Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-30

Each year the number of people vic
1imized by the professional swindler IN
creases, and no amount OF warning or
advice can overcome the credulity OF the
unwary so long as the swindle is intro
duced with such plausible attractions
The greatest swindle now receiving the
attention of the Department of State in
Washington is the sO-called Spanish
swndle." This has been going on Tor
several years and is proving difficult to
suppress because of the numbers and the
nationalities of the persons engaged In
it, The intended victim first receives
letter from a man in prison in BARGE
Iona charged with political onense IN
Cuba. The prisoner represents himself
as being at the point of death. with but
one friend. the good prison priest. who
will occasionally smuggle a letter out OF
the prison. The prisoner is rich. He has
a fortune amounting to more than 10000
on deposit in the United States, but the
certificate of deposit is in secret re-
ceptacle in his valise which has been
taken in custody by the court at Car
thagena.- He has also an only daughter.
who is his dying thought. There is no
one in Spain to whom he can commit
her.
viii the kind American accept the
guardianship of the darling daughter
and the custody of her
The Spanish fortune in return for one
cn fourth of the latter? Usu-
ally the claim is made
that the daughters mother was an Amer
lean and distant relative of the party
applied to. II the trust is accepted the
good priest will go to America and take
the daughter. but there Is one condi-
ton. The kind American or distant rela-
tive is requested to send money TO lib
crate the valise and perhaps pay the
travelling expenses of the daughter and
the priest. The money is to be sent to
the priest whose address is given. A
series of letters may follow. The pris-
oner will write pathetically that his
strength is failing fast and beseeches the
kind American to be good to his darling
daughter. Then the priest writes in
very bad English concerning the pris-
oner's death and states that the daugh-
ter is now under his care. He may in
close a newspaper clipping announcing
the death of the famous Cuban patriot.
10 the hidden yalise and the orphan
daughter.
This swindle has been going on for
some ten years and 1t is incredible the
amount of money that has been realized.
oonfederates i'm America furnish the
swindlers with names of Americans who
may have relatives marrying Cubans,
Only last year A. Landberg of Boston
reported having sent 5000 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 States have undertaken to
prohibit the distribution of any mall
relating to it, the swindle is still go
ing On by means of the telegraph and
express companies. The American Is
told how to cable to a certain address
ON a plea that a letter would likely be
conhscated by the Spanish government
For many years the securing Of I'M
opportunity for
Unclaimed Estates swindlers to ac-
At, Quire large sums
"A"""' of money. AL
though the Department Of State frequent
~ has taken the matter up with the
various countries and the assurance has
been given out many times that there
are absolutely no estates in Europe
awaiting claim by distant relatives in
America, every year brings up new cases
of this kind The recent desire Of Amer
leans to claim noble ancestry makes it
easier for the swindler who has secured
q good knowledge of old family names
to acquire large sums of money from
ANA h0 xr-iuI TO hnlt hat
European branch of their family was in
possession Of boundless wealth.
The old Dutch estate swindle Is es-
still being issued from time to time de-
scribing the Anneke-Jans estate, the
Cronkheit or KrOnkeit estates, the Weber
estate and various others purporting to
have millions of money on deposit in the
Bank of Holland"-a bank which, by
tine way. does not exist. AS most of the
European governments have a provision
by winch unclaimed estates revert to the
crown. il is easy to how all such
are Swindles, but they so
ON with more or less publicity each year,
al ,hough every dollar so expended is
thrown away.
While most frauds are perpetrated
through the mail, the vigilance or the
postal authorities is
Free Homestead becoming restrain
Gill; ing. SO the clever
swindler is resortin&
to new methods. The free homestead"
sWBdle has been worked assiduously
throughout the country during the past
Year
\ slick agent will locate in a small
manufacturing town. putting up at the
best hotel. lie becomes acquainted with
as many of the Workingmen as possible
lie sympathizes with the laboring class
and thinks il a shame that wealthy cor
porations should get the best Of every
thing. He claims to represent a wealthy