The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1914-11-18
To LEARN
LANNON'S IDENTITY
RESULT IN FAILURE
Additional Stories by Fake
Inspector Continue to Baf-
file Authorities Working on
Unusual Case.

The effort to establish the identity
of the man held by federal authorities
at Indianapolis on a charge of having
fradulently represented himself to be
an agent of the United States bureau
of animal industry has not met with
success.
mont" he informed authorities at In
dianapolis that his name was J. w.
Skinner. Yesterday Frank l.. Funk of
this city identified the man, after hav-
ing seen him here, as a man named
Webster Skinner whom he knew when
he lived at Bloomington, Ill.
That Funk's identification may be
accurate is evidenced by the following
statement made by the mysterious in
dividual after he had been placed in
the Marion county Jail:
MY home is at Normal, a suburb of
Bloomington, ILL.,, and ] am an electri-
clan. J. W. Skinner is my name. l
came to Indiana looking for work, and
was in Indianapolis for while last
Tuesday. | don't what l did when
here, as l was too drunk to know. |
left Indianapolis for Columbus, and
then went from there to Muncie. I
was not IN RlcnmOnQ.
indianapolis authorities are still in
doubt, however, if the mans name is
Skinner or Lamont. In a small suit
case he carried was found several let
tiers addressed to DR.. James w. La
Mont, sos University street, Normal,
III. Most of these letters are written
by girl named Ada, living in Colum-
bus, O. When representing himself
as a government inspector, the prison
err said he wished the government
would let him have a vacation Thanks
giving day SO he might eat turkey
with his sweetheart who, he said, lived
in Columbus, o. The man then said
his home was in Columbus, o.
May Be James w. LaMont.
One letter signed by Frank Thomas
and mailed from Columbus, O., Oc-
tober 20, last, to DR.. James w. La
Mont, at Normal ILL.,, advises La Mont
to remain out Of Ohio. This letter and
a petition to have legal rights restored
to one James w. La Mont, who, the
petition sets forth, was adjudged of
unsound mind July 8, last, in the pro-
bate court Franklin county, Ohio, led
to the belief that the prisoner may by
La Mont. However, the prisoner says
the La Mont named in the petition is
his first cousin. La Mont himself and
James W. Skinner are the petitioners.
The prisoner says he is the Skinner
named in the petition.
The letter signed by Frank Thomas,
after advising La Mont to stay out of
Ohio, recites that a lawyer told the
writer there is absolutely no way in
which you can return to Ohio except
one, and that is to voluntarily give
yourself up and return to the hospital
and begin your proceedings from Their
to regain your full liberty as a. citizen.
The fact that you escaped from state
institution will mitigate against you.
Refused to Discuss Letter.
The prisoner refused to discuss the
letter. but the petition, he said, was
drawn for his cousin, and was never
filed. The petition, among other
things, says: THE petitioners are
ready to show by competent evidence
the sane condition of said petitioner.
This petition is inclosed in the cover
of Wesley M. Owen, of Bloomington,
Ill, lawyer.