
worth song, the disappointment and
chagrin Of bankers, supposed to be
shrewd and cautious, the collapse of
fair regulations. and retribution.
1t is difficult to understand how II
has come about that veterans of
finance, trusted and cautious bankers
trained to scan sharply paper offered
to secure small loans. surrendered
hundreds of thousands to Mrs. Chad
wick upon securities whose worthless
ness would have been revealed by an
ordinary investigation. The success
of Mrs Chadwick's forays in the realm
of high finance has its tragic side, but
the story of overConhdence and blind
faith told i'm the current dispatches
constitutes comedy of costly errors
which has few parallels in financial
history. The facility with which this
audacious woman financier relieved the
custodians of money of the treasure
puts the ordinary cracksman to shame.