Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-27

and the arrest of Beck was read with
wide interest.
That evening, Mary Harvey, servant
| to Ottilie Meissonnier, came to the
police station and was asked if she had
ever seen Beck before. Without hesi-
tation she said:
He is the man who swindled my
mistress!"
Daisy Grant. another victim Of the
same thief, whoever he was, also
| identified Beck as the guilty man.
But 1 should want to see him with
his hat off before I could be sure"
! She was asked to turn her back,
and six other men were placed on
line with Beck when he took his hat
of. Daisy Grant identified Beck at
once.
Beck was then held without bail for
| trial.
The publicity brought a number of
women forward who had been VIC
tlmized and wanted to get look at
! the arrested man.
Minnie Lewis identified Beck as the
man who he'd defrauded her
| A Mrs. Lester, another victim, also
accused him.
Fanny Mutt. Marion Taylor, Evelyn
Miller, Alice ST. Clair. Ethel Townsend.
Juliette Kluth, Kate Brakefield-all
these were so sure that Beck was the
same man who had stolen their rings
that their accusations were the charges
on which Beck was tried, together with
those by Daisy Grant and Ottilie Meis-
| sonnier
| In the course of the trial some news
paper reader wrote to the police point
| ing out that the crimes with which
Beck was charged were identical in
character with those for which John
Smith" nearly score of years before
was given five years penal servitude
WhereupOn the police, becoming in
| terested, brought out from retirement
former Policeman Ellis Spurrell. who
had arrested Jonn Smith. and Inspec-
ter Redstone. who took charge of the
prisoner at the police station
Both the former policemen now took
look at Beck and declared on oath
that he was John Smith"
Summing up briefly the evidence in
the case against Adolf Beck, We find IL
women, victims of the later series of
frauds. testifying that Beck was the
man who had swindled them Two
former police officers identified Beck as
the John Smith who years before had
been convicted of the same kind of
trick
In the face of all this. what other
alternative had the jury but TO convict
Adolf Beck for misdemeanor on 10
counts?
In vain he protested and tried to
prove that on the earlier date involved
he was in Peru; that he knew nothing
of either set of frauds: that until the
day of his arrest he had never set eyes
on anv of the women who charged him
with theft.
Disregarding his protestations of in
| nocence as the feeble resistance to be
expected of any guilty man, the judge
sentenced Adolf Beck to seven years
penal Servitude.
He was assigned the letter and num-
Der D. w 523 the w indicating that
he was being committed as the John
Smith who had been previously con-
victed.
Still strenuously protesting that he
was neither John Smith nor the man
| who had defrauded the women who
| testified against him. Beck was sent to
| Wormwood Scrubs and later to Port
! land Prison, where he began his long
! term.
Mr.. T. D. DUTTON, who had de-
A'A Tended Beck at the tri&, sent a
petition to the government protesting
that an innocent man had been con-
victed. The petition was not answered.
Beck himself sent petition. with no
better result.
Mr. Dutton than applied to the COM
missioner of police. asking leave to in
spect the records of John Smith. His
! application was refused.
| He applied to the home Office of the
British government for an interview
wherein to explain certain aspects of
! the Beck case that would tend to. clear
him. This application. too, was refused.
Finally at the insistence Of growing
/ group Of people who believed Beck to
| be innocent the prison authorities we're
moved to do little investigating. They
were startled to learn something which
the complacence of the authorities had
hitherto prevented from coming to
light
From the prison record of John Smith
| it was ascertained that there was an
ineradicable body mark on John Smith
which could not be found on Adolf
Beck. The governor of Portland Prison
thought this discovery important
enough to communicate it to the home
Office
The home Office communicated it to
! the Judge who had tried Adolf Beck.
Mr. Dutton was sure now that he saw
| Justice dawning for his client The
home secretary, however, wrote him
saying that he could do nothing to
interfere with Mr. Beck's sentence.
! One thing could be done, and was
done. The letter W which indicated