The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1916-03-09
CLEVER SWINDLE UNCOVERED
Englishman Evolves Novel Scheme to
Obtain Money But Lands in
the County Jail.

the OOunCy jail.
A clever international begging
fraud in which grief stricken war wild
ows of England were the principal
victims was uncovered by the arrest
at Avon last Saturday of Wayneflete
H. sPatten-Saunders, former British
soldier and son Of an English army
captain. Patten-Saunders is in the
county Jail at St. Cloud charged by
federal postoffice officials with obtain
ing money by fraudulent use of the
United States mails. He does not
deny the charges made against him
but says he was dissuaded from good
intentions because he Couldn't get
past saloon" He will be arraigned
before a United States commissioner.
Patten-Saunders admits he is an
adventurer. His family have long
been identified with the British army.
Asa member of the Second Life
Guards of London and Windsor he
campaigned against the Beers in
South Africa from 1899 to 1902. After
that war he drifted about the world
and in 1912 arrived at Collegeville
where for a couple Of years he was
employed at st. Johns university. He
drifted to ST. Wendell where he was
engaged as woodchopper and then
went to Avon.
About fourteen months ago the En-
glishman conceived the fraud idea
which has landed him in Jail. From
English papers he secured list of
names of British officers killed in the
war. To these dead officers he wrote
letters in effect that the writer was
stranded at Avon, Minnesota, and de-
sired a remittance of five pounds
($25) from the patriotic British officer
to enable him to go to Winnipeg to
join a Canadian regiment to enable
him to go to England with the next
contingent of troops from Canada.
The letters were opened by widow,
mother or other relative of the deceas-
ed British officer and almost invar-
iably brought the result desired by the
writer.
How much money was thus obtain
ed Patten- Saunders will not say but he
has been known to have been receiv-
ing remittances of five pounds for
nearly fourteen months past. Post
office Inspector Maurice Ryan, who
made the arrest, found in the prison
er's room many letters, some OF which
told of money having been enclosed;
others from widows expressing their
regret at their poor circumstances
which prevented them from supplying
him with the funds to go to England;
others giving him names of parties
to whom he might write and who
would probably assist him.
When Inspector Ryan called on Pat
ten-Saunders the officer handed the
Englishman an unopened letter OBJ
tanned from the postoffice. The latter
cody opened it and handed it to the
officer. The envelope contained five
crisp British one-pound notes sent by
son of dead army officer to whom
Patten-Saunders had written.
During the past year the prisoner
had lived a care-free life about Col
legeville and Avon. When asked by
the officers why he did not go to VIM
nipeg to enlist and what he did with
the money the Englishman said he
spent it for "booze,"' He said he had
started for Canada several times but
"did not get very far" Records at
the State Bank Of Avon show that he
collected from Jan. 1, 1915, to the date
of his arrest SITS. How much money
he obtained through the mails will
probably never be known. The pris-
oner is a Sussex man and A years of
age.