Arizona republican., 1918-02-17
UNLIMITED GALL |S SO[E ASSET NEEDED
 BY BOGUS MARQUIS
Republican A. p. Leased Wire1

NEW Ohh, feD. lO.-f1OW Sl1 .d week telephone operator, posing as His EXcellency, the Marquis Edmund Rous- selot di Castillot, confidential repre- sentative of His Majesty, King Alfonso XIII of Spain, opened negotiations with the banking house of J. P. Morgan & Co.,. for a loan of s50,000,000 to Spain and, by promising that Spain would en- ter the war on the side of the entente allies, brought the state department into the matter, was revealed in the federal court here Friday when three indictments were returned against Ed mond Rousselot, under the espionage law.
 Rousselot was pressing his plan for the loan when chance caused his ar rest on another charge, and his castle in Spain quickly toppled.
 William Pierson Hamilton of the Morgan house. was foreman of the grand jury which returned the indict- ments, and was familiar with the en- tire transaction because he was the member of the firm to whom the mat ter was entrusted.
 When the subject of the loan was preached to the bank by Rousselot, who had been properly introdced by W. E. D. Stokes of New York City. the bank Immediately communicated with Secretary Lansing, who opposed the loan to the Spanish government 1 through an individual and suggested that it be taken up through the regular government channels. Rousselot ob- jected to this method of procedure, eX- blaming that the loan was to be made personally to King Alfonso, and it was because of this secret arrangement he could promise that Spain was to join the entente allies.
 The negotiations still were under way and MT. Hamilton had the matter under consideration. when Rousselot, about three weeks ago, was arrested on the charge of falsely representing him. self as Count Rousselot," a French diplomat here on a secret mission, and being unable to obtain bail was sent to jail. This led to inquiry, and the whole affair was laid before the grand jury.
 It developed that Rousselot had not confined his operations to banking houses, but numbered among his con- fiding friends one woman from whom he had borrowed $10,0O0 on oil stocks of doubtful value but for the redemp- tion of which he had pledged his "an- ceStrlaI estates.
 Another of his friends was a promi- nent actress, who told the authorities she had been introduced to Count Rousselot' and. believing him to be ir the French diplomatic service, had vis- tied an English warship in the harbol with him. As his credentials were l well covered with seals which seemed to be all right, they were taken ovei 1 the ship, and shown every courtesy l she said.
 Rouselot established himself in g | suite in a fashionable hotel and there received many letters which are de- scribed as being covered with crest: and seals and addressed to him a: Marquis" Count" and Kings Mes. | senger."
 The documents, when examined b, the authorities, proved to be letters apparently written by Rousselot tt himself.
 One of them, purporting to hay, come from the king of Spain, bore large red seal impressed by the stam, of the commissioner of deeds of Vast chester county, N. Y. He also had rubber stamp bearing the words Min istre de la Guerrero which the au
 
 as French diplomat When represent ing himself as the agent of the kin, of Spain, he used a crest cut from tn advertisement of a leading furrier they declare.
 A little later, Rousselot moved to tn Hotel Ansonia, where he told MI Stokes. the owner, that he was Kin, Alfonso's confidential agent in thi country and in support of his state ment displayed his collection of 'cre dentials." He further explained that h expected a visit from Jules Jusserano th& French ambassador, but did no have the necessary funds to entertai him. MT. Stokes advanced him $50 and one of the indictments has to d. with this transaction. From this con versation, Rousselot succeeded in hay ing MT. Stokes introdue- him to tn Morgan firm.
 Another indictment charges Rousse lot with forging a government licens permitting him to visit American war ships, and still another alleges tn theft of official note paper of the treas ury department.