Evening star., 1934-07-05
Legal Aid Bureau of Social
Agencies Reports Many
Complaints.
WOMEN MORE GULLIBLE
THAN MEN, IT IS CLAIMED
Improvement Company Swindle
Is Also Called to Attention
of Home Owners.

A warning against the '1unch-and-
SELF system OF dlsposlng OF real estate
was sounded today by the Legal Aid
Bureau of the Washington Council OF
Social Agencies, which has OF late
been deluged with complaints from
defra uded purchasers too poor to hlre
lawyers to protect their rights.
According TO complaints from many
victims, the system OF getting rid or
worthless real estate tor cash follows
well worn patterns. 1t operates ap-
proXimately as follows:
Prospective buyers Of water front or
other rural property are transported
to the location tree in buSseS. ted a
good luncheon and then taken over
the property. The finest lots are
pointed out to them ana the salesman
urges them to buy "one like those, -
stating that in few months the prop
erty can be reSoId tor three times what
is PAID tor 1t.
No Agreement to Resell.
The customer signs a paper. turns
over a large cash payment, and later
NISNONCAo I441I 4ldS dS W OdS
a lot of marshy land, unsuitable for
any development and with no resale
value whatsoever. On examining the
paper carefully, he usually discovers,
also. that in spite of the verbal assur-
snces of the salesman the contract
states specifically in small print. that
there is no agreement to resell the
property.
Miss Clephane said that there we're
several suits on contracts of this sort
pending in District Supreme Court,
and that N Baltimore recently one
large concern Of this character had
Closed its office. due to the activity
of the press and the social agencies
there.
These lunch-and-s concerns, she
said, attach great faith to the guilt
bility of women. rating them as twice
as easy to defraud as men. AS an in
ducement to furnish names of possible
buyers, one of them will pay 81 each
for the names of woman prospects,
but only so cents for the names of
prospects who are mere males. They
specialize, Miss Clephane said. in GUS
toners who have low-paying jobs in
the Government service.
Bring Foreclosure Suit.
Another swindle which crops up
often is used by improvement COM
panies, who approach ignorant prop
erty owners with an offer to make
certain repairs to their property and
thereby secure desirable tenants or
buyers. After the work is Performed
a bill is rendered for an amount SO
large that the property owner is un-
able to meet it. He is then told that
he need not pay cash if he will sign
certain papers. He signs. Usual re-
suit: He has signed negotiable note,
secured by a deed of trust, for many
times the value of the repairs. When
he is unable to pay up. the improve
ment company brings a foreclosure
suit and takes the property away from
him.
TIE Legal Aid Bureau has been in
existence since October, 1882. 1t offers
free legal counsel and assistance to
those unable to pay for it. Many diff
ferert cases have been handled by
the bureau. with wage and debt claims
heading the list. Next in order come
landlord and tenant cases and domes-
tic relations.
Twelve Volunteer Attorneys.
There are II attorneys who volun-
teer their services to the bureau, each
with a student assistant Where a
case offered to the bureau is one
which gives promise of recovery of a
large sum of money, the case is re-
ferred to some lawyer not connected
with the bureau.
The volunteer members of the staff
are Beatrice A Clephane director; !;
Julian L. Latimer, jr.; James B. Ho-
gan, Mrs Pearl B. Klein, Allan Fish
er, Mrs Elaine Cogswell. Robert Nc
Leod, Miss Marie McCathran and
Miss Helen Prentiss
The Advisory Committee of the bu-
reau comprises Gregory Cipriani. Miss
Clephane, John McD1l Fox, dean of
Catholic University Law School
George c. Gertman, secretary of the
District Bar Association; George E.
Hamilton. dean of Georgetown Uni
versity Law School; Miss Elizabeth C.
Harris, Arthur HELEN. j. Wilmer Lat
inner, Alvin L. Newmyer. Louis Often
berg. Mrs. Grace Hays Riley. dean of
the Washington College of Law; Ed
ward N Stafford. Seiforde M. Stell-
wagen. William o. Van Week. dean Of
the George Washington University
Law School, and Dean Hill Stanley.