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CHRISTMAS IS COMING. AND IT'S UP TO YOU! You Know You Have Just Got to Give Presents. Make it Something Musical and Get it from Ludden & Bstcs sout music house. Get a Piano now, and besides receiving a present of $25 from us, guess at the total number of sales of Pianos and Organs we make during \9oh, and maybe get your instrument absolutely free. We sell the famous Chickering, Mathushek, Everett, Ludden & Bates, Kohler & Campbell, Ivets & Pond, and Lester Pianos. Our Chick wrings and Mathusheks received the diplomas of highest awards at the last Georgia State Fair at Macon. Our stock of small musical goods is most com plete. We have everything from a grand piano to a Harmonica, and notable in the array is the wonderful Estey Organ. ijfflii'fcKlift isF jjj|jfj THE ROBBERY OF IMMIGRANTS $100,000,000 A YEAR STOLEN FROM THEM BY FRAUDU LENT “BANKERS.” Most of the Money is That Which the Immigrants Try to Send Home. The So-Called “Bankers” Adver tise in Foreign Tongues, and Send Out Alluring Circulars by the Tou. Amsiing Revelations of an In credible System of Fraud Which Spreads Like a Network All Over the Country. By William Thorp. New York, Dec. 3.—"lf I said that the immigrants In this country are swindled annually out of one hundred millions of dollars which they attempt to remit to their people at home, I believe that I should be well within the mark," said a New York banker, whose name is a household word all over America, the other day. “Of course, It is impossible to compute the sum, but from what has come to light reoently I think that is a conservative estimate. Individual immigrants are frequently robbed of a hundred dollars or more by rascals who profess to for ward the money to Europe for them,” There are hundreds. If not thousands, of men regularly conducting this swindling business. New York is the prinoipal center of their operations, but they work in every city where there are enough foreign Immigrants to make it worth their while. Flicked of Millions. Month by month, and year by year, they filch many millions of dollars out of the pockets of the most ignorant and helpless of the Immigrants. The matter has been a national scandal for years, but little has been heard of it *>y the public and almost nothing has been done to stop it. Only within the past few weeks have steps been taken to abate the evil by a private agitation among reputable bankers in New York city, who are now combin ing to secure state and federal legis lation on the subject. It is difficult to understand why any criminally Inclined person should em brace the difficult and hazardous call ings of the footpad, the pickpocket and the burglar, when he can with ease become an immigrants' "banker” and THE CABLE COMPANY, MANUFACTURERS OF PIANOS AND ORGANS. Buy your Piano from us and save middle man’s profit. The finest line and largest stock of Pianos at closer prices than ever before. THE CABLE COMPANY, S S SOLLEE, Manager Ludden & Bates Southern Music House, Savannah, Ga. Valdosta, Ga. (Carter & Dorough.) simply coin money with hardly any trouble and very little risk. There are hundreds of so-called "banks” in New York city, Chicago, Pittsburg, Cleveland, Philadelphia and other large centers of alien population, which exist for the sole and simple purpose of swindling immigrants out of the money they desire to remit to their families for their support, or to pay for their passages to America. Some of these banks, which invariably have high-sounding titles and Issue alluring advertisements, cater to Slavs, others to Italians, others to Greeks, and yet others to Polish and Russian Jews. Every nationality, In fact, has its own special flock of vampires prey ing upon it. How the Swindle la Worked. The procedure of the swindler is very simple. They do not need even as much as $lO capital with which to start their “bank." All they need to do is to take a cheap room in a tene ment on the East Side of New York, or ’Some other city, and hang out a shingle announcing that they are "bankers,” and in the business of re mitting money to Europe and buying tickets for people there who desire to come to this country. They nearly always belong to the nationality they desire to defraud, and their announce ment is couched in the native tongue. Their victims are usually persons who cannot read or write English. Pretty soon the so-called "banker" gets his customers. He goes around among his own countrymen, and a few days after he has opened up his busi ness they begin to drift into his one room office and entrust their hard earned savings to him. “I want to send SSO to my old father and mother In Hungary," says a burly Slav, who has saved the money while working as a laborer and living on a few cents a day. He names the little village in Hungary where the old peo ple live, and the "banker” makes a careful note of it on an official-looking sheet of paper. The Guileless Foreigner. This impresses the guileless laborer, and he is quite likely to go away with out eveu asking for a receipt. If he does remember to do so, he is no bet ter off. The "banker” puts the money in his own pocket, anyway. Sending R to Hungary would be the last thing to enter his thoughts. After he has found a dozen or so "easy marks" of this character, the formerly penniless "banker" has enough money to advertise extensively In the papers printed In his native tongue, to send out alluring circulars by the thousand, and generally engage In an extensive business. Money sim ply pours Info his coffers from all parts of the country where Immigrants of hls own race dwell, and when things grow too hot for him he can pull up stakes, with a tidy fortune, and start the same swindle somewhere else under another name. Their Innocence Incredible. The guilelessness of some of the more SAVANNAH MORNING NEWS: SUNDAY. DECEMBER 4. 1904 ignorant and illiterate among the im migrants is simply incredible to a man of average business intelligence. They will not trust their money to the money order branch of the United States postofflee. They believe that when it goes through that mysterious window it will never come out again. Likely enough, their experience of government methods and government officials In Europe has not been happy. Then, too, they do not know English aqd so cannot make their wishes known to the money order clerk, or fill the necessary forms. But they are quite willing to trust the "banker” whom they can see face to face, the man who speaks to them and writes to them in their own tongue, and who seems to know exactly what they want. Here Is a typical case which Illus trates the rise and progress of one of these men. The other day an Austrian named Kaiser, allowed out on ball by a New York Judge on a charge of de frauding a countryman, forfeited bis bond and fled from American Juris diction with a fortune. Less than a year before he was working as a laborer for $6 a week. Then h became a runner for an im migrants’ boarding house, and, being a clever rogue, soon realized that he might make money as a "banker." He took a tiny room on the second floor of a ramshackle East Side tene ment, and hung out hls shingle. He was In business for eight months, and during that time he never remitted across the ocean a single dollar he re ceived. As the result, he was able to take more than $25,000 with him when he fled. He could not even have been brought into court here had he not branched out into another and more dangerous line of crime—trying to swindle a fellow countryman by means of a fraudulent partnership. The Fraud* Are Hard to Prove. “It is most difficult to run down these cases and punish the guilty parties," said Ignatius Weltner. a prominent New York lawyer, who has interested himself keenly In the frauds at the request of the Austrian consul general. "It is almost impossible to obtain legal proof on which a court will convict. The only thing to do, as the law stands at present, is to trap the alleged 'banker' In some way, or frighten him into an admission of guilt. "Frequently, the man who says that he has paid over the money, and that hls people pn the other side have not received It, has not even got a reeclpt to show. It Is simply a case of hls word against the other man's. Even If he has the receipt, the 'banker' swears that he duly forwarded the money, and how are you going to prove it was not lost In transit? "I was talking about a particularly flagrant case with three laymen the other day and they all exclaimed, ‘Why. it ought to be the easiest thing In the world to railroad the scamp to the penitentiary!’ I told them I didn't believe it was possible, but they could not see why, so I asked them to come with me to the district attorney's of fice. "I laid the case before an assistant district attorney, in their presence, and he listened patiently. It was a case in which dozens of men com plained that they had been swindled by ’the same person. They had their receipts to show, and letters from the people to whom they had tried to re mit, saying that the money had not arrived, after many months of wait ing for It. Guilty i But Unpunished. "When I had finished, the assistant district attorney turned to me and said: "Of course, the man Is guilty; hut you know as well as I do that there is no case with which to go Into court. You know that if I were prosecuting It and you were defending, you would slmplay play football with It. Bup pose even that you could bring the CUT THIS OUT This Is Good for $25 on the Purchase of a Piano. This Is good for $25 on the Purchase of a Piano. Mail Tills to LUDDEN & BATES, Savannah, Gn.; Tampa, Fla.; Valdosta, Ga. (Carter & norough); Tifton, Ga. (Carter & Dorough), or deliver it to one of our representatives, idling in the following blanks: \ame Address Date The Offer Is Good Up to December I. people from Europe to swear they never got the money, how would that help you? You have got to prove that he didn’t send It; for It is not up to hhv to show that he did. You might subpoena the records of the money or der branch of the postofflee, but even those wouldn't help. He might say that he remitted the money through the ordinary mall, or through a bank er, or by a man going to Europe, or in any one of a hundred ways; and you couldn't prove that he was lying. The Judge might be morally sure that he was, but he could not be legally sure.” This Is why these widespread frauds, extending all over the country and victimizing Immigrants of nearly ev ery nationality, have gone on for years with comparative Impunity, and have “of late assumed proportions never heard of before”—to quote a private cricular on the subject recently Is sued to the reputable bankers of New York city. The Queer Case of Goldberg. But occasionally the rogues meet with their deserts. Mr. Weltner and hls partner, Edward A. Alexander. ha\e managed to send a few of them to the penitentiary, and have forced others to disgorge their ill-gotten gains. Still others, like Kairer, havo “Jumped their bail" and absconded when there was really no case that could have been proved against them. Of all these cases the most Interest ing is that of a Hungarian named Goldberg. He swindled Hungarians and Slavs generally on the East Side of New York for a long time, and amassed a fortune estimated at hundreds of thousands of dollars. Then Mr. Welt ner got on his trail and had him ar rested. He was let out on ball and ab sconded. going back to his native land. But they have a good law In Hun gary which says that any Hungarian citizen who commits a crime abroad may be tried and punished for it in Hungary, if he returns there. Gold berg's record followed him. and he was promptly flung into Jail. "But I am not a Hungarian citizen,” he protested. "I am a naturalized American citizen.” And he showed hls papers to prove It. This staggered the Hungarian offi cials for a moment, but only for a mo ment. They promptly turned to an other section of the law, which pro vides that even a subject who has be come naturalized abroad can be prose cuted If the government gives special authority. The government hastened to do so, and Goldberg is now' serving a five years' term in a Hungarian prison for the crime which he com mitted in New York. Hungary cer tainly haa an unusually keen sense of Its responsibility for Its erring sub jects. Another man. named Wolframm. a German, practiced the same fraud sys tematically for over fifteen years In New York, employing a large staff and advertising extensively all over the United States. When at last he fled the country, he carried over $2,000,000 with him. PATENTS Our Band Book on Patents,Trad.-M.rk*. etc.. Mnt fr*. Patent, procured through Munn A Cos., recelre tire* none, lo tb. SnssTiTO American MUNN As CX)., 361 Broadway, N. Y. BsascsOvrics : sir. T St.. Wiihiacton, D. C. feKiiVpMlus Ut y ** 4 t** l4 will MMrttfcaa. Tafca* •iA*r. IJ-fy.e M •<% wj VYiiarts IvMiiUmi m 4 JmsU*- | / fr Un. tf i'tiiut 0t ***4 4t la I W imiix *; farMwinrs. TMtiaalnl< \ F JF Mb 4'* RrlUf f*r L4lm, b m tsitm *? r*. A k slT in MbU* 10.fH t r tii i'lkbMtwCkjMlMl ©•- w ***•, Plffla*.. I*4* IM4 kiU. iu7w4*m. (MBMI Guitars, Mandolins and Banjos of the famous Washburn and Rex makes we sell, and an assort ment of Violins of the best makers. All the latest Sheet Music is kept by a system that enables us to supply a customer at once. Talking Machines and Phonographs form a feat ure of our store that visitors enjoy. Come and hear them, and note our prices on the best instru ments made. We give prompt attention to all mail orders for Musical Goods and Sheet Music, and the reputa tion and reliability of Ludden & Bates render patrons perfectly safe in trusting to us to supply them with what they may order by mail. This Is Good for $25 on the Purchase of a Piano. Tampa, Rla. Tifton, Ga. (Carter & Dorotigh.) THE PASSING OF OLD LUDLOW JAIL NEW YORK’S ANCIENT PRISON ITS WALLS COULD TELL OF TEARS AND TRAGEDIES. A Debtor* Prison In Which Opprea ■lon Hn* Bern Practiced for Year*. More Than Half It* Inmute* for the Lu*t Four Year* Victim* of I.nacrupulon* People—A Collection Bureau for Extortionist*. New York, Dec. 3.—With but seven prisoners left within Its old walls, Ludlow street jail has undoubtedly seen its best days. It may stand on for years, but if the New York Legis lature passes a bill which has been drafted, there will be but little busi ness left for the ancient prison. The tragedies and tears which Its cells could tell were they empowered with speech will be merely memories of the past. The men who have grown rich by placing unfortunate debtors behind ■ MRS. SOPHIE AX HA.ft. THIS “SEW AJfQKL." OF “THE TOMBS." New York, Dec. *.—On Dec. 1 anew “Angel" began to minister to the wente of the unfortunates In the Tombs orison. The retiring “Angel," Miss Ada Elliot, Is succeeded by Mrs. B<>ph!e C. Atman, who has for year* been uaeocieted In the work of her prede cessors. The charity and rescue work carried on by the "Tombs Angel" Is of a very practical sort. There Is no singing of hymns nor reading of tructs nor preaching to the unfortunates with whom she deals, but she simply alms to do what one woman should do for another If she were In trouble, Not that religious teaching is lost sight of in the work, but the ‘Tombs An gei" does not believe In forcing religion upon an unfortunate person at a time when something more substantial! would be more serviceable. its bars and keeping them there at the city’s expense will be driven out of business and there will be no law warranting arrest for petty and un just debts. "To me,” said the sheriff, "Ludlow Is nothing short of a spltehouse wherein the shylock reaps hls heart less revenge. Ever since I took office I have been shocked by the perse cution which Is dally practiced there. The laws which permit certain men to use this prison to collect what Is nothing short of blood money from the poor are all wrong and they must be reformed. “From time to time the sheriff's of fice has realized the Injustice of our poor debtor laws and the public press has ugitated their abolishment, but the matter has never been pushed to a result In the Legislature. Crime* of Luwloxv Jail. "I have gone over not only a history of crimes which have been practiced through the medium of Ludlow street Jail, but also a history of the laws which have made these crimes possi ble. and I am convinced that If the real state of affairs Is presented to the Legislature it will take immediate and drastic action toward wiping out ever law which grinds down and Im prisons our illiterate and unfortunate debtors. “There are, of course, thousands of people in New York who do nothing but study how to defraud creditors. For them our laws are too lax en tirely. but In order that our in stalment merchants, money lenders, etc., can have protection against de liberate swindlers, our statute books have been heaped with laws which are indescribably cruel to the honest poor debtor. New York Is far behind lte sister states in the East in wiping such unjust measures out. Too long they have been allowed to pile up. Even many of our best lawyers do not realize the abuses which come before the sheriff every day. The long letter which I addressed to the Bar Associa tion of New York upon Thanksgiving Day was designed to call the attention of our best lawyers to the real condi tions which confront the sheriff of the city. Victim* of L'nMPrapnlon* Men. "More than half the men who have been sent to Ludlow Street Jarfl during the last four years have been victims of unscrupulous people. The county of New York is being used every day os a collector for extortionists, and the sheriff has no alternative than to detain these Ignorant people at the expense of the city until such time as they meet the extravagant terms of their creditors." The sheriff Is very sincere In this effort to correct an evil of long stand ing. He has armed himself after long research with a vain amount of In formation. He Is not presenting this matter to the Legislature on a senti mental basis or on theory. He has collected plenty of Individual oases and he has names and dates to present if he is called upon by any committee to which his proposed bill may be pre sented. Hls friend* among the mem bers of the Bar Association who know ■what he Is after have pledged that hls bill will be met by any opposition of Importance. A Vile Collection Boreas. Thousands of people In New York know and have known for many years that Ludlow Street Jail is nothing but a collection bureau for the vilest kind of bills of extortion. The real swin dlers are not given credit, and the creditors, therefore, have little occa sion to prosecute any but the unfor tunate. A body execution can be ob tained under the present le ws for tho smallest kind of a debt. In one case on record a man who owed $2.10 for a clock which he gave to hls wife upon the anniversary of their mar riage and for which through sickness be was not able to pay at the required time, was thrown Into Ludlow Street Jail and compelled to pay S4O before he could get a release. The costs ir* such case* frequently run up to about $5 on each dollar of the original obli gation. In years past the creditors m such cases had to pay seventy-flve cents a day for the keep of debtors in Ju.ll. but of late years, through the passage of amendments, to the law, the county has been compelled to keep all the prisoners In Ludlow at Its own expense. In not a few cases men ow ing less than SSO have been kept at the expense of the county for three months. At any time the country could have paid these obligations In cash and saved money by liberating the prison ers Immediately upon arrest. —William M. O. Dawson, the Re publican governor-elect of West Vir ginia, Is 50 years old and began life as a printer, then became an editor and Is now a lawyer. BRADFORD'S EVAPORATED OKRA. Makes the finest soups ar.d gum bos. Hold by ail leading grocers S eta. per bog. M. Fsrst's Hons * Cos., Wholesale Agents. 9