The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1909-01-01
Bold Attempt to Defraud Modern
Woodmen Organization.
B. D. SMITH is INTERESTED
Attorney Has Been Successful in Rum
ming Down Man Who Was Re-
ported Drowned.
From Mondays Daily.

The legal department of the Mod
ern Woodmcn, especially the office of
General Attorney B. ID. Smith of Man
kato, has been particularly successful
lately in hunting down insurance
swindlers who had to all appearances
passed away from this earth but who
on the contrary were living to enjoy
or to let someone else enjoy the money
companies at their death. The latest
case to the credit of the Woodmcn
i'll particular and the other insurance
companies of the country i'll general
was brought about by the arrest of
Henry E. Agar of Princeton, Ind, at
Il point about forty miles from the
Mexican border. A little less than a
year ago Agar disappeared. 1t was
supposed that he had been drowned,
this being the testimony of Il witness
the who protfessed to have seen him fall
into the river. After the supposed
death it was found that he was a for
ger and defaulter to the extent of
$l2500O and the Woodmen repre-
scented by its legal department OBJ
iected to paying the insurance on his
life until further proof of his death
was produced.
Was Well Planned. .
All the insurance companies who had
taken risks on Agar united i'll an en-
deavor to disprove the mans death and
the following story was worked out by
the detectives who were put to work
on the case. Agar spent the day be-
fore MS disappearance with the river
man OF his acquaintance and the two
of them fitted up an old barge which
they had on the Wabash river at LAT
ayettc to suit their purpose of hauling
grain. One of the improvements they
made in the barge was to make matches
with handles OH the inside for the
manholes in the deck of the barges.
Then when the barge was ready "a
steamboat towed it up the river Il few
miles and load of corn in sacks was
taken on. The river was high and a
storm was brewing and it was. Il late
hour but nevertheless Agar ordered
the return trip commenced. Aear's
aceomplice, an old man named Har-
ington. was steering the boat and all
the deck hands were sent either to the
inside of, the steamboat or some other
place where they were unabls to see
what WAS going on around them
Cry of Man Overheard
When everyone was out OF sight, Har-
rington raised the cry of man over
board" and it was found that Agar
had disappeared. His hat was found
on the surface of the river and this
tended to substantiate the statement
made by Harrington that he had seen
him fall into the river. The trip to
Lafayette was completed and then
Harrington stated that he would watch
the barge load of corn. during the
night that the rest of the men
should start the hunt for A9ar's body.
The body was never found, however.
The theory advanced all along by the
detectives and now proven was that
Agar instead of falling into the
rivers riverhid himself in the bottom
of the barge under the newly made
hatch covers and when all the men had
been disposed of at Lafayette he made
his getaway on a train which runs
through there early in the morning.
Collect On Insurance
The Woodmen have kept at the case
ever since and have been trying to
locate Agar in order to save some
$2S 900 insurance owed to the family
by the different companies All the
have been sued by the fam
lily of the supposed dead man and one
has paid in full while the others either
placed the money in trust or kept the
case from coming to trial. In all the
that Agar was dead and that the com
panies were liable for the amounts of
their policies. The trial of the case
against the Woodmen was to have
come up next month and the outcome
would doubtless have been the same.
With the arrest of Agar, who it is
said has confessed, the money which
has already been paid will probably be
refunded and those cases which have
not yet come to trial will be dismissed.
There is no evidence that the family
of Agar knew of his being alive and it
is likely that the disappearance was
simply scheme of the man TO get
away with the result of his forgeries
and defaults with no thought of the
life insurance which would 90 to the
benefit of his family.
Left His Wife, Not The Earth.
Another case which the Woodmen
have unearthed is that of l.. p. Frasier
formerly of Kansas City. Frasier dis
appeared some nine years, ago and
there were circumstances connected
with his disappearance which convinced
the legal department that he was
still alive. Accordingly for the last
year and a half an effort to find him
has been made and last Saturday he
was located in Chicago. After he had
been unheard Of for seven years his
wife started u suit against the society
to recover the face value of his policy
in the order which was for $4,000.
With the discovery of the man Saturday
it was found that he had no intention
of beating the society out of the money
for his life. but that he had merely
left his wife. His re-appearence will
result in the dismissal of the case and
save the fraternity $1,000.