Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1917-12-22
MAN WHOWONHIS
WAY INTO HOMES
FOUND IMPOSTER
Glenn T. Cummins Who Passed on
as British Aviation Officer,
Is Under Arrest.
coyrESsEs THAT HE ~ FRAUD
agent for Hartley Aircraft Company
IN Rock Island Taken by
Federal Agents.

ed 90 IupDstfI over MS own sigma /
mre.
The man who thrilled Rock Island |
audiences IN the last three months |
vjh accounts OF sensational air bat
fles while h6 was in the British royal |
fying corps and who gained entrance |
No. the clubs and homes of leading |
citizens iu Rock Island, is in the |
county jail "a confessed fraud
He is being held under a charge of |
having ayaded the draft law, his age, |
government authorities claiming to be |
60 49, his own confession. he says
he never saw service in the army or
navy of any nation.
So straight a story did he tell when
De came here that he was made
hero Boo tnis city. His first appear
ance was boz October, when he adj
dressed fhe second Liberty loan work
ers ar tHr Rock Island club at the
MONDAY luncheon. So impressive was
his thrilling tale that he was immedi-
ately invited into the homes Of many
of me most prominent citizens of Rock
Island
Iu Che arrest OF Cummings, which
was accomplished az his home in
Sheffield lli., by "a department Of JUS
iice special agent, who has been
working uu The case for some time,
the federal authorities have brought
90 @ termination his imposition which
dates back as early as the spring Of
This year. when he first gained en-
trance t9 the Detroit Athletic club.
Cummings was connected with the
izatiou which opened offices at 1907
Second avenue several months ago for
the purpose OF selling stock and or.
gauiziuG "a company to manufacture
army alrplanes for the government
Stock was disposed Of 10 many people
IN the city. Government authorities,
however, declare that W. L. Hartley
president and organizer Of the com
pany was not familiar with the fact
that Cummings was a fraud and that
when Mr. Hartley was told Of the af-
fair he broke down in tears. declaring
he could not believe 1t.
On Case Some Time.
II is evident that department of JUS
tee special agents have been trailing
Cummings for some time they have
q record OF him which dates back TO
1872 In which he first gained police
record through the forgery Of a check
for 500 This was in Memphis, Tenn
AZ that time he gave his age as "a.
That being five years ago. authorities
naturally claim that he is now %,
aud liable to draft They are holding
him, therefore under the charge Of
eyading the draft law. There is no
law under which they can hold him
for impersonatiug an English officer
Had he posed as an American officer,
he could he held under the federal
law.
Cummings maintains that he is 50
years old and not liable to the draft.
In The event that he should be able
to prove his age as 80, he will be re-
leased. but the government agents will
be satisfied in knowing that they have
terminated his activities as an i'm
poster
Cummings not only spoke before the
Liberty loan workers, but before the
WQmans club and the high school
Students The thrilling part OF his
tale was that on a certain day he
drove bis machine eight or ten thou
sand feet in the air. He continued as
follows
IL took a straightrnose dive for the
plane below aud ahead AZ 800 feet
my observer opened fire with the ma
chine gun, which operated through
The hub OF our tractor-type machine.
AZ 100 feet something took effect on
lhe enemy plane and it dropped. Then
] started climbing and speeding as
fast as possible toward our own lines.
BY this time the other Taube was
Directly over me and was pursuing the
same lgt,cs toward us that we had
used 0u his comrade. My observer
was shot lead and ! was seriously
Vouud0 i'm the back, the stomach and
twice u the leg"
The special agent who arrested
Cummings was more or less reticent
Today concerning the case.
why is Cummings being held by
the governments" the agent wa!
| asked
"All can say of the case is that W,
are trying 10 decide whether Cum
mings is % humorist, comedian or {
1 tragej.aH TO me the show he hai
Il pw on js humor. 70 some il is com
l, cay and to others, tragedy"
Y Nation Wide Publicity.
Cummings thrilling tale was given
publicity all over the country. Sew
eral leading magazines published the
story of his air battle with two Ger
man TBuhes. In Chicago. it was
charged, he posed as a British avia'
tor with the rank Of lieutenant ant
collected sums for the allied bazaar
which were later made good by Chi
'ago business men.
In his confession, Cummings de
eaied openly that he posed as having
received the title of ID. s. o." dis
unguished service order, for his ac
uYlties IN France. He formerly wa
connected with garage in Sheffield
ana has been In London and Soutl
america. He declared in his comics
i sion that he had made an applicatio
/ % get into the royal flying corps, Blu
/ mat because he was an American h
Il could not secure commission.
i Cummings while III this city stoppet
a the Colonial hotel, accompanied b.
nls wife. He was married twice, hi
ioimer wife having secured diyorc
/ BON him.
Cummings evidently had purposel
gone to Sheffield TO eyade officers
Two weeks ago today there were ru
mors aloat in this city tbat he wa
arrested on charge of fraud, A
argus reporter at that time inter
/ viewed him. Both he and his vii