The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-02-13
MEANEST OF ALL SWINDLERS BUSY
 IN ENGLAND NOW
Soulless Funeral Chasers" Prey on Widows of Men
 Killed In Action.
SCHEMERS PRESENT
 VARIETY OF TRICKS
Sale of Souvenirs" Left by Soldiers Most Common
 Used by Cheats.

London, Feb. 13-More light can now be shed on the methods of that most offensive and detestable of all imposters, the man who callously se- lects his prey through the medium of the casualty lists.
 Several cases have come under mo- re in which the bereaved woman has been cozened or badgercI into buying from persons her lamented husband never heard of the personal souvenirs and "Sacred reminiscences'' they al- lege he left behind.
 The Dog Trick
 The trick requires no brilliant i'm agination nor great ingenuity, as the following examples will show. The first letter was from sharpy in Bed minister and it reached a orkshire widow four days after the announce ment that her husband had been kill ed in action.
 Dear Madam:-I was very
 much cut up when I heard of
 your poor husbands death. He
 was thorough sport and straight
 as a die.
 He was very warm friend of
 mine, and the day before he went
 to France he persuaded me to sell
 him my splendid little fox terrier.
 His intention was to bring it home
 when he came on leave, and he
 laughed when he said it would be
 nice surprise for you.
 As he was my dear friend I
 only asked pounds for the dog,
 but everybody knows he is worth 20 lbs. I agreed to board the dog until your husband called for him, and to buy new collar with the name on, which I have done. I hope you can settle up with me for your dear husbands sake;
 he took such a pride in his pretty
 dog. The bill is: For the dog pounds, four months board lbs,
 collar and name Ss.. Please send Treasury notes in registered let
 ter. I will send dog off same day. The widow was unnaturally un strung over her bereavement, and tt her unsettled head the letter looked plausible enough, but an astute frien( | checked her just as she was fallinE into the trap. The statement wa wholly a concoction from beginning to end.
 | There is certainly some milk in thi same cocoanut, or the benevolent do, owner would not be wasting time, pa per and stamps on it.
 Camera Sharps
 A man who is pushing sorrowini widows, mothers, and sisters brett hard refinforces his florid fables witl a camera. He is of the very common est kind of carnivora, abounding il the garrison towns or making his lai close by the training camp. His abid ing mainstay is the casualty list, an hot on the heels of a family calamit the stricken household makes dis covery like this:
 Dear Mrs. - With sorrow " have noticed the name of - in the latest list of killed, and we
 send our sincere sympathy We
 also might mention that he was photographed by us twice, on the
 last occasion only a few hours before he was called for the front.
 He saw the proof and was very pleased with it, but he left before the photos could be finished We will send them on to you on receipt of los. and Sd. postage, and you will be pleased with them as well as satisfied at having dis charged the deceased's obligation. The last photograph and the "obl ! gation" are the two hooks that gr the victim in this heartless fraud, ar many people who could i'll afford u money have been "stung."