El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1911-04-22
MANY IMPOSE
UPON The
LODGES
Smooth Strangers Relate
Plausible Tales to Get
Easy Money.
LOCAL FRATERNAL
ORDERS VICTIMIZED-

Not long ago man well past mid
die life, with hair curninggry, and
with rough clothing, called upon the
relief officer Of a local lodge. He told
his story. He had come from the
coast, he said. and was stranded in the
city. without money, without friends.
He wished to go to albuquerque. and
he asked the lodge to loan him So
He was, he added. r-ember of the or
der in a town in Georgia. He was
given some temporary Aic and told to
call the next day In the meanwhile
a telegram was sent TO the lodge to
which he claimed tc peionr. An an
swer soon came saying that the man
had been expelled number of years
before, and that he w1s an imposter.
On his return he was arrested and
lodged at the police station.
When arraigned the following day
this man told a different story. He
said that he had cor.e from the east
to Ell Paso, spending his last money
on the trip. And then broke down
I was driven TO It, Judge" he said,
with voice sad regretsul. and full of
Of the kind. But I w&s hungry, hav-
ing nothing to eat and it was cold
sleeping on the bare ground, AMI the
temptation came TO me-"
Attempts to impose upon the generos-
ity OF local fraternal orders are so
numerous that officials having in
charge the disbursement of relief
funos are obliged TO take care
full precautions in granting aid. Impos-
torsw no seek leans from local lodges
by means of more or less clever de-
vices are continually being detected.
One order has established q national
relief association by winch methods Of
granting assistance to worthy appli-
cants are systematized. and also by
exposed by warnings sent to the va
rious subscribers.
ImpoStors Are Many.
There are many impostors who have /
taken perhaps the first or second de- /
gree in orders having extensive rituals !
who make much trouble Such man /
applied a. a local lodge for aid some
tine age. He passed the examination
in the first degree BIZ: failed further
ter was reported to t!lc central relief
organization. The reply came that the /
man in question had been imposing |
on lodges h tiis device for the past
ten years. /,
Some crooks give themselves away !
by getting their stories confused. One /
man gave himself two different /
names in the course of one CONVERSE
ton. He was refused. Afterward Il /
developed that the first name given /
was that of an impostor advertised iE /
the warning circulars; the second /
proved to be the name of member
in good and regular standing.
Some orders insist on papers and re-
ceipts for lodge dues, to entitle the
applicant to aid A favorite trick of
the fraudulent seeker after help Is to
represent that his papers have been
delayed in arriving, or, perhaps they
have been stolen. Sometimes papers
belonging to bona fide member have
been lost or stolen, and coming into
the possession of some INSCRIPTIONS
person are used for fraudulent pur
poses. Sometimes papers are forged
and employed for swindling.,
One Device That Worked.
Another device of travelling crooks is
to have printed on a business card
the names Of the various lodges to
which they claim to belong. Such a
card was shown to a certain Ell Paso
young man at the station by well
dressed visitor. The young man was
so Impressed with the card and the
he finally agreed to join the lodge
himself, and advanced $40 for the ap
plication fee. Since then he has seen
neither the man nor the money.
A variant of this idea is the wearing
Of a pin or emblem by the imposter. |
a few months ago man wearing
prominently a pin, the emblem Of a
certain order. arrived in FL Paso,
claiming to be the manager for the
southwest of a Philadelphia mercan-
tile firm, and announcing his determi-
nation to appoint a few. agents On
the strength of the pin a member Of
a local lodge was persuaded to accept
an agency for western Texas and a
part of New Mexico, and to advance
$50 for a cash bond. The fellow dis
appeared and was not heard Of after
wards. The firm wired that he was
an impcstor.
SwfndIinz Relief Associations.
Usually stories told in the relief Of
fees are simple narratives Of mis-
fortune and adversely. and, true or
otherwise as the case may be. are
readily fathomed by the officials,
trained in judging human nature. Oc-
however. someone viii
AXE elaborate pains to gain the conf
lence Of the charity administrators.
a case Of this kind happened in Ell !
Paso some time ago. The man sought
help in getting a job. and not sue
seeding solicited financial aid. This
was granted as the mans credentials
seemeh to be good He went to Dali ;
as. and several months later returned
% FL Paso, well dressed, and appar-
entity prosperous He came to the re-
ief office and said:
ct want to pay you back the money '
you advanced me-"
He gave a draft on the firm for {
which ne claimed to be working for {
he amount plus a sum he said was 1
lis weeks expenses. The relief Off
.ial cashed the draft which was re- {
urned. The young man was after I
ward sent to the penitentiary, having 6
lso committed forgery. {
Not long ago there was stranger r
n town, a suaVe talker and fashionably r
ressed. selling ink and affirming that
t was specially adapted to legal doc 7
ments. He approached one of the re- a
ief officials of a local organization h
nd asked for the loan of several dol
ars, saying that his credentials would il
rive in several days. But he never