Los Angeles herald., 1909-08-22
FACTORY WHEELS
ARE KEPT BUSY
BY FAKE ORDERS
EDGAR A. SH0USE AND HIS
METHODS SHOWN
EVIDENCE GIVEN BY VICTIM IN
PLACID LANGUAGE
Former Society Man of Louisville,
KY, Sentenced to One Year1n
San Quentin as
Sequel

How Edgar Allan Shouse kept the
wheels Of a factory buzzing for three
weeks to fill his fake orders for the
output was told, not reluctantly, but
with the humor of the victim of a
practical joker after sufficient time has
been given in which to view the affair
from the point of dsinterested OBJ
server, by S. A. Graham, head of a
machinery novelty concern, in Judge
Davis court yesterday.
Shouse, who pleaded guilty several
days ago to a charge of making a
fictitious check for $149 and inducing
his pretty wife to unwittingly act as
his agent for cashing it at the Boston
store was before Judge Davis with an
application for probation. On the ad-
verse report of the probation officer, A.
G. Dodds, and the showing of an in
Vestigation that Shouse was guilty of
other misdeeds, his petition for release
WAS denied, and he was sentenced to
one years Imprisonment in San Quen-
4 tin penitentiary.
Sentence Greeted with Smile
Mrs. Shouse who has made every
band greeted the sentence with a
smile, apparently regarding it as an
expression of extreme leniency when
the accusations against her husband
are considered.
While Shouse admitted having signed
the name of r. A. Mckee, whose name
could not be found in the city direc-
tory or on the books of the bank on
which the check was drawn, and there
fore regarded as a non-eXistent person,
the leeway given to an inquiry when
probation is applied for, made 1t possi-
BILE for G. C. McComas, assistant dis
trict attorney, to ask many pertinent
nf GtfndrU InTgOng with refer
ence to Shouse's previous record, and
in this way the factory incident was
brought to light.
Mr.. Graham said he first met Shouse
in February, when the latter was
given $5 in consideration of his guar
antee to collect the concerns bad debts
through the Sunset Cooperative asso-
citation, an association, he later learned,
as mythical as Shouse's representa-
tions.
"I learned he collected 800 for us,
but l never saw any of the money
was the way in which the witness
summed up Shouse's peculiar opera
tions.
Worked Three Weeks
Graham said he threatened Shouse
with prosecution, but when the latter
told him he was willing to reimburse
the concern with work, he was given
employment as a travelling salesman.
"He worked for us three weeks, !"
Graham continued, 'and judging by
the number of orders he sent in, we
never had better man in our employ.
We paid his expenses and gave him a
commission. He covered the beach
towns and surrounding country and
went to San Francisco.
"Our factory was running overtime
70 supply the demand. His orders in
three weeks called Zor $1,000 worth Of
goods"
Were the orders genuine?" asked
Mr.. McComas.
"well, hardly" responded Graham,
smiling sympathetically with his hear
ers I'VE became suspicious after sew
eral customers replied to our letters
of thanks that they had never seen
Shouse. Out of the $1,000 represented
in his orders we got about $72. His eX-
penses amounted to more than 5000"
Several Suffered Losses
Several other persons said they had
Joined Shouses association, but their
financial losses were small for the rea-
son that they could not locate him or
the Office OF his association after their
first meeting.
Shouse who took the witness stand to
testify in his own behalf, said his diff
cuties were caused by A. Fl. Sales. an
p employe who he said, absconded with
the associations funds. He made the
check that was passed by his wife, he
said, when he was threatened with ar
rest, and went to San Francisco, where
he assumed the name of T.. A. Steve.
Shouse belongs to well-lxrown fam
lily Of Louisville, KY, where he is said
to have carried on criminal operations
before coming to Los Angeles.