Graham guardian., 1909-10-29
THE so CALLED "SPANISH
SWINDLE

The Department of State at Wash
ington has received report from
the American Consul-General at
Barcelona, Spain, in regard to the
band of swindlers operating in var
ious town and cities in Spain, who
make a practice of writing to per-
sons in the United States respecting
the Imprisonment of a relative and
the guardianship of a child.
The CONSUL General states that
the alleged prisoner generally de-
scribes himself as a political prisoner
from Cuba; he is at the point of
death and has but one friend--the
prison priest through whose good
Offices he is enabled to smuggle an
occasional letter out of the prison
fort.
The prisoner is rich. He has a
fortune in cash on deposit in the
United States, but the certificate of
deposit is concealed in secret re-
ceptacle of his valise; the valise itself
has been taken possession of by the
court at Carthagena, which tried
and condemned him, and will be
held until the prisoner or his repre-
sentative has satisfied the costs of
the trial. The prisoner has an only
daughter, dying in his prison, his
sole thought is of this beloved off
spring. He has no friend or rela-
tive in Spain to whose care he can
commit her. In this emergency his
thoughts turn to the distant rela-
tive in the United States whom he
has never seen and of whom he
knows only through hearsay or the
family tree. Will the distant rela-
tive assume the guardianship of the
darling daughter, and the darling
daughters fortune of about $30, 900?
If the distant relative accepts the
trust one-fourth of the prisoners
entire fortune will be the material
reward. The good priest will go at
once to the United States and take
the daring daughter with him.
There is but one condition: The
ready money which the prisoner
brought with him to Spain has been
exhausted; the distant relative is
therefore requested to send enough
to liberate the valise containing the
secret receptacle and the certificate
of deposit. This money is to be
sent to the good priest at an address
indicated, and, having received it,
the good priest will at once secure
the valise and start for America,
the land of the free and the home
of the brave" with the darling
daughter.
The above is generally the first
letter of a series. 1t is quickly fol-
lowed by another in which the pris
oner pathetically states that his
strength is rapidly failing and the
end is near. He beseeches his dear
distant relative to assume the trust
and be a father to the darling
daughter. The third letter is from
the good priest himself, who in
brief, touching terms, and hopeless
ly bad English, announces the death
of the unhappy prisoner; the good
priest adds that the darling daught-
er is under his care. He is ready
to put his promise into execution
and start for the United States as
soon as he shall have received the
necessary funds from the distant
relative. The good priest frequent
ly encloses with his letter a bogus
newspaper clipping announcing the
death in prison at Barcelona of the
famous Cuban patriot sometimes
called Augustin Lafente); the news
paper notice also speaks cunningly
of the confscated valise and the
darling daughter.
1t is a simple scheme, but pre-
sented in such plausible way that
almost any unsuspecting distant
relative" of European extraction
would be more or less deceived by
the glad prospect of falling heir to
the agreeable custody of a darling
daughter with big fortune, and a
one-fourth interest therein as an ad-
ditional recompense.
Naturally the first impulse of the
distant relative is to ask lawyer or
q judge or some authority what
course he ougth to pursue in the
premises, but as he thinks of doing
Shss his aSsss6a b talssa ty ~