Newspaper Page Text
The Versatile Rogue
By George Barton
Frank Macy, Born in Freeport, Ill., Is Doubtful Hero of One of
Superintendent Froest’s Investigations.
[ J "i:
«
/ m
i. i
/ m \¥Ti 1 w
m A m.
h 1
Li m
} n.
t
I
'll m MM, Mr
— I
§3
W Ml I U ;. £ : s= 3
f/lk ■% sa*
1 5=Sa.
U
rwp
ff
ms?, v ~
-a
>
1*2 THE mPOSlTOJ? GZANEZDAT
A/ Oir THE OTHEP SIDE OF THE- DESHTANP NdiZE^s® SUBS
ENOUGH, Tt&BZ ms THE ODD
m HIS is a fragment
from the biography
of a versatile rogue
—a man whose ad¬
venturous career
mi leaps at a bound
from Chicago to
Cape Town, and
whose criminal his¬
tory is a part of
the police archives of New York,
Chicago, London, Paris, Vienna and
Berlin. Beginning as a prototype of
the Artful Dodger, he has gone from
pocket-picking to bunco steering, and
then run the entire gamut of crime,
•topping only—providentially, perhaps
— at murder. v
Frank Macy, the doubtful hero of
this queer story, was born at Freeport,
Ill. There are many old residents in
that place who still recall him as a
precocious baby, a smart boy, and a
•clever youth. Freeport soon proved to
be too small to satisfy his bulging
genius, but even before he left his
birthplace he made little excursions
from the paths of virtue which, in the
boy, are so often prophetic of the
man's career. When he reached man’s
estate he was tall and as straight as
sn Indian. He had coal-black hair and
a sallow complexion, which lighted up
brightly whenever he was In a humor
to be affable with his fellow-man.
It was In Chicago that Frank Macy
first distinguished himself in crime. A
little more than a dozen years ago an
advertisement appeared in the Chica¬
go papers stating that a wealthy
■widow, about to take a long trip
abroad, was willing to sell her favor¬
ite horse “Dobbin.”
After the money had been paid,
and within 24 hours, Dobbin began to
undergo a most curious transforma¬
tion. What had been a magnificent
specimen of horseflesh began to show
strange signs of decrepitude. He shriv¬
eled up, as it were; it seems almost
impossible to properly describe this
marvelous transformation in mere
words.
The scene now shifts from Chicago
to Low's Exchange in Trafalgar
Square, London. Wilkie at that time
-was the London correspondent of an
American paper, and while standing
in the corridor of this hostelry he was
•urprised to see his old-time "Gyp"
friend, Frauk Macy, enter and place
bis name on the hotel register. Macy
looked prosperous. He was dressed in
swagger style, wore a long coat, car¬
ried a heavy cane and had a sunburst
of diamonds reposing amidRt the folds
of a blood-red cravat—-in fact, he
looked too vulgarly rich to be true.
Wilkie consulted the hotel register
and found that his erstwhile criminal
friend had registered as Frank Lacy.
The change of attire and the assumed
name were suspicious and the Ameri¬
can lost no time In going to the tele¬
phone and calling up Frank Froest,
one of the brightest detectives in
Scotland Yard. Wilkie told Froest
that It might be worth his while to
come up to Low’s and have a look at
the latest addition to the American
invasion of London.
Not long after the meeting in Low's
Exchange all London became excited
over what was called the "Cutlass
Mystery.” It began when a well
dressed. elderly gentleman of consid¬
erable wealth was found on the side¬
walk with his head badly cut and the
blood flowing from several saber
wounds. He said he had no recollec¬
tion of how he came to be in such a
plight, and resolutely declined to give
the police any information upon the
subject. Two days later another man
was found similarly wounded and in
the same condition. He was not as
close-mouthed as the first individual,
and went so far as to say that his
misfortune was the result of a card
party in which he had participated
the previous night. He was unable,
however, to give the locality of the
house, having been taken there by an
obliging cabby whom he had sought
with a request to be conveyed to some
place where he could satisfy his de¬
sires to dally with the goddess of
chance. In less than 24 hours from
this time still another man was found
with two saber cuts about his head,
and then the “Cutlass Mystery*’ be¬
came the reigning sensation of Lon¬
don.
The next chapter In the history of
this curious rogue occurred at the lit¬
tle watering place of Margate. A mu¬
sical instrument dealer of Loudon was
taking his holiday at this resort and
was enjoying himself in a manner
such as is possible only to a London
tradesman. As he was strolling along
the strand he came face to face with
Lacy, who was then a fugitive from
justice. He grasped him by the coat.
"Mr. Lacy,” he exclaimed, “I am so
glad to see yon.”
“Why?" asked Lacy.
"Why," retorted the other, "because
now you will pay me for the mandolin
you bought from me about a month
ago.”
Lacy laughed.
‘You will pay me, wont’ you?" cried
the dealer, hysterically. "You wouldn’t
rob a poor man, would you?"
“Fade away," said the versatile
rogue. “I’m havin’ me holiday now,
and I can’t be disturbed by vulgar
tradesmen.’
Lacy immediately realized the mis¬
take he had made and, learning the
character of the telegram that had
been sent to Scotland Yard, made
quick preparations for shortening his
vacation at the cozy seashore resort.
He acted with characteristic disregard
of conventionalities. He summoned a
fisherman and hired him to take him
out in a small boat, and hailed a Cas¬
tle liner which was bound for South
Africa. By the aid of a clever “cock
and bull story" he induced the cap¬
tain to take him aboard and before
the Scotland Yard man reached Mar¬
gate Lacy was calmly sailing the sea
on his way to Cape Town.
Superintendent Froest immediately
telegraphed to the authorities at Cape
Town, describing Lacy, and instruct¬
ing them to apprehend the man on his
arrival at that port. Lacy managed to
get ashore and strolled about the Af¬
rican city, admiring the botanic gar¬
dens and the astronomical observatory
with the enthusiasm of a tourist
whose only desire is to profitably
while away an idle hour. He was in¬
specting the fine new docks of the
place when the agent of Scotland
Yard clapped his hand on his shoulder
and placed him under arrest. Lacy
submitted with perfect good grace and
was formally lodged in jail at Cape
Town. Arrangements were made to
have him returned to England the fol¬
lowing day.
But, alas! his satisfaction was pre¬
mature, for the daring Lacy jumped
off the train while it was in motion
and disappeared in the depths of a
South African forest. The officer had
the train stopped at the next station
and, with the assistance of several
other men, made a search of the
woods. They finally located their man
in an empty house a few miles from
the point where-he had jumped from
How the Bulging
Genius of This
Lad Became Too
Large for His
Home Town
How He Spread
It Out and His
Ultimate Down¬
fall—This Is a
True Story.
the train. He was arrested “for
keeps” this time, taken hack to Lon¬
don, tried, sentenced and imprisoned.
After he had served his time he
started on a tour of the continent, ac¬
companied by a mysterious blonde
woman who passed as his wife. He
played cards, engaged in the pastime
of bunco steering and varied these
performances occasionally by assum¬
ing the part of the wronged husband.
He had a scheme by which the bank
could be broken, and offered to show
the man how he could take a thou¬
sand dollars and come out with a
profit of ten thousand. The man ac¬
cepted this glowing offer, but instead
of going to the house that was desig¬
nated he notified the District police
and the versatile rogue was once
more arrested—this time under the
name of Frank Tracy. He was re¬
leased on hail, however, and soon
after again, sought the historic at¬
mosphere of London.
His latest exploit is really deserv¬
ing of a chapter in itself, hut because
of lack of space must be condensed
into a few paragraphs. Superintend¬
ent Froest, who was always on the
lookout for queer characters, learned
that Tracy—as he now called himself
—was in London 24 hours after he had
set his feet on English soil. He in¬
structed his subordinates to be on the
lookout for Tracy, but otherwise did
not give much thought to the man.
One morning the telephone bell at
Scotland Yard rang, and the voice of
an excited individual, who proved to
be a clerk in a banking house near
Leadenhall street, informed the au¬
thorities that a thief had entered the
institution that morning and robbed
one of Its depositors of £200. There
was much excitement; a crowd had
gathered in the corridors, and in the
confusion the thief had escaped with
the money.
“Pardon me,” said the stranger,
“but you have dropped one of your
notes.”
The depositor gianced at the floor
on the other side of the desk and, sure
enough, there was a bank note.
“Thank you," he replied gratefully,
and stooped down to pick up the odd
note. The act only consumed two or
three seconds, but when the depositor
straightened up and was about to add
the missing note to his pile he found,
to his amazement, that the original
package of money had gone, and with
it the stranger. He gave the alarm and
rushed out of the bank, but when he
reached the street the crowd was so
great that it was impossible to find
his man.
When Superintendent. Froest re¬
ceived news of the theft, he Immedi¬
ately dispatched one of his men to
the bank, but, not satisfied with (this,
he resolved to go there in person as
soon as he had finished the work in
his private office at Scotland Yard.
That only consumed a few minutes,
and at its completion Mr. Froest
pulled down the top of his roli-desk
and hurried towards Leadenhall
street. At Oldgate, where Cornhil!
and Leadenhall street converge, he
saw a tall, well-dressed man, hurrying
along amidst the crowd. It did not
take him many seconds to recognize
the man as his old friend, the versa
tile rogue, who had lived successively
under the titles of Frank Macy, Frank
Lacy and Frank Tracy. Instinctively
the superintendent associated the fel
low with the theft of the bank ia
Leadenhall street. He walked up and
took Tracy by the arm.
“My dear friend,” he said, “I would
like you to go down to the office with
me and have a talk over old times.”
Tracy made no resistance—indeed
this was characteristic of the man
The moment an officer of- the law
touched him he surrerdered without
a struggle. The two men proceeded tc
Scotland Yard and Tracy, when
searched, was found to possess the
£200 which had been stolen from the
depositor in the bank that morning.
He was tried for that offense, convict
ed and served his time.
The versatile rogue is at liberty
once again, and for the time being ii
honoring the United States with his
presence. This brief sketch is not
offered as a story Of his life. It it
onyl what it purports to be—a frag¬
ment from the life of a versatile
rogue.
(Copyright, 190$, by W. G. Chapman.)
MARVELOUS PSYCHIC POWER IS
DISPLAYED BY MECHANIC.
Feats of Fred E. Foskett Are Inves¬
tigated by Prof. William James
of Harvard and Others and
Arouse Wonder.
Boston.—The marvelous psychic
power of Fred E. Foskett, a young ma¬
chinist of Orange, Mass., has attract¬
ed the attention of Prof. James of Har
vard and other leading members of
the Boston branch of the American
Society of Psychical Research, who
have given him teats.
The first of the tests was held at the
home of Prescott F. Hall. Prof. Wil¬
liam James and several well-known
physicians were there, and test con¬
ditions as nearly perfect as possible
were made. Foskett was seated in
the center of a room before a small
table. There he perfoftned every feat
of the Hindoo fakir and the Buddhist
adept.
On the,table was an ordinary kero¬
sene lamp with a chimney and a flat
wick, a pan and several quarts of al¬
cohol. According to the reports of
those present, Foskett succeeded in
every test.
Before beginning the test Foskett
took from 20 to 30 deep breaths.
The first test was made with ‘ordi¬
nary sulphur matches. Foskett lighted
half a dozen, one after the other, hold¬
ing them with one hand so close to the
fingers of the other that the flames
curled around them. He then lighted
the lamp and held his hands above the
I i
v;:
** % &
‘
W sTJ
w
v
m
Ml ft. 1
f '4
eosjcett
wick, while the flames curled over
them and the soot completely black¬
ened them.
From one of these tests to another
Foskett went, while the scientists held
their breath and watched every motion
until he came to the climax. Tn this
he poured a quart of alcohol into his
basin, lighted It and then washed his
hands, bathing them for nearly ten
minutes in the burning fluid, washing
it up over his arms and to his face—
literally bathing himself in blazing
alcohol. That completed the test.
As soon as it was finished the phy¬
sicians present examined Foskett, and
they could not find the slightest trace
of a burn or blister. Foskett told
them that the flames did not give him
the slightest sensation of burning; that
he felt comfortably warm and pleas¬
ant, and nothing more.
The second tests were made the
next afternoon at the home of Prof.
James in Cambridge, and under the
same conditions as the day before.
Considerable mystery is thrown about
them. Mr. Hall said they were so
startling that he did not care to dis¬
cuss them until they had been tried
again. Another scientist who was
there said that Foskett performed all
of his experiments of the day before,
and then “absolutely and positively de
materialized.” *
"He seemed to dissolve into thin
air as we watched him. Was gone 41
seconds and then materialized. It
was so startling that we, I am afraid,
lost sight of the test conditions, and
we have asked him to appear before
us again. It seems unbelievable, but
it certainly seemed so. We hardly
know what to think about it.”
Prof. James refuses to talk about
the tests.
According to those who were pres¬
ent. Foskett seems In a passive state
during the tests, and he says he thinks
of nothing in particular. Those who
examined him discredit the hypnotic
theory. They believe he has some la
tent psychic force that never has been
studied.
It is intimated that the secret lies
in taking the deep rhythmic breaths,
which, it is declared, is the foundation
of the develdpment of the power
taught in India and the orient cen
turies ago. By certain methods of
breathing, it is taught by the ancients
that in solitude and fasting the pow¬
er of handling fire, receiving messages
from astral bodies and other phenom¬
ena can be accomplished.
Prescott F. Hall, o fthe American
Society of Physical Research, said he
was soon to prepare a report for a
"scientific publication. “Foskett’s pow¬
er,” said Mr. Prescott, “is not hyp¬
notic and it is a power well known in
the orient, where fire handling is done
extensively. It used to be a test to
see whether a man was guilty or oth¬
erwise of a misdemeanor; if he took
the fire test and was not burned, he
was considered innocent; if he was
burned he had to suffer the punish
meat."
CATARRH IN HEAD.
Pe-ru-na— Pe-ru-na.
m
m m
L - -
'
• S3
Kv Smt ’SNpB . Sr
i
.....
, 5Hib
MR. WM. A. PRESSER.
Tl/rn. lVi. WILLIAM A. PRESSER, 1722
Third Ave., Moline, III., writes:
‘ ‘ I ha ve been suffering from catarrh
in the head for the past two months
and tried innumerable so-called reme¬
dies without avail. No one knows how
I have suffered not only mortification from the dis¬
ease itself, but from when
in company of friends or strangers.
“I have used two bottles of your med¬
icine for a short time medical only, and and it
effected a complete cure,
what is better yet, the disease has not
returned.
“I can most all emphatically from recommend this dis¬
Peruna to sufferers
ease."
Read This Experience
Mr. A. Thompson, Box 05, R. R. 1,
Martel, Ohio, writes: ‘‘When 1 began
your treatment my eyes were inflamed,
nose was stopped up half of the time,
and was sore and scabby. of I could continual not
rest at night on account
hawking and spitting.
‘•1 had tried several remedies and was
about to give up, but thought I would
trv Peruna.
‘‘After I had taken about one-third oi
a bottle I noticed a difference. I am
now completely cured, after suffering
with catarrh think if for eighteen who years. afflicted
‘‘I those are
with catarrh would try Per ana they
would never regret it."
Peruna is manufactured Columbus, by Ohio, the
Peruna Drug Mfg. Co.,
Ask your Druggist for a Free Peruna
Almanac for 1909.
NO TEMPTATION.
m V iiiuffi
Yj S
i rw }* ii
3»' bar,, r- —♦ ' 1 «
!_i % 3k jS
jjA
Wag (referring .to Miss Oldbird)—
TJm, I should think it would be more
suitable if she were standing under
"elderberries” instead of mistletoe
berries.
He Wouldn’t Sell.
The owner of a small country es¬
tate decided to sell his property, and
consulted an estate agent in the near¬
est town about the matter. After visit¬
ing the place the agent wrote a de¬
scription of it, and submitted it to his
client for approval.
“Read that again,” said the owner,
closing his eyes and leaning back in
his chair contentedly.
After the second reading he waa
silent a few moments, and then said,
thoughtfully: "I don’t think I’ll sell.
I’ve been looking for that kind of a
place all my life, but until you read
that description I didn’t know I had
it! No, I won’t sell now."-—Exchange.
His Vocabulary.
He was an only child. They were
very particular about his manner of
speech, constantly correcting him so
that he would use beautiful English.
He, however, was allowed now and
then to associate with other children.
He played with a neighbor boy a long
while one day and when he came
home there was an ecstatic smile on
his face.
"I like that boy, mother,” he said.
"I like him very much. He swears
beautifully. He knows every word.”
HER MOTHER-IN-LAW
Proved a Wise, Good Friend.
A young woman out in la. found a
wise, good friend in her mother-in-law,
jokes notwithstanding. She writes:
“It is two years since we began us¬
ing Postum in our house. I was great¬
ly troubled with my stomach, complex¬
ion was blotchy and yellow. After
meals I often suffered sharp pains and
would have to lie down. My mother
often told me it was the coffee I drank
at meals. But when I’d quit coffee I’d
have a severe headache.
“While visiting my mother-in-law I
remarked that she always made such
good coffee, and asked her to tell me
how. She laughed and told me it was
easy to make good ’coffee’ when you
use Postum.
“I began to use Postum as soon as I
got home, and now we have the same
good ‘coffee’ (Postum) every day, and
I have no more trouble. Indigestion is
a thing of the past, and my complex¬
ion has cleared up beautifully.
“My grandmother suffered a great
deal with her stomach. Her doctor
told her to leave off coffee. She then
took tea but that was just as bad.
"She finally was induced to try
Postum which she has used for over a
year. She traveled during the winter
over the greater part of Iowa, visiting,
something she had not been able to do
for years. She says she owes her
present good health to Postum.”
Name given by Postum Co„ Battle
Creek, Mich. Read, "The Road to Well
ville,” in pkgs. “There’s a Reason.”
Ever read the above letter? A netflj
one appears from time to time. ThfS
are geauiae, true, and lull of humaji
interest*