El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1914-02-28


chr oornered. Seldom does it
happen that a sharper is en-
dowed with so keen a sense Of
the ridiculous that, upon feeling
fine lev grip of steel bracelets on his
wrists. he bursts into peals Of laughter,
SLABS his captor on the back and tells
him that at last he has met his master.
Such an exception to the rule does exist,
and to-day his photograph, listed under
the names of Frank Montez and Frank
N. Taylor, is to be found in any well
conducted rogues' gallery in the country.
In police parlance Montez is a "con
man" By his many and ingenious
schemes he has reaped thousands upon
thousands Of dollars, but like o7ery man
Of his kind it all went in the same way,
Come easy, 90 easy, is the motto Of the
confidence man, and this perhaps &C
counts for the fact that few Of them
when arrested have sufficient funds laid
by to conduct a respectable defence.
To Detective Richard McKenna be-
longs the distinction Of being the pioneer
in breaking up this ring of swindlers
which for so many years infested New
York and preyed upon the more gullible
Of its residents and visitors. Strange to
say, the first encounter in which he &C
quilted himself so successfully was with
Montez, one Of the smartest and wariest
confidence men to operate hereabouts.
For some time this detective had made
q study Of advertisements appearing in
the various newspapers beneath the
caption Business Opportunities. !" These
he pursued with such care that as time
wore on he could detect fraud, no matter
In what subtle terms it was couched. In
scanning his morning paper a few years
ago the detective ferreted out this ad-
Eertsement:-
ANY one with 5000 cash can make
80 per cent on same in short time
legitimate business deal; handle own
money; appoint interview. A. A, AS.
The detective at once smelled a rat
and, deciding to pose as a come on" he
mailed this note to A. A.
'Sir:-Please send me particulars in
reference to advertisement, and obige
Richard Morris, 627 East 138th street"
The appointment was duly made and
the next afternoon the detective met
Montez at the old Metropolitan Hotel
The sharper was well satisfied with the
appearance of his intended victim, for
he had all the earmarks of a well to do
counryman, and of that type of the rus
tic who affects good clothes, speaks with
a confident air and always on the alert
TO impress those about him that he is
the wisest Of the wise. This is the kind
of man the average swindler loves to
meet, for he is far easier to separate
from his bankroIl than is the hard listed
and truly rural citizen who made his
little hoard by the sweat of his brow.
Linking his arm into that of MS coun-
try friend, Montez led him from the hotel
for a stroll along Broadway while he
unfolded his short cut to wealth BY his
get rich quick scheme. Pressing a cigar
upon his rustic friend and indulging in
hearty laughter by the gingerly and sus-
picious manner with which the country
man examined it, Montez had this to
say
while on my way East yesterday I !
met a young mining engineer who was
suffering from a severe attack of rheum-
Rtism. He was on his way from the
gold fields of Nevada, the possessor Of /
twenty-six hundred shares of the Eagle
Gold and Copper Mining Company. III
health had overtaken him, and he was
DESTROYS Of disposing of his stock at the
earliest possible moment, even willing to /
stand a slight loss in order to convert his !
securities into cash so he can hurry to