The Detroit times., 1908-11-24
LIVED IN LUXURY
FOR NINE YEARS
ON DUPES
SPECTACULAR CAREER OF MAN
WHO WOULD ~FiNANcE" DEALS
WITH ROCKEFELLER AND CAR
NEoIE.

| NEW YORK. Nov. 24.-How TO live
nine years on nothing In the best
hotels without changing your name Is
told In the letters and ledger OF VIII
liam Abbott Foster. who was arrest
ed while leaving the Prince Of Wales
suite OF the Clarendon hotel. which ne
had occupied free for. year. These
interesting documents are In the pos
session OF James Forbes. the mendi-
cancy ofiicer OF the Charity organiza-
ton. Foster was held in 81 900 In the
Tombs police court for examination
on charge OF vagrancy.
According to his letters, copies Of
which he kept. Foster played for large
and small game and wasted as much
time and as many endearing terms In
extracting IS gill from the poor
fellow who was expecting to make
million with q shoe string" as he did
In trying to convince John d. Rookie
Teller and Andrew Carnegie that the
only safe road to more wealth for
them was In lending him all the way
from $2.500.000 TO $7.500.000. The
former sum was the largest he ever
asked Mr.. Carnegie for. but every time
he wrote the Standard Oil magnate
he would add a million or so. He OF
fered securities which he guaranteed
to be worth 1855. 900 ,000 but overlook
ed the formality OF referring 10 some
bank.
| Foster read few weeks ago Of
the many charities and wonderful busl
ness success OF J. 8. Kennedy. and lost
L.. NJ adx ~
wonderful opportunities that lay In
his great gold mine. which his CORE
spondence located all the way from
Alaska TO Mexico. Like Mr.. Carnegie
Mr.. Kennedy Is Scot, long reputed
canny, but he hasn't the steel mag
mates patience. Two or three OF Eos
ter's letters sent him to the police.
Mr.. Kennedy Is to be the chief com
plainant against Foster tomorrow.
Foster made no effort TO resist ar
rest and told Detective Williams he
would gladly be thrown out OF the win
dow II II were not his wife and chill
dren. He wore a two weeks growth
OF beard and his clothes were so far
gone that James s. Fitch. lawyer
and real estate man OF Yonkers. had
to lend him an overcoat TO wear oil
the trip from the hotel 10 the Charities
building. Twenty-second-st. and Fourth
AVE. Fosters ledger and letters show
that Fitch was one Of his earliest an
most faithful victims. He began con-
ltributing nine years ago. never got
q cent back and never learned the
name or the location OF the mine IN
which he was supposed to be invest
ling. AS recently as Nov. IL he wrote
the following letter to Foster and sem
the money referred TO:
Your letter received today. I have
made out to get IS more TO send to
you. II Is not an easy matter fof
me 10 get money. and have reached
my limit. ! hope by Monday or Tues
day to receive some from you. for we
need clothes and food and l have
pressing claims"
The ledger shows that Foster con-
sidered himself indebted to Fitch In
the sum OF $104.500, though he had
borrowed only about $500.
A letter then tells Mr.. Fitch to az
range a three months trip through the
west, Mexico and Canada, as he needs
a rest He got the w" but Mr.. Fitch
kissed his hand to both the trip AMI
the fortune. He, however. returned
good for evil by lending Foster his
overcoat. buying him a $40 suit of
clothes and presenting him with an
other "v."