Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1909-02-26
NOAAlGAYE RUNAWAY
Wife of One of Council Bluffs
Alleged swindliug Gang Could
Not Keep Secret
THE MONEY CAME TOO EASY
Wife Of One Of swindled Men Heard
Story and Then Something Got
Started - Operations of swinders
Extensive and Their Gains Were
Enormous.
snecia1 to Times-Republican.


Council Bluffs. Feb. pa woman
| inability to keep a secret. possibly
coupled with the irrepressible desire 10
boast of a big thing, was the cause
of the disaster which has hefallen the
gang which is alleged to have swindled
400 or more people turnout the United
States and Canada out of S5oo,ooo'
!,while making it's headquarters in
Council Bluffs.
| Mrs. Dobbins, wife of j. r. Dobbins'
who was arrested in New York city
and brought here TO answer to AN in
dictment charging him with COM
iplicity in the swindles, formerly re-
sided in Princeton, Mo-, which Is the
home of r. w. Ballew, the banker VINO
dropped $40, 900 into the exchequer. Tor
| the benefit of the confidence men. Ae-
cording TO the story, coming rom a
good source. Mrs. Dobbins, after BAL
I lew had been saparted from his S30,ooV
iron. wrote a woman friend in Prince
ton telling what an easy mark Bal
lew had proven and detailing how ne
had been shaken down.
Story too Good to Keep.
OF course the Princeton woman was
sworn to secrecy but the story was
too good to keep. and soon was In the
mouths of half the population OF the
town of Princeton. Ballew, according
to all accounts and not unlike others
caught in like predicaments. kept the
transaction from his wife. But before
he could head off the tale in his home
town a woman friend of the bankers
wife FASTENED to her with the story.
which, meantime, had lost none of IT'S
flavor or size in the transmission
At this point Mr.. Ballew decided
that it WAS useless for him to Longer
continue the role of good loser,
and then he, got busy. DetectiveY were
put upon the track of the men VINO
|had perpetrated the swinale and N
time arrests We're made in Denver and
New York.
Another Sucker Who Showed Fight.
In the long list of victims of the
gang is another man who disclosesi the
circumstances which induced him 20
make a fight for his roll This was
Samuel Sutor, wealthy hotel man OF
Cass. Lake MINI. Sutor, it is related,
was induced to come here by man
living in his vicinity, and with whom
he was well acquainted, the pretext be-
ing that the man wanted him here
with a $4,000 draft, to make showing
of financial ability and to enable tila
"friend" to get into the betting and
make a killing" AS in the case of
other victims, Sutor's railroad fare and
expenses were paid by the friend.
His Horse Fell Down,
Sutor. as in the case with others.
was induced to cash his drafts and Sc
cure bundle of bills of small dimen-
sions,. the better to make formidable
showing and impress others. The race
was actually run, but something hap
Epened. One of the Jockeys fell, blood
poured from his mouth and he was, to
all appearances. in dying condition.
The cry was raised that everybody
connected with the affair was liable to
be held responsible for the jockey
death and the members of the party
would flee In every direction. The vic
tim, with whom care is said to always
be taken to see that he saw the blood
was usually the most frightened man
in the bunch and an offer of assistance
In getting under cover was gladly ac-
cented. In fact this was taken as one
proof of the genuineness Of the friend
ship of the crowd
Hurried to Small Station.
The big red automobile, which fig
ures so prominently in all the stories
concerning the organization which OPP
Grated here. was conveniently at hand
and a hurried trip would be made ito
the nearest small station, where he
would be taken in thegdead of the night
and hustled aboard, assured by the
members of the gang which had stayed
with him that they would return and
give him his money.
The dead" and bleeding Jockey was
a clever hoax In preparation for the
race piece of chicken Intestine three
or four inches long was filed with
blood and tied tightly at the ends. Be
fore mounting his horse the jockey
placed this in his mouth. AS he fell
he bit into the intestine and copious
stream of blood spurted from his
mouth and over his breast, giving hin
a. srewsome Imitation of a real In
jury.
sutor Came Back.
In Sutor's case, the more he pom
| dered on the thing the more he was
convinced that he had been duped ane
all the fighting blood in his MAKEUP
! was aroused. He came back ITO Council
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