Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1909-12-03
COLORED CROOK IN
THE TOLLS AGAIN
Negro Who Has Been Swindling
Atlanta's Colored People Falls
Afoul of the Federal Authorities
and Is Arrested.

] Just at present the chances are that
/ Tom Ellington, alias ]. H. Ellington,
alias a dozen other names, ex-convict
| and premier exponent of the modern
! art of red-hot touch and quick get
away, is booked for a finish bout with
/ the United States authorities, and that
! he again faces a term in the penitentia-
/ ry for his endeavors in separating the
! great unsoaped from their hard-earned
] coin.
! Ellington is of African descent. and
! he regards the fellow members of his
race as the fairest of fair game.
Several days ago a bent and aged
colored man toddled into the office Of
] Detective Sergeant Lanrord and I'M
folded a tale of woe. 1t seems that a
smooth, oily-tOngued individual, de-
scribed by the octogennarian as "one err
dem slick yaller niggers," had approach
ed him with a plan to get him a pen
sion.
According to the willy ones scheme,
the ex-slave was entitled to a pension,
and the president of the United States
was going to get 1T for him-through
the smooth individual. The old darby
] was suspicious and put him Off, hasten
ing to the police with the story.
AN EX-CONvICT.
Immediately detectives were put upon
the trail of the "fiim-hammer," and with
in a short time he was contemplating
the future through the squares in the
door of an air cell at Chateau Jennings.
The sure-thing man, for such he proved
to be was Tom Ellington, of the chame
leon-like names, and he found several
ether friends at the police station.
why it's Tom Ellington exclaimed
Sergeant Lanford, as the quick touch ar
list was brought in. when did you get
out of the pen. TOMB"
The negro seemed badly ratified, but
finally admitted that he was the same
man who had been sent up for 13 months
over year ago for obtaining money I'M
der false pretenses.
Elington's scheme, which he has beer
operating among the negroes of Atlanta,
is very simple. He calls on an aged ne
gro, and the interview goes something
like this:
"Ah am de pussonal agent OBJ Pres-
dent Taft to sc dat yo' gifts a hundred
dollar a month pension" Tom would an
nounce Importantly. "AlI yo got to Go
IL to pay me $50 NOW for expenses in
gettin' yo' money. De president done
'pinted me hisself an he gwine to git de
hill thru dis time suah,'
THANK de Lawdl Heah yo' money,
was the usual answer and if Tom
couldn't get it all he would take what he
could get.
SCHEME WORKED WELL
The scheme worked wonderfully well,
and since TOMS arrest there has beer
a steady stream OF victims calling at the
police station to lodge additional conf
plants against him. Not only did he call
himself a government pension agent, but
he posed as a grocer's solicitor, and took
orders for clothing for New York house,
pocheting the first payments.
Tba affair has been reported to the
federal authorities, and the United States
attorney will have a representative in
court when the case is called for trial
The chances are that Ellington will bc
bound over to the federal court on
charge of impersonating a government Of
ficer. His former crime was of a similar
nature