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THEfSCHARLOTTE NEWS, MARCH 21, 1908. Great Cases of the World's Greatest Detectives By George Barton NO. 2 SUPERINTENDENT FROEST AND VERSATILE ROGUE (Frank Froest, superintendent of Scotland Yard, is a man whose entire adult life has been spent in the .business of criminal investigation Jle has risen from the ranks to the highest position that ca nbe at tained by an English detective. An episode in the story that follows was the prelude to a lasting friend ship between Frank Froest and John E. Wilkie, now the chief of our Kovernment secret service. At the time Froest was a. 5n Scotland Yard, and Wilkie London correspondent of ilailv. The name of the chief charac ter in this tale, has, for obvious rea sons, been disguised. For the sake of a connected and complete narra tive, one incident has been introduc ed which will probably be entirely new to Superintendent Froest, I am sure he will look lightly upon this permissible embellishment of an oth wise veracious story from actual life. This is a fragment from the biog raphy of a sersatile rogue a man whose adventurous career leaps at a bound from Chicago to Cape Town, and whose criminal history is a part of the police archieves of New York. Chicago, London, Paris, Vienna and Berlin. Beginning as a proto type of the Artful Dodger, he has gone from pocket-picking to bunco steering, and then run the entire gamut of crime, stopping only providentally, perhaps at murder. Frank Macy, the doubtful hero of this queer story, was born at Free port, 111. There are many old resi dents 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 of ten prophetic of the man's career. "When he reached man'ss estate he was tall and as straight as an In dian. 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 Chicago papers stating that a weal thy widow, about to take a long trip abroad, was willing to sell her favor ite horse "Dobbin." It was with, ex treme regret, of course, that she took this step, but necessity knows no law., and hence this magnificent animal was to be sacrificed at a private sale. The animal was des cribed as being sound in every par ticular, gentle and yet with a record fast enough to satisfy the most sportsmanslike driver. There were several nibbles at this inviting bait. One gentleman, who had suddenly acquired riches, resolved to acquire "Dobbin" at any price. He examined "Dobbin" with a critical, if inexperi enced eye, and was given the privi lege of driving the animal along the lake front and boulevard. As a re sult of this he parted with 800 good American dollars and in return re ceived the much-loved "Dobbin." After the money had been paid, and within 24 hours, Dobbin began to undergo a most curious transfor mation. What had been a magnifi cent specimen of horseflesh began to show strange signs of decrepitude. He shriveled up, as it were; it seems almost impossible to properly de scribe this marvelous transformation in mere words. It was necessary to be seen to be fully appreciated. .Any one who has seen the tail, erect orm of Dr. Jekyl gradually sinking into the personality of the shapeless and glimmering idea of the change that occurred when the noble "Dobbin" became a spavined, knock-kneed and degenerate nag that would have made an old street c: r horse blush for very shame. Th instance of the first Dobbin, was ..ipliented, not once, but a dozen times, and after many of the wealthiest men of Chicago had been victimized the police began to investigate. They were stimulated and assisted in their work by John JO. Willue, who, at that time, was in charge of the criminal department of one of the leading papers in Chicago. After a short time it was discovered that the "Gyp" same, as it was caned, was being worked by a gang of confidrnce men, headed by .Frank Macy. a warrant lor ins ar rest was issued, but before it could be served he had fled from the juris diction of the local court. 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 surprised to see his old-time "Gyp" friend. Frank Macy, enter and place his name on the hotel register. Macey looueu prosperous, lie was dressed in swagger style, wore a long coat, carried a heavy cane and had a sunburst ot diamonds reposing amidst the folds of a blood-red era vat 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 susnicious and the Amer ican lost no time in going to the telenhone and calling up Frank Froest, one of the brightest detec tives in Scotland Yard. Wilkie told Froest that it might be worth his v.'hile to come up to Low's and have a look at the latest addition to American invasion of London. Froest followed the advice of the Lew's Exchange all excited over what his friend and took several looks at Lacy. He had him shadowed day and night, and after a week's work was in pos session of his history. He found, among other things, that Lacy had become a card shark of the first wa ter. He had traveled across the At lantic ocean in luxurious style and had made bis expenses and a com fortable sum besides bv the clever- sergeant-detective ness with which he played the noble tne same of noker with his fellow pas- a Chicago Kensers. On arriving in London, he established a gambling house in West End, where he met with markable success. Not long after the meeting London became was called the "Cutlass Mystery." It began when a well-dressed, elderly gentleman of considerable wealth was found on the sidewalk with his head cut and the blood flowing from several saber wounds. He said he had no recol lection 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 in dividual, and went so far as to say that his misfortune was the result of a card party in which he had par ticipated the previous night. He was unable, however, to give the locality of the house, having be-in taken there by an obliging .cabby whom he had sought with a request to be con veyed to some place where he could satisfy his desires 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" became, the reigning sensa tion of London. In the meantime Frank Groest had been hard at work and, although the results were not verv promising, he knew that he was on the scent anct that it would only be a question of time when he would solve the prob lem. The cabman was located and he remembered taking the first vic tim to the house in the West End. Other threads were bound together and finally all the evidences pointed; to the house operated by Frank Lacy. It seemed that, in each instance, the! victim, after losing his money at I cards, got in a row with one of the j the ber of ugly, but not exactly serious wounds. The house was raided and all tne paraphernalia captured, but Lacy himself Hed from the police. The next chapter in the history of this curious rogue occurred at the little watering place of Margate. A musical instrument dealer of Lon don was taking his holiday at this resort and was enjoying himself in a manner such as is possible only to a London tradesman. Ae he was strolling along the strand he came face to face with Lacy, who wras then a fugitive from justice. He grasped him by the coat. "Mr. Lacy," he exclaimed, "I'm am so glad to see you." "Why?" asked Lacy. "Why," retorted the other, "be cause now you will pay me for the inanuolin you bought from me about a month ago." Lacy laughed. "You will pay me, won't 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, be disturbed by vulgar shoulder and placed him under pr iest. 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 following day. But in the case of this versatile rogue man proposed and Lacy dis posed. During the night he broke jail ana made bis way to Johannes lung. He was delighted with this place and saw a great business possi bility in the gambling line in this gold mining town of South Africa. L, That after took a train dealer made a Lacy in- moriey a wftrm climate, and I can't tradesmen.' When the musical third appeal for his vited him to go to with such emphasis thafthe trades man realized the futility of further talk. He knew that Lacv was a( fugitive and he determine;! to have iiis revenge. He hurried to the nearest telegraph office and wired to Scotland Yard that the man they sought could be found at Margate. Lacy immediately realized the mis take he had mad character of the The Boers were in r-ontrol at that time and Lacy, by his affable man ner and liberal ways, soon won their good graces. Just as he was about to settle down to what would no doubt have been a prosperous career of crime in South Africa one of Su perintendent Groest's men placed him under arrest again, noon captor and captive for Cape Town with the intention of going from there to London. The local officer congratulated himself on having made such an important cap ture. 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 the train. He was arrested "for keeps" this time, taken back to Lon don, tried, sentenced and imprisoned. After he had served his time he started on a tour of the continent, accompanied 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 was quite successful with this same and made large sums of money at several of the more promient con tinental resorts; but a man of his reslless disnosition could not remain long in the same line of business, and n few vrars asro he returned to the United States and was arrested in with being a He met a well 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 bad gathered in the corridors, and in the I confusion the thief had escaped with money. IV 1111,-; UJUieU OLllLCS UIIU e and, learning the! Washington charged telegram that had ! confidence man. H to Scotland Yard, made:vI10wn resident of the District of Co at ions for shortening his! lumbia and, finding that the man had been sent quick prepa! vacation at the cozy seashore resort. lie acted with characteristic disre-- gard of conventionalities. He sum moned a fisherman and hired him to take him out in a small boat, and J hailed a Castle liner which was bound ; for South Africa. By the aid of a clever "cock and bull story" he f induced the captain to take him! aboard and before the Scotland Yard j man reached Margate Lacy was ealm-j 3v sailing the sea on his way to Cape! Town. Superintendent Froest immediately, under the name of Frank Tracy, telegraphed to the authorities at Cape Uvas released on bail, however, room orna- j various! players. Lacy had his mented with trophies of Kinds. Among these was a large j saber, such as is used in the Turkish army, and in each case the assailant;, ably had torn the saber from the wall and j was slashed his victim over the head with j the the weapon. The result was a num-; land Town, describing Lacy, and ins them to apprehend the man his arrival at that port. Lacy man aged to get ashore and strolled about the African city, admiring the bo tanic gardens and the astronomical observatory with the enthusiasm of a tourist whose only desire is to profit- while away an idle hour. He inspecting the fine new docks of instruct-' Soon after a weakness for cards, offered to take him to a room where they could play a game which would mean wealth for both. He had a scheme by which the bank could be broken, and offer ed to show the man how he could take a thousand dollars and come out with a profit of ten thousand. The man accepted this glowing offer, but instead of going to the house that was designated he notified the Dis trict, police and the versatile rogue was once more arrested this time He and the historic at- place Yard when the agent of Scot clapped his hand on his sought on mosphre of London. His latest exploit is really deserv ing of a chapter in itself, but because of lack of space must be condensed into a few paragraphs. Superinten dent Froest. who was always on the lookout for queer characters, learned that Tracv as he now called himself was in London 24 hours after he had set his feet on Englishsoil. instructed his subordinates to be He on IN'OCrOJft JDEPOSITOJ? GJAr?JZWI SIDE". OF i:JgMSJ?" WiS THE G&Z? JrCM-Z The clerks and the depositor, be tween them, gave a rather indefinite description of the thief, but they were perfectly agreed upon the inci dents preceding the robbery. The depositor in question, an elderly gentleman, called at the bank and handed in a check for 200. He was well known to the paying teller and the money was given to him in Bank of England notes. As he received the cash he walked over to a little desk on the side of the corridor for the purpose of counting it before placing it in his wallet. He went about this leisurely and with a perfect sense of security. Before he had finished counting the notes, however, some.i one tapped him gently on the should er. He looked around and saw an other man standing by his side. The stranger was tall and as straight as an Indian, with stiff, coal-black hair. He had a sallow complexion and was very affable in his manner. "Pardon me," said the stranger, "but you have dropped one of your notes." The depositor glanced at the floor on the other side of the desk and, sure enough, there was a blank 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 deposi tor straiehtened un and was about to add the missing note to his pile h 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 wras im possible 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 snnn as be 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 roll-desk and hurried towards Leadenhall street. At Oldgate, where Cornhill nnd Leadenhall street converge, he saw a tall, well-dressed man, hurry ing along amidst the crowd. It did not take him many seconds to re- coernize the man as his old friend, the versatile rogue, who had lived successively under the titles, of Frank Macy, Frank Lacv and Frank Tracy. Instinctively the superintendent asso ciate. thp fellow with the theft of the bank in 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 surrendered without a struggle. The two men proceeded to Scotland Yard and Tracy, when searched, was found to possess the 200 which had been stolen from the depositor in the bank that morn-j ing. He was tried for that offense convicted and served his time. j The versatile rogue is at liberty! once again, and for the time being j illlUUl lllf 1 iU 1 1 1 1 V I l-MUlV.-l Willi j Best Selllup Book The New Novel by the Author of Tim Ufass Bowl "The Black Bag is a winner." n. y. Globe Indispensable to the Tourist Travels like a whirlwind Holds the whole family You cant Lose it Packed hill of bully stuff Made of the best Material x never gets Heavy the Grip 0f adventure Impossible to Check it Bulging with excitement. The Best Selling Book in America, as reported by the Booksellers of theU. S. in April Bookman. Pictures by Fogarty . $1.50 Postpaid. AT ALL BOOKSTORES THE BOBBS-MERR1LL CO., PUBLISHERS Great Telephone Company Favors Public Control is is his presence. This brief sketch not. offered as a story of his life. . lti is only what it purports to be a frag ment from the life of a versatile rogue. Xew York, March 20. The greatest public service corporation in the coun try has come out in favor of the public control advocated by President Roose velt for great corporations, as is shown by the annual report of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company, the central company of the Bell sys tem, made public by President Theo dore X. Vail today. In view of the dominant position of the company in the telephone business and following so closely upon the dec laration of Judge Gary of the Steel Corporation Tor the, same policy, the official declaration of the American Telephone and Telegraph Company is especially noteworthy. The report says: "It is contended that if there is to be no competition there should be public control. It is not believed that there is any serious objection to such control, provided it is indepen dent, intelligent, considerate, thorough, and just, recognizing, as does the inter state commerce commission in its re port recently issued that capital is en titled to iifi fair return, and good man agement or enterprise to its reward." The report shows that there was a greater growth of telephones in the United States during 1907 than in any previous year. During the year the daily average- number of telephone calls reached a total of 1S,G24,000, or about 0,90., 000,000 for the rear, equal j to. 73 calls for every man, woman and eiiiM m , , , -"Jiinh iur uie year wore -..1 20,75:3.200, an increase of SL"i.:jn ;imj over l:;0t, and the total expenses sis;' 008,000. as compared io S77.M5 ;0(j in 1!)0(. In these figures is found the cost to the American public of its an nual talk opportunities Tho ; lor 11)0, alter (h-ducting interest U given as 0,700 out of which 10(5,100 was paid in dividends m .i,' 2::,40'.! shareholders of ihe 1..",:,,-mi shares of stock standing. The avi'i-aV holding is tdiown to be ;." shares, indi cating a general participation in the profits on the p;.rt of the public. Only 1G persons hold more than 5.000 shares. The !oti;l outstanding obligations of The associated Bell companies are giv en at .n54.!i3!),000, thus making- this one of tiie greatest corporations in the world. Color of Eggs an Asset. One of the most potent factors, per haps, that should be considered when selecting a breed for producing eggs for market, is the demand of the market at which the eggs are to be disposed of. Some markets, notably New York city and cities immediate ly adjacent, prefer white shelled eggs, and the best trade in these trade in these markets will accept none other. Boston prefers brown eggs, and pays a substantial premium for them; and, taking the country over, the preference is for brown eggs by a large majority. However, in many markets no preference at all is expressed; in fact, those just men tioned are practically the only markets in which the color of the egg receives attention to the extent of influencing prices. Where there is a preference, and whichever the preference is, one should keep a variety of fowls that lay eggs of the preferred color. From "Profitable Chicken Raising," by Roscoe B. San do, in The Outing Magazine for April. the country. The total num ber of stations in use through which these calls were handled amounted to :.!,S:!9,000, an increase of 70S, 340. The number cf miles of wire in use is given as $,f10,592, of Avhich 1,141,(587 were added during the year. The lat ter amount would encircle the earth more than 45 times, while the total amount in use would reach around it more than "44 times, or would stretch to the moon r.5 separate wires. Lowther to Go to Germany. Washington, D. C, March 20. The news that Sir. Gerard Lowther has leen chosen to succeed Sir Frank Lasceiles as British ambassador to Berlin has been received with consid erable interest and satisfaction in offi cial and diplomatic circles here. Sir Gerard served for several years as First Secretary of the British amlmssy in Washington and was well known so cially both here and in Newport. His vife is an American, the daughter of the late Atherton Blight of Philadel phia. Sir Gerard is distantly related to the late Lord Salisbury. His rise in the diplomatic service, which he en tered in 1879, has been rapid. From Washington he was promoted to the post of British minister to Chile, from which place he was transferred to Tangier. - "Do you think kissing is dan gerous?" "Not when you are in the parlor and all the doors are closed. "Chieago Journal. He Was a Clergyman. Accordingto the Pittsburg Press, a couple of New Yorkers were playing golf on a New Jersey course on elec tion day when they saw a fine-appearing old gentleman looking at them wistfully. They asked him to join the game, which he did with alacrity. He was mild in speech and manner and played well. But once when Me made a foozle he ejaculated vehemently the word : "Croton!" A few minutes later, when he had made another bad play, he repeated: "Croton!" The fourth time he said this one of his new-amed friends said: "I do not want to be inquisitive, but. will 'you tell me why you say 'Croton' so often?" "Well," said the gentleman, "isn't that the biggest dam near New York?" He was a Presbyterian clergyman from Brooklyn. Absent-mindealy the young woman yawned. "Pardon me." she said. "T didn't mean to do that." j 1 see," responded Mr. Lingerlong. "Opened by mistake." Chicago Tri 1 b.une. i ne one ana only absolutely pure cooking-fat that gives (f complete satisfaction under all j culinary conditions. Far better and cleaner than the best hog- larrl anrl nl As good as butter for all kinds of cooking, from bread-baking to fish-frying. Made by Nature, and therefore, of natural purity. ft St I An THE - SOUTHERN COTTON - OI L CO
The Charlotte Observer (Charlotte, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
March 21, 1908, edition 1
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