El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1910-12-28

T. ACH year the number Of people
=. victimized by the professional
- swindler increases and no amount
of warning or advice can overcome the
credulity Of the unwary so long as the
swindler is introduced with such plaUs-
IDLE attractions.
The greatest swindle now receiving
the attention of the department of state
in Washington. is the socalled Spanish
Swindle." This has been going on for
several years and is proving difficult
| to suppress because of the numbers
and the nationalities of the persons en-
gagged in it, The intended victim first
receives letter from man in pris-
on in Barcelona, charged with poll1-
cal offence in Cuba. The prisoner rep
, resents himself as being at the point or
| death, with but one friend, the good
| prison priest, who will occasionally
smuggle letter out of the prison The
prisoner is rich. He has a fortune
amounting to more than $4,000 on de-
posit in the United States, but the GER
| tificate of deposit is in secret recep-
| tacle in his valise, which has been
| taken in custody by the court at Car
| magenta He has also an only daugh-
| ter. who is his dying thought There
| is no one in Spain TO whom he can
commit her.
Part of Fortune Offered.
VIII the kind American accept the
guardianship of the darling daughter
and the custody of her fortune in re.
turn for one-fourth of the latter?
/ Usually the claim is made that the
daughters mother was an American
and distant relative of the party ap-
piled to. If the trust is accepted the
good priest will go to America and
take the daughter. but there is one
condition. The kind American or dis
tant relative is requested to send mon
ey to liberate the valise and perhaps
pay the travelling expenses OF the
daughter and the priest. The money
is to be sent to the priest, whose ad-
dress is given. A series of letters may
follow. The prisoner will write pa
thetically that his strength is falling
fast and beseches the kind American to
be good to his darling daughter Then
the priest writes in very bad English
concerning the prisoners death and
states that the daughter is now under
his care He may enclose a newspaper
clipping announcing the death of the
famous Cuban patriot, sometimes called
Lafiente, and referring to the hidden
valise and the orphan daughter
Is An Old Swindie.
This swindle has been going on for
some ten years and ii is increditable
the amount of money that has been re-
nish the swindlers with names of Amer
leans who may have had relatives mar
rying Cubans. Only last year A Land
berg, of Boston, reported having sent
$4,000 for the charges of the court upon
the valise and the voyages OF the
daughter and priest, who, Of course.
never was heard from after the money
was received. Despite the fact that
the postal authorities of the United
L 70 N
distribution of mail relating to it, the
swindle is still going on by means OF
the telegraph and express companies
The American is told how to cable TO a
certain address on plea that letter
would likely be confiscated by the
Spanish government
For many years the securing or un
claimed estates from Europe has given
opportunity for sWindlers to acquire
large sums OF money. Although The de-
partment of state frequently nas taken
the matter up with the various coun-
tries and the assurance has been given
out many times that there are absolute
ly no estates in Europe awaiting claim
by distant relatives in America, evefy
year brings up new cases of this KIND
The recent desire of Americans to claim
noble ancestry makes 1T easier for the
swindler who has secured good
knowledge of old family names to &C
quire large sums of money from Ameri-
cans who wish to believe that the Eu-
ropean branch of their family was In
possession Of boundlesS wealth
The Old Dutch Swindle.
"The Old Dutch Estate swindle is
especially popular. Attractive circulars
are still being issued from time TO time
describing the Anneke-Janos estate, the
Cronkheit or Kronkeit estates, the Web
er estate and various others purportirg
to have millions of money on deposit
in the Bank of Holland"-a bank
which, by the way, does not exist As
most of the European governments
have a provision by which unclaimed /
estates revert to the crown, il is easy
to see how all such propositions are
swindles. but they go on with more or !
less publicity each year, although ev-
cry dollar so expended is thrown away
While most frauds are perpetrated !
through the mail. the vigilance or the
postal authorities is becoming re-
straining, so the clever swindler is re-
sorting to new methods. The Free
assiduously throughout the country
during the past year.
A slick agent will locate in a small /
manufacturing town, putting up at the !
best hotel He becomes acquainted with |
as many of the working men as posi- !
bic. He sympathizes with the, laboring
class and thinks IL a shame that /
wealthy corporations should get the !
best of everything. He claims to rep |