The evening world., 1922-04-29
z BRITISH CON MEN
IN MERRY WIDOW"
PARTY SAIL TODAY
Continued from First Page.)

boats while the men who went down
with the ship remained on the main
deck in obedience to the rule of the
sea: women and children hrst"
Roland and Lawson were brought
to New York to-day from Ellis Island,
where they had been under detention,
by a special guard, who escorted them
to the Office Of Col. Thomas Fielder,
counsel to Mrs. Lewis. Col. Fielder
was retained by Mrs. Lewis's London
barristers after she discovered that she
was In the hands of .sharpers and
cabled them for advice.
Accompanied by the guard and Col.
Fielder Lawson and Roland rode to
Pier ~, North River. and boarded the
Royal Mail packet Oropesa. which
sailed at IL o'clock for Plymouth and
Hamburg. The Britishers were ap-
parently cheerful over getting away
without any trouble. Lawson COM
planned that he had lost gold headed
cane on Ellis Island.
II mIslald It," he explained. ~ hope
the officials will send it to me when
they find it," :
Other members of the round the
world party that went on the rocks
after getting only as far as New
York, we're Miss Elsie Stevens, an
English actress; her fiance. Ralph A
NJ. Haslan. worth n million and a
prominent London lawyer. and Mrs.
Jane Kelland. Miss Stevens's chap
erone. ALI have seen enough OF the
world for the present. They sail for
home on the Aquitania Tuesday.
1t was sort of self starting party,
setting out from Monte Carlo last
winter. The wealthy and socially
prominent Britishers had been spend.
ing money lavishly along the Riviera
and early in March started from
Naples on the liner Adriatic, which
was making Mediterranean ports. It
went first to Cairo, then returned to
| Naples.
Miss Stevens and her chaperone
| were having luncheon at a hotel there
one day when Roland approached and
! pretended to know them. He didn't.
but hdH met Mr.. Haslan. 80 he made
himself he -sarty. when he
learned Miss and the others
we're going to, a tour of the
world. heading firsI sr America, he
said 1t would be jolly fine and he had
had similar trip in mind.
| He was rather likeable chap, Il
seemed. and no objection was made
to his joining the trio When the
ship showed off from Naples he was
aboard and very soon he presented
his friends. Hobbs" and frankie
Dwyer. And. in some fashion that
was not quite clear to anybody. the
seventh member. "the merry widow, "
became attached to the outfit.
| There were many breezy parties
aboard. and when the ship reache d
this port at the end of March all seven
persons went to the Biltmore. They
were going on further and were going
all the way around the world-but
something happened.
Roland's wife. who had been left
behind when he started on the gay
journey, arrived here. She went to
the hotel and registered under the
correct family name-Radlcy. She
had a different room from her hus-
| band, but they exchanged visits, 1t
| appeared, and the hotel management,
regarding it as queer that Mr.. Ro-
ana and Mrs Radley were 80 init
nate, ordered them out Of the place.
The wife was sore about the whole
,usiness. and this episode didn't help
ner temper. She gave her husband
three days to go back to the Biltmore
management and explain that she was
really his wife. But he wouldn't do
It, so she had him arrested. The po-
ice also took his companion
Hobbs" into custody. learning that
ne as we'll as Roland was wanted by
Scotland Yard for some phony stock
transactions. Then II was decided 10
deport them for entering on falsitied
passports.
At this stage of the game "the
merry widow" passed right out Of the
picture. Roland had been paying a
lot of attention to her. and he and
Hobbs had got $4,000 away from
her. frankie Dwyer. the American
con artist. also did a fade-out
And there were the three survivors
the original starters of the party
left by themselves.
THE whole thing was a very unfor-
tunate affair."" said Miss Stevens
to-day. I'VE are glad to be rid of oul
unlimited companions. Mr.. Haslan Ii
ll--too Ill to see anybody--and We
have all three decided to go no further
but to return to England Tuesday"
II Attorney Thomas 3. Fielder. who
/ represents the interests of "the merry
widow" Mrs. Lewis. said she did moi
expect to get her money back from
the two British con men, but the loss
OF IT was not highly important to her
; since she was worth millions. Mr.
Fielder declared the Brtishers are
handsome, charmingly hammered :un