The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1917-08-08
WAR FAKES-AND OTHERS
THE TOPEKA STATE JOURNAL
IMPORTATION BUREAU
By Frederic j. Hsskin, Director.
Washington, ID. G.

tempted to part with a dime or quar-
ter to some unknown solicitor of aims
for Belgian babies, or wounded
French soldiers, or tubercular Hin
docs, or to the alleged representative
of some day nursery, or home for the
aged. or to some deaf mute, one-arm-
ed chap, wounded soldier, or bind
man-hesitatei
The chances are about seven to one
that you are contributing to the sup
port of some clever fake who has a
bank account, wears good clothes in
the evening, and despises you for an
easy mark. Especially since the war
began, the fake solicitors of aims and
professional beggars have multiplied.
The police instituted a campaign
against them last winter, and the men
delaney squad was disbanded in March
because the evil seemed to have been
almost stopped. But now Hopping
is on the increase again, and the po-
lice will probably take the field
against the fakes and beggars as soon
as the weather cools.
The war is one of the richest APP
peaIs to public sympathy that the
professional fakes and beggars have
hit upon in long time Anything
connected with the war attracts
prompt attention. Not long ago
man with his arm heavily bandaSed
was observed by policeman regahng
a large crowd down on Fourteenth
street with tales of his experiences in
the Russian army where he had been
wounded. OF course his spiel ended
with an appeal for alms.which brought
generous response. The policeman
recognized the wounded Russian as an
erstwhile deaf mute and arrested him
| The crowd set up howl of protest
and tried to induce the officer to re-
| lease the man, but he was taken to
| the police stat ton where about forty
| feet of bandage was removed from his
| arm, revealing the fact that it was
as good as ever
There seems to be large amount
of misdirected theatrical ability
| among the "Gophers," as the beggars
are called on the East side. They are
capable of playing blind, deaf, dumb
! or cripple with convincing consistency,
| altho sudden surprise will occa-
| sionally threw the best of them out
| of character This happened when a
cripple who explained to the judge
| that he was barely able to drag him
self out of the barrel where he slept
was hailed into court with a big deaf
mute, both charged with begging.
| They were bit peevish after night
of confinement. The cripple stepped
on the deaf mute's toe. Whereupon
the mute uttered a roar of rage. and
| the cripple jumped like a cricket.
The police roundup of fakes and
\ mendicants brought to light several
very interesting facts. BY far the
greater part of the beggars of all
| kinds are professionals. Most of them
are poor enough, but not a few have
bank accounts and some of them ac-
| cumulate small fortunes. They are
| organized to a certain extent, and
| have recognized leaders who direct
their efforts. Strangely enough, some
of them seem to follow begging for
| love of the business rather than be-
cause they need the money.
Inc person who actually COM
| PEELED to beg by unfortunate circum-
| stances seems tosbe really rare in New
| York. This is shown by the fact that
| SO per cent of the persons arrested
| for mendicancy were convicted. Prac<
tically all of these were professional
| beggars and most of them fakes. One
| pathetic old man was discovered beg
ging to save himself and his son from
starvation, was cared for and turned
over to charity. One man of edu-
cation, who had been a professor of
| theology was found begging in a sub
way, and startled the police by spout
! ing Latin quotations at them An
artist of ability, 80 years old was
| round soliciting aims as the sequel to
a prolonged spree.
These were the exceptions. Nearly
all OF the rest were professionals. One
| Richard Welsh, As years old, and pre-
maturely gray so that he was very
successful in the part of a decrepit
| old man. was said to be the recog-
| nized leader of all the beggars in New
York, and to direct their effort even
when in Jail. The actual extent of his
decrepitude may be gagged from the
fact that he beat off two policemen
with his walking stick the last time
he was arrested, and did not surrender
| until relnforcements came up. He is
said to have a considerable amount of
| money of his own, and to be married
to a wealthy woman.
! Another gopher of Hebrew origin
| who served a short Jail term last win
ter suffered the equivalent of heavy
| fine at the same time: for while he
was in prison one of the three banks
in which he kept his money closed its
doors, and he lost several hundred
dollars, which caused him extreme
mental anguish. The gophers never
pay fine, no matter how we'll able to
do so. - :
Strong-arm beggars, who take an
openly threatening attitude if they are
refused, are by no means uncommon.
A man of wealth. we'll known in New
York, was quietly but successfully held
up in this way by three men in broad
daylight. No weapons were shown
and little was said. but it was made
plain to the victim that only his money
could save his skin
There is at least one case on record
in which one of these sidewalk pirates
successfully levied tribute. This man
Is Sa1o 10 nave hao Writlen cohtr ac'
with a New York assemblyman by
which the latter agreed to pay the
gopher 25 cents a week for life. In
return the politician was not to be
moIested. This beggar explained to
the police that he was saving up to
buy a farm.
The average beggar. like the aver
age everything else, just barely makes
a living, but the talented ones do a
great deal better. Thus Joseph Nono
arrested for mendicancy, and having
no other occupation, was found to
| have bank accounts totaliing $4,000
an apartment on West End avenue. a
dress suit, a photograph and some
diamonds. The prosperous topper
nearly always has a few diamonds
They are conveniently portable form
in which to keen wealth. Signaro