The watchman and southron. (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, May 10, 1919, Image 8
\* JTKe Rube Crop
| Confidence Men Cleared Up
$10,000,000 Last Year
p -?*
Chicago, May 6?The American con
:~- fldence man reaped a harvest of more
than $10,000,000 last year, according
to figures compiled by Chicago .au
thorities. This is the approximate
- amount actually collected from the
credulous public by professional con
fidence operators and does not in
clude the millions gathered in annu
ally by the various stockjobbing
?schemes.
The crude devices of the old time
confidence man, with his shell game,
tnree card monte, gold brick, green
goods, money changing and lemon
games, have given way to modern
methods more complex, and more
profitable.
The really successful confidence
men of to-day usually have summer
k<? and winter homes, ride in limousines
and are aided by richly gowned wo
... 'men, authorities say. They are edu
cated and far more clever than their
i:\ brothers of old days, whose favorite
f trick in Chicago was to sell the Ma
sonic Temple to a "rube" for a
small sum, or agree to make the
building "turn around.'*
Land selling schemes, peddling of
worthless mine and oil well stock,
wire tapping, and "fake" sporting
events are now the hand maidens of
. the modern confidence man, who
matches wits with the banker, cap
italist and lawyer, instead of dealing
with the ignorant ruralite. Nearly
all the victims of a Chicago gang re
cently sent to the penitentiary were
bankers and business men. The gang's
loot aggregated more than half a mil
lion dollars a year.
Pear of publicity keeps most vic
tims quiet, thus giving the high class
confidence man a' certain, degree of
immunity, authorities say. They add
that federal prosecution for using the
mails to defraud has been a big fac
tor in breaking up gangs, and recently
brought about conviction of half a
dozen leading confidence workers.
"Tom Brown, who came' from De
? troit and made his headquarters in
New York, was father of the present
type of confidence man." said William
A. Pinkerton. veteran detective, in
striking a comparison between the old
and new swindlers. "He operated for
ty years ago and formerly was a three
card mcnte man. He was known as e
bunco steerer and won by fake lot
tery schemes and other crooked gam
bling' devices. Then he invented the
gold brick with which he toured the
country. The green game came later
and Brown had many imitators who
picked up thousands annually. Wire
tapping and other schemes now used
developed from those old games. The
modern operators don't bother with
small money and often clean up $100.
000 in a single deal. The old timers
thought $1,000 a big job.
} "Victims are not really honest at
j heart, for they often enter into a
i scheme to cheat another fellow. The
ismall town banker and business man
ihas proved a shining mark for swinCi
llers. They cannot risk their repnta
? tions by complaining, it is surprising
.'how many shrewd business men fall
j into the net."
! It is estimated that $3.000,000 of the
'$10.000,000 total was obtained in
; Florida where hundreds of confi
i donee workers are said to Operate,
particularly among winter tourists.
Red Cross in Bulgaria
Relief Workers Met With Amus
j ing Adventures as Weil as
! Hardships
j Saloniki, March 29 (Correspond
ence of The Associated Press)?Some
?of the more amusing "human inter
jest" incidents of the activities of the
; American Red Cross nurses and field
! workers during the repatriation of
; Creeks deported into Bulgaria dur
! ing the war are related by Lieuten
; ant A. S. Bedell, in charge of the
I American Red Cross relief stations
in Macedonia and Bulgaria,
i "We came into Bulgaria on a Ger
man freight car," says Lieutenant Be
-dell in his report. This Red Cross car
j was the first car of the first train
jthat ran from Serres to Saloniki after
i the armistice and it was with the Red
j Cross from the time we entered Bul
I garia unil we returned to Greece,
j "On the trip out of Bulgaria we
[had one iron bed and two camp cots.
I One Red Cress man slept on a crate
i of biscuit tins, the bed being de
mountable to furnish live chairs by
i day. The Red Cross man turned over
[frequently in the night bringing dis
i cord from the tins but despite our
protests at his noisy mode of sleeping,
'he declared he had a "rattling good
bed'.
"Firewood was obtainable along the
route and wc were able to use our
I
woodsiove after cutting a hole in the
side of the car for the stove pipe,
j Liquid food proved our only difficul
i ty. It was impossible to boil even half
an inch of water on the stove when
'the car was in motion. We had a real
j American coffee grinder. The coffee
j beans were put in a clean sock and
?one of the men to the tune of 'Yan
: kee Doodle' would crush the beans
! with a hammer.
When chicken was wanted for din
ner on" of the party would go out;
i with half a cap of sugar in hand. \
j wander about the village until he saw i
a. 'likely' chicken. which he would I
thereupon seize. Th<* native woman]
who made the most outcry was pre-j
I sumed to be the owner ami usual):. :
was glad to accept the half cup of!
sugar in exchange. Our much iria
: ligned ration of 'bully beef proved
: to be acceptable alao.
j ''Bartering was the order of'the
j day at ali stations. A slice of bread
J would obtain three shines, fill a large
j water jar or attract a carriage of sup
? plies. During our last afternoon in
Dedegatch, on the Aegean Sea, we
?had the use of a horse and wagon all
afternoon, in order to return bor
rowed furniture, for the payment of
j one tin of 'bully beef."
i The fame of American Red Cross
[relief stations spread throughout
[Bulgaria to such an extent that other
irted Cross workers and British and!
i French officers, including two French
! generals, sough" us out in passing to
? secure a canteen of hot tea or to
; replenish depleted rations."
I New Officer Named j
j Bock Hill. May 7.?J. T. Fain, re- j
? tiring president of the South Carolina
; Christian Endeavor Union has re
j turned from the South Carolina-Geor-j
,gia convention of Endeavorers held inj
. Augusta. Ga., the past week-end. He j
reports a large attendance of South j
; Carolinians and speaks highly of thej
[ hospitality of the Augusta people. The i
election of officers for the South Car-j
? olina union resulted in the return of
jWyatt A. Taylor of Columbia to his
I former position as president of the
i union, an office held by him before go- j
j ing into the field work of the all-j
; South committee several years ago.
j Miss Claudia Fr?ser of Sumter was!
Ire-elected secretary and Mrs. Wyatt A. j
[Taylor of Columbia was re-elected!
treasurer. Lieut. Norwood DuRantj
of Alcolu was chosen vice president, j
while Mr. Faht was elected honorary!
vice president for a period of two j
years. j
LIVE IN COMFORT
DURING THE HOT WE A THER
Oar Summer Furniture is cool, light in weight, and
pleasing in design. A good variety to select from.
O/l ?a i?*nrJiir*t-*rf-k*q on a^ wo?l ra?s offered
4&U Cent IXeUUCllOn forthe next thirty days
FLOOR COVERINGS
H SHADES
D SUITS
9x17 CREX RUGS at - - $13.00
Special-Porch Rockers, $4.50 to 6.50
Sellers Kitchen Cabinets Ue NEW EDIS0N
Jennings ? ^Jainey furniture
" THE HOME FURNISHERS "
West Liberty
Sumter
The City of Fiume
Adriatic Seaport for Which
Italians and Jugo-SIavs
Are Contending
Washington. May i?.?"If Trieste
was the Bremen of Austria, Fiume ;
was the Hamburg of the Hungarian]
Kingdom, a close rival for the brisk
Adriatic trade of the period before Lhej
wa r.'* says a bulletin of the National j
Geographical Society. j
The bulletin on Fiume is the third!
in a series of geographic news iinll?--I
tins dealing with places of the former j
dual empire which may fall either to
Italy or to tie- Jugo-Slav nation.
''Fiume is another of those foot
holds on th<- eastern Adriatic where
Italians clung fast despite the steady
influx of Slavs in the interior, and.
in this ease even into Fiume itself
Thus the city bears evidence of early
Italian culture, it figured as a potent
Slav factor in the turmoil of Balkan
politics, and it fell strongly the in
fluence of Hungary upon its thriving
industries and fast growing commerce.
"Magyar gerrymandering caused it
to be annexed to Hungary in 1870, de
spite the protest of Croatia to which
it had belonged since the revolution
of 1848-49. Tender consideration for
its value as a seaport, rather than for
its citizens, prompted its establishment
as a royal free town, making it i
geographical slice of about seven
square miles cut out of Croatia.
"Despite the llungarinn interest ii
the city its pre-war population was 9 0
per cent Italian and Slav, with the
Italians slightly predominant. Only
about half the remaining tenth were
Hungarians. The Slavs included
Croats. Serbs and Slovenes. As im
portant to Hungary as are Xew York
or I tost on to the United States.
Plume's total population is not much
greater than such suburbs of those
American ports as East Orange, X.
J., or Brockton. Mass.
"Fiume is situated on the north
cast shores of thm Gulf of Quarnero,
only seventy miles, by rail, southeast
of its trade rival, Trieste. ,- ;ross the
bay is the popular summer resort,
Abbazia, famed for its evergreen
laurel and profusion of roses, to which
tens of thousands of visitors formerly
thronged each summer.
"The older town, distinctively Ital
ian, is built on the hillside, overlook
ing the gulf. The newer city lies
nearer the waterfront. There are
three harbors. The largest, accom
modating 1.10 large vessels, is pro
tected by a breakwater half a mile
long. The quay is nearly two miles
long.
"Before the war Flume's manufac
turing plants included a government
tobacco factory, the Whitehead tor
pedo works, a rice shelling factory, a
petroleum refinery, and many smaller
plants, among which were saw mills
and paper mills. Its fisheries con
stituted an important industry. Jt ex
ported sugar, grain. Hour, horses ar.d
timber.
"Fiume had a governor, who was a
member of the upper house of the
Hungarian parliament, four represen- !
tatives in the lower house, and twoj
representatives in the diet of the!
Croatians and Slovenes.
"Originating in Roman times,
Fiume was destroyed by Charlemagne
in 7!?9. The Franks ruled it for a
considerable period. Then it passed
to feudal loids until the Emperor
Frederick III made it a part of Aus-j
I tria.
j This emperor, who was Frederick V,
as achhduke of Austria, was tlie
; son of Ernest, tho 'man of iron' and
Cymburga, a Polish woman, from
?whom the Hapsburgs are thought !o
have inherited the protruding lower
i lip which sometimes became a dis
j figurement. His long and inconse
I quential reign is recalled chiefly be
.cause he puzzled lexicographers by
'leaving on his books, pottery, and
having inscribed on his tomb, the ini
tials "A. E. L O. IV, a promissory note
of future Austrian greatness which
Frederick did little to realize. Tin
most generally accepted explanation is
that the initials stood for the Latin.
'Austriae Est Imperari Orbi Universe.'
meaning, 'All the earth is subject .0
Austria.'
"Charles VI proclaimed Fiume a
free port. Maria Theresa first united
it with Hungary. Successively occu
pied by the French and British it re
verted jo Austria and later was restor
ed to Hungary before it was ceded to
Croatia."
Lloyd-George Endorses Salvation j
Army.
David Lloyd Ceprge ih<- man of the
hour Iii England today, when told
thai the Salvation Army in America
"/as aboui t<> conduct a campaign for
funds with which to continue their
home service work, cabled Evangeline
Booth a strong endorsement of the
ca use
Following is his message:
"British Delegation,
"Paris. April S. 1919.
"Dear .Madam: I have very great
!j pleasure in sending you this cable to
ay how highly 1 think of the great
; work which has been done by the
i Salvation Army amongst the Allied
armies in France and the other the
atres of war. From ull sides 1 hear
iJthe most glowing accounts of the w; y
hi which your people have added to
(the comfort and welfare of our sol
;diers. T<> me it has always been a
great joy to think how much the suf
ferings and hardships endured by our
I troops in all parts o;* the world have
'I been lessened by the self-sacrifice
and devotion shown t<? them by that
excellent organization, the Salvation
(Armv. "
' Tlie Salvation Army Home Service
! Fund Campaign for $13.000.000 will
j be conducted during the week of!
May 19-25.
Peking Cut Off
[American Ambassador Reports
j Interruption of Wire Service
J Paris. May S.?American Amhas
isador Reinch at Peking has informed
[Secretary Lansing that all wire cora
; munication out of Peking has been
i cut, except one wire to Siberia.
Reappearance of
Chaparone
Resumption of English Industry
That' War Destroyed
London, April 1 (Correspondence of
the Associated Press)?The- chapei"
one is reappearing in London, after
more than four years of absence he
cause of the war. American women,
the society lenders say. are respon
sible, because they want to see Lon
don, and independent and self reliant
as they are. they du not want to see
;t. wit hour the assurance they will be
well chaperoned.
The chaperone, once a well estab
lished institution in England, lost her
calling when women went in for war
work. Many a young girl who had
never ventured from home without
the guiding hand of a chaperone took
j to driving an ambulance, while others
? were installed in the "Waaes." the
I "Raffs" <>r soni" one of the many oth
er women's organizations which had
i to do with the prosecution of tin- war.
IThese vigorous young women had no
i us*- for ? haperones.
j Th American women who want
chaperones also are war workers. Red
i Cross. Young Women's Christian As
j sociation aids and miens who are
'here. They, too. are self reliant and
I independent, but when they doff their
uniforms and go out to see London
or spend a. part of their very little
j leisure time in the gaieties of the city,
they feel they ought to subscribe to
j the conventions.
ANTWERP
i Is Slowly Resuming Business Activity,
i _
i
i Antwerp, April 16 (Correspondence
? of The Associated Press)?Antwerp
[appears to be passing through a pro
i cess of resurrection, although the ton
J nag? handled since the port was re
i opened more than three months ago
represents that which .would ordinar
ily come through this port in one
j week during the days prior to the
I war. Ships now come straggling in,
and along the seven-mile waterfront
j the winch is heard creaking here and
[there, and the vision in some of the
j great sheds is obstructed by unpreton
! tious stacks of bags of American rice
j and rows of barrels of Chicago pork,
and there are foodstuffs, clothing and
j manufactured articles, most of which.
! however, is for immediate use.
J The American Commission of Re
J lief in Belgium had seventeen steam
ships in port early in April and the
j American base for supplying the
j American army of occupation in Ger
many was unloading five others.
! Shipping men are anxiously await
ing the opening of the American base
at Contich, about two miles outside
I of Antwerp on the Malines road. Bar
I racks are being erected at Contich for
i the accommodation of 20,000 soldiers
l?t a time. This is expected to inject
a little more life into Antwerp port.
The grounds picked out for the
American base is a vast plain, dry and
well irrigated, and the doughboys will
find living and sanitary conditions
there much better than in other bases
which have achieved greater prestige.
The Americans have taken over
some of the piers where North Ger
man-Lloyd steamships formerly dock
ed. The early work was arduous, as
the piers were encumbered with grav
el imported from Holland by Ger
mans, ostensibly to repair roads but
actually to build reinforced concrete
shelters, augouts and trenches. One!
hundred thousand cubic yards of the j
gravel had to he removed before, the j
piers could he used. It is estimated
the Germans had enough gravel there!
to repair Belgian roads for fifty years.
Fifteen thousand longshoremen and!
stevedores are idle here and the
only solution shipping men find when |
questioned as to how the situation can [
be remedied may be summed up in |
one word: "America."
Souvenirs From Coblenz
American Soldiers Sending- Va
riety of Articles to Home
Folks
Coblenz, April ?Soldiers of the
American Army of Occupation in the
I region of Coblenz have been sending
I home more souvenirs recently than at
any previous time since the Americans
reached the Rhine. At first these
souvenirs consisted of German hel
imets, iron crosses, bayonets and oth
er articles ol war used by tin- defeat
ed army, bin 01* late the soldiers have
been buying German steins and other
articles made of pottery.
Within the American area on the
east bank of the Rhine there are
several pottery plants which have
been working overtime during the
past few weeks turning out souvenirs
for the soldiers. All kinds of potterj
pieces are made, bearing the soldiers'}
name and unit while he watches the!
process of manufacture. At the Amor-1
iean postoffice in Coblenz officers esti
mate that about sixty mail sacks of
souvenirs are shipped, to the Cnited
States every day.
Spend Less
Enjoy Yourself More
Take Your r
Vacation m?
\m\
at tho
Redpath |r
Chautauqua
i
The 100% Program
Chnuta-mui Week Hero. May 1G-2;
3.
I Rate Arguments
Concluded
Supreme Court May Decide
Soon
Washington, May 6.?Arguments in
the telephone and telegraph rate cases
involving the. authority of the post
! master generrl to increase intrastate
'toll rates wer concluded late today in
jihe supreme court and the cases taken
I under advisement. In view of the im
portance of the questions involved
both in the wire cases and railroad
rate eases argued yesterday, it is be
lieved the court will render decisions
in the two cases before the summer
adjournment next month,
j The court before recessing today
'until May 19 issued an order permit
| ting the postmaster general to charge
j increased telegraph rates in Illinois
land temporarily stayed the carrying
j into effect of injunctions, issued by
j federal Judge Landis enjoining the
i postmaster general from making the
increase effective. The order, which
[was announced by Chief Justice
I White, remains in effect until the ap
! peais have been finally disposed of ami
continues in operation a similar order
granted by the lower court for the
purpose of permitting the appeal to
be brought.
With the conclusion of the heur
j ings today arguments in all pending
j cases closed for the term. The court.
I however, after rendering opinions on
May 1!} will receive for two weeks,
land final adjournment for the sum
mer will be on June S.
Arguments today were made by W.
P. Hitchcock of Boston, assistant at
torney general for Massachusetts; Oli
ver E. Sweet, assistant attorney gen
eral of South Dakota; Fred S. Jack
son, representing the State of Kan
sas, and Raymond S. Pruitt, assistant
attorney general of Illinois, all in be
half of proceedings attacking the
postmaster general's order brought in
their respective States. Henry ! S.
Robbins of Chicago made the closing
argument for the government.
Attorneys representing the States
contended that adequate provision had
been made by the States for deter
mining the justness of intrastate wire,
rates, that the interstate commerce
I commission had authority to regulate
j rates, although this power had never
I been exercised and that congress had
* no intention and no thought of any
j one attempting to exercise the juris
l diction over the wire propertie's the
I postmaster general is exercising. Mr.
j Robbins contended that congress con
j fered "one man power" upon the
j president to enable him to take over
the resources of the country for the
successful prosecution of the war,
that he or his agents had ample au
thority to fix rates and that congress
had no intention 6f hampering him in
the operation of these utilities.
The Trans-Atlantic Air Race.
At least a score of aircraft, of va
ried design, ^flying the flags of six
nations, are being prepared for. trans
Atlantic flight. Xo contest has prob
jably ever aroused so general an inter
I national r.v'alry, or faced so extreme a
I hazard. The oversea flight is the se
j verest. as it is the most picturesque,
! demonstrating of flying craft, and of
the skill and daring of air pilots. The
successful Atlantic crossing by air
craft, so confidently predicted, will
close, dramatically, its amazing war
activities and inaugurate its commer
cial conquests.
The United States enters the contest
.yith a formidable fleet of aircraft.
Our main dependence is probably the
great navy Hying boats of the N. C. 1
type, which are now being tuned up
for the race. One of these airboats
with a wing spread of 125 feet has ac
tually carried Hi passengers in flight,
reaching a speed of upwards of 100
miles an hour. By utilizing this car
rying capacity to stow away gasoline,
the boat, with a crew of four men
and their provisions, will have a cruis
ing radius of over 2,000 miles. At least
one of these boats has been equipped
with four Liberty Motors develop!
over 1,200 horsepower, which gives
four chances to one over a angle mo
tored machine. America, and 'Eng
land will cooperate in -^plaVing swift
torpedo-boat destroyers at intervals of
sixty miles along the course, which .
will be in constant communication by
! wireless telegraph or telephone with
I the flying craft.
An army pilot may attempt the
flight with one of the huge high-pow
ered Martin bombers.
The craft has a wing spread of 100
feet, an unusual carrying capacity, and
a speed higher than that of the flying
boats. The land machine carries no
pontoons of any kind, but should it be
forced down in the water it is planned
to send up a small balloon attached
to the forward part of the craft,
which will serve to keep it afloat in
definitely, as well as signal over an ex
tended radius for assistance.
It is rumored in the trade that at
least two aircraft manufacturers are
working on special machines for over
seas llights whose secrets are being
carefully guarded. America will also
be represented in the contest by at
least two airships. The largest of the
naval dirigibles, a 20fi-foot blimp, is
being made ready, and a well-known
I balloon manufacturer has constructed
j.a giant dirigible 650 feet in length
designed for oversea hying. -Francis
Arnold Collins, in the American Re
view of Reviews for May
Palace of Cortez
Ancient Edifice to Be Repaired
and Used as Museum
Mexico City. April 15.?The palace
of Cortez. in the suburbs of Coyoacan,
is to l>e reconstructed by the govern
ment and used as a museum for rel
ics of the Spanish conquest. Thrt
structure, 400 years old. has been al
lowed to fall into ruins. In the court
yard are ancient trees, under which
Hernan Cortez and his familiars were
wont to rest. These are hundreds of
years older than the ancient building
itself. The chapel attached to the
palace is still in good condition.