The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1909-08-07
M|LLHAND'S SON
POSES AS HERO
OF u. S. ARMY
Name of Lieutenant Harry King
Assumed by Hotel Clerk
Arrested for Forgery
Carried Credentials and Letters
Praising Him for Work With
Troops in Philippines

hoax which has been perpetrated
on the western public for the last five
years and which has carried the rank
est of adventures through the wales of
plenty, even to the dizzy pinnacles of
the ladder of society, was robbed of its
tinsel and laid bare yesterday evening
when Lieutenant Harry King, U. S.
A." arrested for forgery, declared him
self to be Thomas Edward Heaney. a
hotel clerk of Brookfie1d, Mass.
For five years he travelled through
the west and in the orient as Lieuten-
ant Harry King. son of General Horatio
King and a member of one of the first
families in the country. His documents
and credentials were the cleverest of
forgeries. He carried complete kit
sporting uniforms, sword and shoulder
strap, as though to the manner born.
Clever Forgeries Carried
When arrested by Harry Moffatt,
chief of the local branch of the federal
secret service, among his effects were
AVuhQ uONullOhbo anu PdPC4o AAOA4 lily
war department and from official sources
in the Philippine islands declaring him
to be Lieutenant Harry King of the
Eighth United States cavalry and later
of the Philippine scouts.
So clever We're the forgeries. and as
the data in them corresponded to the
service of Lieutenant H. r. King of the
Eighth cavalry and the scouts, it was
at once thought he was the same man.
Now it develops that he has imperson-
ated King for five years, borrowed
money on the name, fallen in love under
it and served seven months in a Mime
sofa Jail under it. The real King. I'M
aware of what his self-styled namesake
at the present time.
He Met King in Cuba
Heaney was born in England so years
ago, the son of an Industrious but
unambitious millhand. When a child
his parents came to the United States,
settling in Brookfield, Mass. Heaney,
in the course of time, became a hotel
clerk, but he aspired to higher walks.
When the Spanish war broke out he
went to Cuba in clerical capacity
connected with the. army and later to
the Philippine islands. 1t was here
that he met Lieutenant H. r. King of
the scouts.
when | returned home said
Heaney, Il went to Wisconsin, and it
was there that l conceived the idea of
posing as United States army officer
man met me in a hotel lobby and
slapped me on the back, saying Hello,
King When 1 explained that my
name was not King he said l looked
very much like Lieutenant King.
That started it. had seen King in
the Philippine islands and from that
time on l was Lieutenant King, L.
S. A.
Credentials Not Questioned
His system of forging credentials
was simple. He wrote to the various
departments in Washington and else
where on some trivial matter and. on
receiving the curt reply, would erase
the written matter and insert the
necessary data. He had himself pho
tographed in his uniform
His familiarity with army life and the
ways of officers. together with a gen.
eral fondness for drills and tactics,
did the rest. None questioned his Gre
dentials; but he was wise enough to
stay away from army circles, pre-
ferring to meander along quiet lanes
where officers were scarce
Life proved easy to Heaney. He
toiled not, neither did he spin, and yet
men whom he had never met came for
ward with pleasant loans, invited him
to their clubs and provided him with
strong drink.
Spent Months in Jail
And girls of the type who formerly
asked him in icy tones for their key
or left their morning calls at his hotel