Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-06
AMERICAN CITIZEN, POSING AS BARON,
GREATEST OF MODERN ADVENTURES

LONDON, September "a 1907.
A DARING soldier of fortune whose
"a doings ring from continent to con-
- tinent; an adventurous free lance
4 y whose deeds generally bad ones,
SAVIOR more of the romantic novel
than of these commonplace days or the
twentieth century, such is Frank kurtze,
alias the Baron Carl Ludwig Won Velthelm,
who as readers will have heard has peen ar
rested for attempting 10 blackmah ,. b.
Joel the South African multi-mlionalre'
out of $So.Oo0. AS has been telegraphed al
ready, the arrest was effected the other day
at a cafe on the Grand Boulevard in Paris
at the special instance of the British gov
eminent. At the Guldhall police court IN
this city the details of the alleged black
mailing probably Will come out.
Won Vetheim. to give him the name he is
known by in all the four quarters Of the
earth, is unquastionably one of the most
bizarre personalities living. He is the re-
incarnation combined of n warrior king of
ancient times. a rollicking soldier of fortune
of the middle ages. a bold buccaneer from
the Spanish main. courtly Adonis OF the
Victorian era and good fellow of the
present day.
Hard names are given his deeds these
times. Masquerading rogue blackmafler
bigamist murderer some of the CHASTITY
words used. Two hundred years ago he
would have been hero among heroes To-
day he is but notable aGv2nturer.
The stars and stripes Won Vetheim claims
as his flag. for he is d naturalized Amer
lean citiza IN, having TAX II out his papers in
New Orleans some sixteen years ago. In
deed lie has held Office under the United
States government. having BEEN American
consul alta port in South America.
But then what has the man not been?
From sailor and soldier IN the ranks to
command of regiment Of irregular cav
airy. from common dock walloper to Bar
ney BarnatU's confidential police agent,
from an outlaw to the favorite of society's
queens. ne has run the whole gamut of oc-
equations. Although doubly Il bigamist,
although once charged with murder, this is
but his second experience of the inside Of
jail. Nearly ten years ago he shot and
killed WOOlf Joel head of the great Bar
nato firm. in the lattrr's Office in Johannes
burg. After an e:Ght-ddy trial Won Welt
helm acquitted amid wild applause. He
has been married as far KNOWN, three
times and his wives are ali living.
In appearance Ven Nelth2im is Adonis,
| though his strenuous life. now that he is
| fort%-IIlnc years o! age, has left its mark
| on him. He is 6 feet inches in height, but
| perfectly prOpOrtoncd and SO has not the
| appearance of the giant that he is. He is
| essentially a woman's man. Women have
raved over him and he has been the pet of
| society in every section in which he has
| lived. Yet he is such good fellow and
| has such 81 charming and interesting per-
| sonalty that the glad hand has been ex
| tended to him by nearly every man with
whom he has come in contact.
During the sensational trial for the shoot
Ing OF Joel he was prosecuted by District
Attorney krauser. This is the same man
who a or two later was arrested by
the British government and imprisoned in
England for high treason.
1t this trial that the world
to know the inside history of the adven-
lures of Veltheim. DR.. Krauser had
worked hard on the case. He had sent con-
fidential men to Germany, to England, to
the United States. to Australia, to South
America, to gather up the lines Of the trail.
No doubt unlimited money was placed at
the disposal of the prosecution, and al
| though the district attorney did not sue
coed in sending Won Veltheim to the hang
mans moose. he did uncover all the sha-
diest facts of the mans stirring life.
Won Veltheim is said to be the son of a
his born German princess, as the result of
a romantic attachment of hers for hand
some cavalry soldier who was attached to
! the palace guard. The princess, so far as
physical charms went, was one of the
| most striking of regal figures in all Eu-
rope.
The story has oft been denied and yet
believed from the very likeness of the man
to pictures of this princess. While Won
Ve!them was awaiting his trial for murder
a woman novelist visited him in jail. She
wrote astonishing article about him.
| from which the following is quotation:
surely God must have made this Ger
man after a pagan tradition of AntinouS-
so tall, SO straight of limb and feature, so
! brown in hair and eyes. He advanced to
meet me with the debonair gesture of one
whose person is his passport AS he
| took leave of me by the prison gate with
| the | reminded of
Ouida's Monedst of the sugared violet, of
CasanOva's heroes and of other beautiful
perniSious and impossible things, meet
rather for the page of romance than the
prose of reality"
During the first day of the trial the DIS
trct attorney did his utmost to bring out
athe secret Of the birth of the prisoner 1t
was battle between two strong men. Won
VeItheim answered willingly many ques-
tons of his early career as a boy, but re-
fused to answer when directly questioned
as to his birth and his parents
| 1t dramatic moment when the man
| in the prisoners dock, raising his hands
| aloft angrily cried: ''Oh, am so weary of
| all this. For heavens sake Krausar, drop
your childish questions about my childhood
| 1t is my manhood that is in question at
| this trial, not my childhood. AS man to
| man ask me any questions you like and |
| willingly viii answer. My childhood
Germs no one living but myself and on it
| my lips sealed, now and forever"
The vehemence of this utterance had it's
| the matter and went with Won Welt
| helms later history.
* =
| Won Velt1eim served as a boy in the
| German navy. After some years ne left it
! under the pretext of joining the army. In
| stead he became a youthful war corre-
| spondert in company with well-known
| English artist and war correspondent dur
| ing the Russo-Turkish war Later he
| Travelled through Russia. with the same
newspaper man. He hungered to do some
! rea! fighting and his chance came when he
| joined the Bulgarian army under Prince
Alexander in the war against Sarvia. His
deeds We're valiant ones and he was soon
/ in command of irregular cavalry. He was
| wounded twice and particularly distin-
! s.uished himself at the battles OF Tirnova
and PROT.
His personality got him an appointment
| as an officer attached 10 the royal body
| guard az Bucharest. He had long ago
| changed his name 10 Carl Ludwig Won Welt
| helm, and claimed that he nad earned the