THE ALAMANCE GLEANER
VOL. LII.
Prison Ends Toll
of Amazing Fraud
Seven Years Meted Out to
$20,000,000 Swindler of
Toronto Bankers.
Toronto, Ont. —Found guilty on 15
counts of forgery, Percy D. Ham, one
of the sofclally elect of Toronto, was
sentenced to seven years In the peni
tentiary. So closes one of the most
amazing frauds in the history' of
finance in Canada.
Ham, a quiet, unassuming young gen
tleman of artistic tastes, was a junior
clerk in a government office. With
this modest backgroiyid and with no
financial capital, he launched a scheme
nf operations of staggering propor
tions. In a period of about two years
he negotiated sales and purchases of
bonds amounting, according to the
court records, to more than $20,-
000.000.
Ham, according to his counsel, came t
out of the maze of purchases and/
sales without a 5-cent piece for hlrfv
self, although losses sustained by bro
kers and friends as far as they were
traced, amounted to $648,000.
Ham had been a precocious child.
To satisfy an adventurous longing,
counsel said, the young clerk had
launched out In the hope of demon
strating that he was not the Insignifi
cant clerk he In reality was.
Credulity of Victims Amazing.
The credulity with which cam
paign was accepted by a hard-headed
'financial world was one of the most
amazing features of the case. Bond
purchases, running as they did Into
millions a month, must inevitably at
tract attention In a market as small
as this one. Instead of being regard
ed with suspicion. Ham commanded
respect. Pop-eyed Actions sprang up,
crediting him with being the agent of
* governments and of financial syndi
cates planning far-reaching coups.
Ham began his operations on a
small and evidently experimental ba
sis. His first purchase was of only
a few thousand dollars of government
bonds—practically all his transactions
were in government bonds. His capi
tal did not exceed a few thousand
cents, but he negotiated the purchase
this way: Ham said he was acting
for an out-of-town friend, and gave his
personal check, to be held by the bro
kers until the bonds were delivered to
bis friend, who would Immediately ad
vance payment. Though bonds are
sold "cash on delivery," Ham's pro
posal'was accepted. The credit of his
check for the few days requested was
accepted by brokers who knew him,
or his father, or bis friends. Ham
covered the transaction within the
time specified by reselling the bonds
..through another firm.
Financial Pyramid Erected.
The operation was repeated over
and over again on an ever-increasing
male.
After each transaction Ham came to
, he regarded as an even more desir
able client. But there was never any
profit for Ham. Every transaction
showed a loss of at least the two com
missions for buying and selling, and
often a fractional loss in addition in
the market price, the weight of the
offerings being sufficient to depress* the
Prtee on a narrow market.
There Is no evidence that Ham at
"o.v time attempted to use his credit
or the securities Which were tempo
rar"y In his possession for speculating
Purposes. Playing the market for an
advance or a decline did not seem to |
fall within his scheme of things.
Neither is there any evidence that he
Planned at any time to abscond, al
though in the later phases of his ad- 1
,p nture he must ha^*been in posses
s'°n at times of enormous quantities
nf negotiable securities.
Difficulties developed for Ham as
s operations pyramided and the total
"f his losses mounted. The credit of
l! j Personal checks was no longer suf-
, n t to finance his hare-brained
strategy.
Resort# to Forgery.
These difficulties he met by forgery,
, * ct,n K (wo prominent citizens —one
' 0 n Gleeson.. an Ottawa capitalist,
n Rev. William Beattle, a London
ani UV,n " r ' Wltll woalth y relntlves —
attaching their names to a series
i notes, which he used as collateral,
j stated that these gentlemen had
'■led him as their confidential'
ir* nt , buttle, he said, was under
lav'.? 1 ligation to him for having
' his young son from drowning.
Plan nSiSted that the nature °' their
main I* aS SUCh that the I P en must re "
%ui i the back ftround and that they
r*tt|. DOt - be c °">mufllcated with di
k y - K bne case, under pressure,
»amT7' UCel a ,etter - w 'th Gleeson's
- forged, to substantiate the note.
e notes, totaling $500,000, pur- I
10 have been signed by Glee- j
. * n 'l Keattle. were produced and
•y Hum. These he used In two |
ways. He deposited them with bro
kers as collateral. But the cruelest
feature of his operations was when
he used these notes to secure ad
vances of cash and securities from
private Individuals. The Individuals
were friends of his or of his family.
In case of one lady, a widow, he se
cured advances amounting to $200,000,
which represented most of her capital.
Exposure of the Fraud.
Exposure came when one broker
communicated directly with Gleeson,
the supposed backer of huge transac
tions. Like a bombshell it developed
that Gleeson knew nothing of Ham
and had signed no note.
Ham was summoned to the office of
one of the largest bond houses in To
ronto and given the third degree. He
still insisted that he could make' good
his commitments and was given a few
hours to do so. That afternoon he
was discovered In the kitchen of his
/home, with the gas turned on and suf
fering from asphyxiation, which a
short sojourn in the hospital cleared
up.
Where the $648,000 that was lost
went to was not satisfactorily di
vulged by the trial. A substantial sum
went to brokers as commissions.
800-Year-Old Gate
Serves Oxford Again
London—An ancient gate of oak,
which was set up nearly 800 years ago
arid swung for .">OO years at tfie en
trance to Ballol college, Oxford, before
it changed its location, has been found
and returned to its old place.
The gate was made and hung In
1288 and it was already a venerable
antique when in 1551 Ridley an^-Lati
mer were burned at the stake only a
few yards in front of it, after they
had been convicted as Protestant
heretics. Toward the end of the
Eighteenth century, when the front
quadrangle of the college was demol
ished and rebuilt, the gate was taken
down.
Dr. Harding Newman, a fellow of
Magdalen college, Oxford, acquired it
and hung it at the entrance of his
private garden at Neimes, in Essex.
Ivy grew over It and after Doctor
Newman's death the gate was forgot
ten. But eighteen months ago J. Ro
chelle Thomas of the Georgian gallery,
St. James, London, discovered the an
cient gate and bought it.
More than 100 coats of paint were
scraped away and the old oak planks
and struts found in" a perfect state of
preservation.
382 New Rural Mail
Routes Serving 635,000
Washington—More than 635,000
persons in rural districts received
their mall at their front doors for the
first time during the last year. They
were served, the Post-Office depart
ment announced, by the 382 new rural
mail routes established during 1926.
The department reported that 45,318
rural routes, supplying 6,616,000 fam
ilies, estimated at 30,435,500 per
sons, and covering 1,249,978 miles,
were in operation during the year.
The rural carriers covered 377,045,703
miles In their deliveries.
John D. on Florida Links Again
„• Rockefeller Sr., Has returned to his winter home at Ormond
Beach FI. «» £ »■»« •» "• » b " ""«•
golf course. He still shoots a good game.
Girl, 3, Tries Suicide
to Join Grandfather
Vienna. —Even children have
been affected by the suicide
epidemic In Austria.
Three-year-old Helll Hamp
was found behind the cupboard
the other day choking. She had
wrapped a rope around her
neck and was seemingly about
to die when discovered. Re
vived, her explanation \«aa that
she wanted to go t%. heaven to
"dear grandfather."
"Dear grandfather" had com
mitted suicide a few weeks pre
viously, distressed because he
could not aid little Helli's pov
erty-stricken parents.
Hunter Uses Bow and
Arrow After Big Game
Corvallls, Ore.—Prot B. G. Thomp
son of the Oregon Agricultural col
lege started his archery hunting on
squirrels, rabbits and other small
game, but now he is looking for the
largest game to be found In the state,
and If there were Hons and tigers here
he would probably set out to get one
of them.
This year's bag Includes a bear and
a deer. He wanted to get a deer last
year, he said, but was afraid he would
fall, so he took along a rifle. He used
the rifle and brought In two bucks.
This year, however, he left his gun at
home, determined to bag a buck with
an arrow.
He shot at two, then brought dbwn
his third at 65 yards with his six-foot
English longbow. The arrow, 28 Inches
long, feathered with turkey feathers
and tipped with a two-Inch steel blade,
struck the.-deer's knee and glanced
Into Its stomach, penetrating several
Inches. The big buck ran about 50
feet and dropped dead. The bow re
quires about 75 pounds pull.
The bear was even easier to bag
than the deer, Thompson said, be
cause not as active.
Thompson declares that if every
body used arrows in their hunting
there would be plenty of game In the
state.
Girl Must Go to High
Court to Get Diploma
Eureka, Kans. —Kathleen Ryan,
who fought and won a case against
the Eureka school board for her high
school diploma, will have to fight the
case to the highest court In Kansas.
The board, at a special meeting here,
decided 4o appeal to the state Su
preme court, after losing the case In
the District court.
Miss Ryan, a high school student,
was charged with "cheating" In a
high school examination In history
and refused credit for her work. She
was not allowed to graduate with her
class. She denied the charges and was
given another and more strict exam
ination. This she passed with flying
honors. Still the school authorities
refused to give her the coveted honor.
Through her parents, Mr. and Mrs.
Leo Ryan, the girl appealed to the
District court. Judge Benson, before
whom the case was tried, heard testi
mony and decided that In view of the
fact that the girl passed the second
examination, she was entitled to
credit and her diploma.
Now the school board has voted to
file an appeal.
GRAHAM, IN, C., THURSDAY DECEMBR 9, 1926.
THE
HAPPY HOME
By MARGARET BRUCE
WNU Service
A Bird-Cage Pedestal
Little Fellow had been quite ill. For
many days he hadn't been Interested
in much of any
life seemed very
■ dull and unendur
able to hlm dur
m lug the weeks of
convalescence un-
Ngfe til Aunt Marjorle
m JI \ \Kpj brought him a
blrd — a merr y-
BSLn, r re|B bubbling, hopping
songster who be
came the idol of
Little Fellow's heart.
During the morning, while Llttla
Fellow lay In bed, the bird hung In his
bedroom window, but In the afternoon
when Little Fellow was tucked up in
a big wlngchalr In the living room, the
cage was moved In there, too. It was
then mother noticed that Little Fel
low's eyes seemed to blink, and she
Realized It was because they were so
steadily fixed on the bird cage out
lined against the strong light of the
windows. The bird cage was ' hung
away from the window—and then the
bird stopped* singing so constantly.
The entire family consulted and
tried different positions and schemes
for hanging the cage. But that night,
when Little Fellow's father came
home he brought a great high pack
age, which turned out to be a tall ped
estal, with a fixture on top for hold
ing the base of the cage. These were
made, he said, by the same firm that
designed the electric fan pedestals.
So Little Fellow's chair was turned
with Its back to the window and right
In front of him, full In the sunshine,
was the pedestal with the bird cage on
top. It could be moved anywhere
about the house or placed In any posi
tion without having to have a hook
from which to hang the cage. It could
be near the window and yet Little Fel
low's eyes could be spared.
In addition, the pedestal was a beau
tiful thing. Its Ivory-white standard
matched his ivory-white bed and little
bureau, and there was soft, pretty
color here and there on It —blue and
rose and violet Little Fellow was
entranced, and apparently the bird
was also, for It saog until Its tiny
throat almost burst.
A Canopy for the Four-Potter
In Wllla Cather's book, "My An
tonia," there Is a description of the
rough pioneer shack of two bachelor
brothers, living alone. It was all very
crude but someway it was cheerful,
and the bed was covered with sheets
and pillows of blue gingham. Not a
bad Idea for any bed, I thought to my
self as I read It. And not long after
ward, I saw the most charming blue
gingham treatment of an old four-post
er bed.
The four-poster In question had a
curved canopy over it which the owner
told me had been made for her by a
local carpenter. A simple framework
o light wood, bent to the necessary
shape, was stretched from head to foot
down each side and made firm by two'
straight pieces across the top and foot
of the bed. Over this canopy was
stretched very smoothly s piece of
plain-blue gingham brought over the
edge of the framework and tacked In
visibly. Fastened to the edge was a
fall valance of bright chintz flowers
on a black ground, blue predominating
In the pattern, which showed also
some yellow, lavender, a touch of rose
and some rich spots of green.
A full flounce of the flowered chintz
falling to the floor, was sewed to a
lining cover, and over this was a cor
erlet of the plain-blue jrlnghain, scal
loped and seamed with black. At the
head of the bed a straight curtain of
blue gingham hung, and draped at
each of the bead-posts was a drapery
of the chintz.
The blue gingham was used In other
places about the room as well. The
cnrtalns at the casement windows
were made of It dresser covers, wick
er chair cushions and a pad for the
chaise longue were also fashioned of
It, combined with cushions of the
chintz. It was not expensive blue
gingham either, the owner told me,
and It washed as satisfactorily as a
child's frock. Simple materials often
make a fresher looking, more Inviting
room than the more ornate silks, sat
ins, and similar de luxe fabrics.
(Copriif ht.»
remen
Three Wise Men of Yemen. ,
(Prepared by the National Geographic
Society. Waahlngton. p. C.)
YEMEN. an Independent country
of Arabia, across the lower end
of the narrow Red sea from the
Italian colony of Eritrea, Is the
latest land to enter Into treaty rela
tions wiyi Italy. As a result the likeli
hood Is seen of the peaceful penetra
tion of southwestern Arabia by Ital
ian Influence.
This reign, like all other parts of
Arabia, was under at least nominal
Turkish control before the great war;
but since It has constituted an Ima
mate, under the rule of the Arab Imam
Yahya ben Muhammad hen Hamid al
Din, who rules from Sabla. Yemen
has the distinction and the good for
tune to be one of the few parts of
Arabia that are of agricultural Impor
tance. Under a stable, government It
would have an Important commercial
future. The British protectorate of
Aden Is one of the chief outlets for Its
produce.
Yemen's American fame rests prin
cipally upon the familiar name of an
almost deserted city, Mocha, through
which coffee no longer comes, where
debris clutters the streets, where only
mosques remain lntaqt.
Coffee still Is a major crop of Ye
men, but It Is exported largely through
Hodelda, and In even greater quantity
via Aden, port of the British pro
tectorate to the south, which today is
the commercial neck of the Red sea
bottle.
Order coffee lri Yemen, however, and
you will not repeat the experiment.
For the Arabians of coffee-land prp
fer the husks tp the berries, and the
brew therefrom has been compared to
hot barley water. To the occidental
mind this concoction affords neither
flavor or stimulus. The Yemenite lookß
elsewhere for a stimulant—to kbat.
The world knows almost nothing
about khat. Our scientific books are
nearly silent on the subject. Travel
ers who ought to have observed Its
uses write from heresay and usually
with the most amazing Ignorance.
There are even Europeans In the Ye
men, whose servants have chewed khat
every day of their lives, with so little'
knowledge of native life and customs
iliat after years of residence they
aak: "Why, what Is khat? We never
htard of it." Yet no Yemen event Is
complete without Its presence, and no
Yemen Arab —man. woman or child—
passes a day If henrnn help It without
the aid of at least a few leaves of the
precious khat.
Khat Is Their Stimulant
When the European is weary he
calls for alcohol to revive him; when
he. Is Joyful he take* wine, that he
may have more Joy. In like manner
the Chinese; woos his "white lady,"
the poppy flower, the Indian chews
bhang, and the West African
seeks surcease In kola. Khat Is
more to the Yemen Arab than any
of these to Its devotees. It Is no nar
cotic. wooing sleep, but a stimulant,
like alcohol. Unlike alcohol. It con
ceals no demon, but a fairy. The
khat eater will tell you that Vvhen he
follows this fnlrv It takes him Into re
gions overlooking paradise. lie calls
the plant the "flower of paradise."
edulls, as the plant Is known
botanirall.v. grows to soine estent In
Abyssinia, but It Is cultivated chiefly
In the mountains t of the Yemen lh
t«ior behind Aden! The word khat Is
said to be derived from another Arabic
word, kut, meaning sustenance or re
viving • prlnclp'e, and refers to the
most salient property of the plant,
that of exalting the spirits snd sup
porting the bodily strength, under ex
traordinary conditions, of oae who
eats Its leave*. Tbe researches of
Albert Beltter of the University of
Strassburg, seem to show that Its ac
tive principle is an alkaloid in the
form of crystals, very bitter and odor
less.
Along the steep, terraced slopes of
the mountains between Talz and
Yerim you will find the small planta
tions of the khat farmer. Not till you
have climbed nearly 4,000 feet will
you see the first one, and when yoi'
reach 0,000 feet you will have passed
the iafet.
Varieties and Cultivation. ■*
Bokhart Is the sweetest of all khat
and by far the most expensive. The
supply Is so limited that It Is never
seen except among the richest mer
chants of Zebide, Ibb, Talz and Sanaa.
JP'e commonest kind is Moquarl, which
in the district of Makatra,
about four days' camel ride from
Aden, and most of the 2,500 camel
loads of khat which reach Aden In
the course of a year is of this variety.
Khat cultivation Is simple. The
plant bears neither flowers nor seeds,
but Is grown from cuttings. After the .
farmer has flooded his field till the
soil has absorbed Its utmost of water,
he covers It with, goat droppings and
allows It to "ripen" for a few days.
Then he buries the cuttings In shallow
holes from 4 to 6 feet apart, with
space enough between the rows for
pickers to pass. But the Yemen cow
and the fjad-eyed camel, whose maw Is
never filled, have a nice taste in khat
cuttings, and to discourage these ma
rauders the former covers each hill
with thorn twigs and spiny cactus
leaves.
At the end of a year the young
shrubs are two feet high with a thick
ly spread green foliage 18 Inches In
diameter. Behold now the farmer go
ing out Into the dawn of each morning
to gaze at his field and the sky In the
hope of seeing the portents of harvest
time. On a morning the air Is thick
with bulbuls. sparrows, weaver blrda,
shrilly clamoring. They flse and fall
upon his plants, picking at the tender
est leaves. "Allah be praised!" cries
the simple farmer, "the leaves are
sweet and ripe for the market."
And now he calls his women and the
wives of his neighbors to the crop
picking. Under a bower of Jasmine
vines, with plumes of the sweet-smell
ing rehan in their turbans, the farmer
and his cronies gather to drink klshar
from tiny cups and smoke the hubbuk,
while the womenfolk bring them arm
fuls of the freshly cut khat leaves.
What a *ous time It Is all the
village; for always the farmer dis
tributes the whole of his first crop
among -Ills neighbors.
Marketing In Aden.
In Aden the arrival of the khat
camels is looked forward to as the
chief daily event. When they arrive,
about noon, the market Is filled with a
restless, yelling mob: Bedlam has
broken loose, but It Is a merry, good
uatured bedlam.
After the khat Is weighed on -tfie
government scales and duly taxed, It
Is divided Into bundles the thickness
of a man's forearm. Then the sellers
mount tables and auction it off.
In an hour the place Is all but de
serted and the foot-marked, earthen
floor Uttered with debris, a Now come
the venders of firewood and all the
despised castes, like scavengers, to
buy the refuse for a few pice. But
out in the streets may be seen hun
dreds happily wending homeward, a
bundle of the precious leaves under
each arm, their Jaws working and
their eyes full of a delicious content
It is close on to noon, and you will not
gee them again until after two o'clock.
NO. 44.
OKe KITCHEN
CABINET
(©. Itr7. \yeatern Newspaper Union.)
Love, come* to as from God. W»
cannot our own hearts
as we at the altar.
Is of love
that us. We may aeek
for It In Vpm; U never eomea to us
unawares.
NICE DESSERTS
All rich desserts are unsuitable for
the children, but simple costards,
junkets, gelatin Jellies
Hand -rice In various ways
are all good.
Vanilla Rice Pudding.
—Cook one-Jialf cupful
of rice in two cupfuls of
boiling water and one
half teaspoonfui of salt
until the rice is tender.
Scald one and one-half
cupfuls of milk in a double boiler, stir
iato the hot milk one-half teaspoon
fui of salt, three tablespoonfuls of
cornstarch and one-half cupful of milk,
all well mixed together. Cook until
thick, cover and cook ten minutes.
Beat the yolks of two eggs, add one
half cupful of sugar and beat again,
stir into the hot mixture, add the
cooked rice and flavor with vanilla.
When cold garnish with whipped
cream and spoonfuls of jam or jelly.
Apricot Whip. —Press through a
sieve enough apricots to Oil a cup;
add one-half cupful of sugar and Um>
juice of half a lemon; mix well. Fold
In the whites of four eggs, beat until
light and turn into a buttered disli.
Bake in u pau of hot water until the
pudding Is firm in the center. Serve
hot with cream sauce.
Foamy Cream Sauce. —Soften a
sen lit half teaspoonfui of gelatin *in
two tal>les|>ooufuls of water; when dis
solved add one cupful of cream, two
tul>lesi>ooiifuls of sugar, and one tea
spoonful of vanilla,; mix thoroughly
and when cold beat until frothy.
Graham Geir.s.—Take one cupful of
sifted graham flour, one cupful of
sour milk, one egg. one-third of a tea
spoonful of salt, one teaspoonfui of
soda, two tablespoonfuls of sugar,
three tablespoonfuls of shortening.
Mix and neat well; bake in gem pans.
Prune Pudding.—Beat the whites of
five eggs until light, add with one-half
teaspoonfui of cream of tartar, one
half teaspoonfui of salt, one cupful of
sugar, one-fourth of a pound of prunes
which have been cooked and chopped
fine. Put into a mold and boil stead
ily for twenty-two minutes. Serve
with whipped creain
A Few Ways With Meat.
A foreign pie which will be found
most savory is the following:
' r • n ® h Meat
fresh pork into
!£) small pieces, and
the same amount
of veal. Brown
\JB In a little hot fat
and turn into «
' lined pastry shell.
Cover as for ordinary pie and bake
slowly in a moderate oven. The sea
sonings used are added while the
meat is browning.
Roast Veal au Jus. —Season a fillet
of veal with salt and pepper and put
into a pan with pieces of butter, a
carrot, bay leaf and a clove. Put Into"
a double roaster and buke two and
one-half hours. Itemove the meat to
a hot platter. Put water Into the pan
and simmer for five minutes. Strain
and pour the saucg (unthlckened)
around the meat.
Liver Sausage and Watercress
Sandwiches.— Pick over and finely
.-hop one bubch of watercress —drain
If necessary. Add niuyonuaise. Spread
thinly sliced rye bread with mustard
outter and an e|ual number with
mayonnaise. Cover those spread with
mustard butter with thin slices of
liver sausage, the remaining slices
with the ere?* mixture. I'lit together
iin pairs. Press together and trim ofT
•rusts. Serve with dill pickles ami
:offee. The pickles may be sliced
into very thin fan-sheped pieces as a
garnish for each sandwich.
Chestnut Apple Amber. —Boil one
cupful of milk witli the thinly
shaved rind from half a lemon. Pour
It over two tablespocnfuls of bread
crumbs. Jtemove the rind. Beat to a
cream the yolks of two eggs with one
fourth cupful of sugar und three
tablespoonfuls of butter; to this add
a quarter of a cupful each of chestnut
puree and apple puree. Mix well, add
the strained juice of half a lemon
aud pour into u well buttered baking
dish the edges of which have been
lined with pastry. Bake until Qrm in
a moderate oven. Allow to cool, then
cover with a meringue, using the two
whites. Dredge with sugar, decorate
with candied cherries and* return to
the oven to brown.