The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, April 4, 1900, Page 12

2 THE SAN FRANCISCO CALL, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 4, 1900. VAST SWINDLE BAITING ITS HOOK FOR DUPES WITH THIS CITY’S NAME Jones and Skancke, Who Were Once Known Here, Working the East With a Lottery Scheme That Is Yielding an Income of Seventy-Five Thousand Dollars a Month. OO0 HIS morning The Call unmasks a gigantic swindle, engineered by D. H. Jones and L. G. ncke, formerly of this city. are now operating in the tern cities, and who, un- of agents of a Loan nd Trust , are operating a lot- 1ey are in receipt of £75,000 to $100,000 they number y the hundreds Their opera- uge, in a differ- 5 ent way, as were those of Mil- D ler, Brooklyn scoundrel, 8 whose fraudulent banking £ schemes resulted in the rob- ©» bery of thousands of victims & of their only means of subsist- 2 ence. Jones and Skancke are $ pretending that their home § office is in San Francisco and R are using the name of this § city as a bait for the gud- * geons who nibble ar the lur- é ing bait that they put out. @NOROEOROROR O RORNIRORNONOUNS TION was rece bee - Qo o009 > i were Writing o about Lathrop b tter came from Ge E. 1 cashier of the First i g nk of Shullsberg, Wis., who . ticket, otherwise “certificate, i that he did this in behalf of a frien ¥ that it was worth $10. With it was lottery shee my er re were Another lef Standard gton, 11 was asked conc & Co. ommissi they Loan t stree e agencies | down to with t pect to be in pleased 1 go i e or not be it vou copy of the sectic you refe: nsidering office In n etter may t the unique. The Gu: nty was incorpo advertisement | Cuba that Jones two weeks of uary 13, had and | advertise; are put togethes f at least ' This would imply a| 000 out of every $1,000.000 per annum. | Twice or three i About this ws came to The | phy build he laws of the United States. that San Francisco and tha f an office for the furtheranc ated in this city j templated a commission to them of $40, not well be aranty L showed tha i by any b t Oil Comg L, in w rning the The attentio: oners called addre: was i to 2 letter to the | Company at attention to the uthorizing certain act xecutor and in and to provide for and dministration of trusts by ng whether the provisions of the nanswered for response was finally D. H. Jones at Chi- ssumed to be the in typewritten v Loan an Temple. this letter follows do not_know whether the company complies strictly with the statute to | which you refer or not, but I do know t it complies with the laws of the of Tiinois and N yrk. as well 1 San Fra »on and to call upon you, when to details, whereby we w if we are conflicting with the In the meantime I will will furnish me with a n of the statute to which the has no the pre- maintained evi- ce of a swindle be put safely in the class company was Loa by were. W, 1 S. P, into, Ha sent out orators cke. who would not ac- | discovered in the coal bunkers In the ha thing and took th firs: way, and the ice alway rid himself of evidences of | with speedy work to protect the lottery which he concerned. | people. Not long after this Jones went ates’ secured by The | away to Chicago and the scheme that has ery ticke ripened was developed. He and Skanck, were reached by the law, but they have amb | continued in the same line since. Their ent and the lottery sheel, called by them “prospectus,” show: . when they that the scheme con- T, $100,00 taken in at least. mes the office in the Mur- | been closed up for non- /farr winds make fair sailings.fair dealing makes customers and| refans them _ shoes that are equal the a paid - Shoes that form Yo the foot and please the eye are thoes to be had at KASTS 138-140 MK'1.S DID YOU EVER READ THE OBJECT LESSON IN OUR WINDOWS ? @+ irivieieieieied eisieieieie *e e e and Trust Company | in the Murphy building and the police | She learped | found out that it was a lotter concern | ause she | and raided the offices. There ain bright girl who was employed I Jones, Norah Walker by name, who wa in when the police came. No lottery tick- s succeeded in ets were found in the offices, but a lot w credited Norah | OWn den. | { { | | are addre | number of ‘expres JONES, THE WILY MANAGER, THE PRETTY CLERKS AND THE TICKETS. +HE e b e et ebebeb e b et eI et et eteied e o4 payment of rent, and that is the case now. The office furniture is in a lumber room, where it has been many months. A long dispatch was r all ~correspondent in He tells lquarters at 96 as follows A bright-looKir 1 cast of to her job to most que not be seen, It is probable New York last visit to Skancke's ifth avenue, that city & typewriter girl, with “ountenance, seemed to and gave evasive an- 1 She said Platt was out of the oke the truth Skancke scems to be running the concern in Platt’s name. The = "door has one sign reading, “D. F. ' and another “San Benito Mining much information ation, letters were ad- Platt,” making inquiries persona sed to ** i3 his loan and investment company. ollowing reply was received: Carlton, care 1. B. Gates, 15 West rst street, ew York—Dear Sir: urs, 26th inst., will say you must be confuses n regard to certificate of xt drawing,” etc., as I do « next drawing. Per- ewhat | apply the city, which state of mind gest you bring the my office. Yours D. F. PLATT. This letter was typewritten on a plain sheet of paper, the signature being also typewritten. The envelope was plain also o agent, who hc ed thus to locate sleuths, whom he ss imagined to be on his trail. A vis then made to the office of the Realty Loan and Investment Com- pany, owners of the building in which the lottery office is located. The agent sald he had never seen Mr. Platt, but the office had -been rented by Mr. Jones of Chicago, who, he added, was a good tenant and always pald his rent promptly. He said Joneg' agent, “‘Mr. Platt,” had occupied an office in the bullding for at least three years, " The colored janitress at 9 Fifth avenue eclared she was answering questions.” When | Platt was absent from the city, she re- | plied: “He must have gone to-da Leastw. he was here yesterday don’t know whether his name is Platt | or Skancke What did he say his name was?" ‘Oh, honey, I know my business,” said chuckling over her own shrewdness. Next door nefghbors admitted they did | | 58 sked if Mr. The concern entered into business | <a cer- | not know much about Mr. Platt, but said the business seemed to be conducted by | only one individual, whose name was | Skancke, though he received mail and did | business’ in_ Platt’s name. | lions were then literally bearded in their The outer office of the two oc- | cupied by the concern contains two tables | for folding circulars and four desks. A brass chain extending from a desk to a glass partition bars the entrance to the interior of the room. The inner office has a heavy curtain over the glass door that leads to it from the hall, which is kept locked. The entrance is by way of a door opening into the outer office. The build- ing has an entrance on Fifth avenue and | another on West Fifteenth street. The typewriter girl rattled a plece of in the room. She pointed out the Call- Herald representative and declared: ‘“There is the man I warned you against. He was here the other day.' Upon inguiry for Mr. Platt, both were silent. The fine-looking man, of rather imposing proportions, his hair slightly tinged with gray, gray cyes and mus- tache and wearing a gray tweed suit, was pacing the floor nervously, making a pre- tense "of reading a rewspaper. He was finally compelled to admit that his name was Skancke, but with some show of indignation. denied that he was L. G. Skancke of San Francisco who left there after the lottery was rajded and who was afterward arrested in Boston. There is no doubt, however, that he is the same man. mythical “Recky enterprise, Harr{s” of this lottery Letters and express packages sed to “D. F. Platt.” The mythical *‘Platt” pays the rent and con- ducts all business. but in reality the fine- looking Skancke is the real culprit. It does not appear that much lottery busi- ness is transacted by mail, for the postal carrier who delivers mail to that building says few letters are received by Mr. Platt, It appears, however, that a considerable packages are received, This is probably done to evade section 331 of the postal laws and regulations. Fifteen minutes after the interview with Skancke that enterprising individual came down Fourteenth street with two bundles of papers under his arms and de- posited them in the United States Express office near Fifth avenue. They seemed to be circulars. Skancke, while willing to invite others to take a chance, was not willing to take any himself, and was doubtless getting rid of evidences of guilf. The name of Dedrick Platt, broker. % Fifth avenue, appears in the Directory. but there is no Skancke. This individuai has deemed it best to cenceal his identity #s far as possible since his conviction in Boston, The Herald on August 26, 1894, devoted ceived from The | t has been too much | and the letter was registered by the foxy | ther skittish about | I} known about him while there injuriously The lottery | peper to attract the attention of the man | D. F. Platt, who may be dead, is. the | R B S S O e e SOR SCY ) + ® . & * L4 . © . © . & Lebedebedeie * o e e nearly a page to expose the Guaranty Loan and Trust Company of California | and Empire State Lottery Company, sup- posed to be allled to the California con- cern. As a_result David H. Jones and Lawrence G. Skancke were arrested in Boston Octobs 4, 1894, and were charged '| with maintaining’ a lottery in that city. | Jones was said to be the head of the | Guaranty Loan and Trust Company and Skancke was his assistant. Both _men were found guilty. Neither man_ offered any defense, but both endeavored to ob- tain mitigation of sentence by promising to leave the State for good. Jon was sentenced to the House of | Correction for three months and ordered | to pay a fine of 3200. with a fine of $200. Except that in 1884 the company an- nounced itself to be only in_the sixth yeat of successful operation, and the names of agents and auditor were then different, their circular of January 23, 1900, is identi- cal with one dated April 20, 1894, which purported to give a drawing or allotment Skancke escaped | of loans. In 1894 the auditor was A. R. | Ward. His place has now been taken by | H. B. Lansing. In 189 the same Lansing | was cashier and secretary of the Bankers' Mutual Company of 27 t Fourteenth | street, an alleged lotter. h was sup- posed 'to have been operated jn connection with the Guaranty Loan and Trust Com- pany and Empire State Lottery. Postoffice Inspector King to-dav pointed | out to The Call correspondent the fact that circulars of the Guaranty Loan and Trust Company directed money to be for- warded by express. As a consequence it | might be hard to secure evidence that lot- tery communications had been transmit- ted through mails, but Skancke may be indicted for obtaining under false pre- tenses letters addressed to Platt. The Call'’s Washington correspondent wires the following information about George F. Curtis, who appears to be the San Trancisco agent of the lottery: “Curtls, grandson of a naval officer of high rank, believed to be a native of the District of Columbia, was graduated at | Georgetown Law School, and about ni | years ago became connected with the Congressional library. He remained there | five "or six years, was iegarded as in telligent and ‘industrious, and nothing w. | I affecting his personal integrity or habits. | But certain positive facts of tempera | ment made him in many ways unsatis- | factory to library officials and disagree | able to all with whom he came in contact | While on a vacation in Switzerland, it is | understood he got into a difficulty from which it required the services of United | States officials to extricate him. Exactly | what the trouble was is not known. When | the library force was reorganized In 1897, no provision was made for his retention. | This was a way of getting rid of him, His usefulness in the library and general reputation were impaired by eccentricities of character which made him somewhat unreliable rather than by distinctly bad qualities.” Special Corset Sale. A lot of odd corsets—broken lines—in- cludes blacks, drabs and white, all sizes, | ranging from 75 cents to $450 In_value. will be sold from 25 cents to $1 50. Chester | F. Wright, 10 Geary st., corner Kearny * E—— MARY BUJA SAYS HE IS A BLACKMAILER L. Scatena Defendant in an Action to Recover Money, Property and Damages. In a sult filed yesterday Mrs. Mary Buja charges L. Scatena with having extorted $1500 from her through threats of having her son, Nicholas, sent to prison on a charge of embezzlement. He also forced her by threats, menace and duress, she says, to give him a note and mortgage on | her home at 810 Green street, and she as| the court to give her judgment canceling | the note and mortgage and decreeing that she recover the %;‘.500 paid out by her, together with $1000 damages. Mrs. Buja says Scatena, prior to August 15, 1847, | caused the arrest of her son on two charges of embezzlement. Subsequently | he went to her and sald that he would press the charges against her son unless she patd him $1500 and gave her the note | and mortgage referred to. Fearful that he would carry out his threat, she says, she agreed to what sne terms his extor- tionate demands and gave away her all. Bhe now seeks to recover the property glven into the hands of Scatena under the elief that she was saving her son from a felon's cell. —————————— Unknown Man Drowned. | The body of an unknowri man was found floating in the surf near Fort Scott yes- terday morning and taken to the Morgue. It was very much decomposed and the face was disfigured by the fishes. The clothing was a blue sack coat, brown pants, brown laced shoes and a white sweater. The body will be held at the Morgue for identification. B e e e e o R S 2 bebeio e reason of | STATE PRISON DIRECTOR MAY SOON BE NAMED Governor Gage Has Heard of the Cordage Bill Scan- dal of 1895. ————— SIL FOULARD ADVERTISEMENTS. ] KS. | Letter Written by Charles Sonntag | i to President Tubbs—An Inci- | dent of Budd’s Adminis- tration. AL LR Toples connected with State Prison man- agement are now engaging the attention | | of politiclans. Democrats as well as Re- | elegant variety of ! | publicans are surprised over certain | l | surprised when Mr. Wilkinson was re- | | moved from the office of Commissary at | | San Quentin to make room for Francis | Foley. It is sald that Governor Gage de- | manded this change. Mr. Wilkinson, | | however, found a better berth than that | of Commissary through the assistance of his stanch supporters on the Prison Direc- fmry. He was appointed Warden at Fol- | |som while two of the Directors were | tardily engaged in the work of program- | ming the board in the interest of a candi- date in San Francisco. | "Word comes from the north that the | politicians of Sacramento are greatly dis- | turbed over the avmointment of E. L. | Fitzgerald to the position of Commissary at To.som. Ernest Dettleback was di | placed to make the opening for the e: Labor Commissioner. | “George E. Lamphrey, lieutenant of the | guard at Folsom, received his walking | papers recently. He was succeeded by | George J. Haggerty, turnkey at the prison. colorings. .00 85¢, $1 We will have on sale this week an NEW FOULARD atest designs and The widths of these Foulards are 24 and 27 inches, and the prices are .25 and 7 pET pard. We ask our customers to see our window display of these goods. The tate of Lamphrey causes deep dl | tress in certain circles of Sacramento. Danfel B. Hayes' term of office as Prison Director expired last January. Directors Devlin, Fitzgerald, Wilkins and Ray are | wondering whether the Governor will re- appoint Mr. Hayes, or take up a new man | | for the place. Charles Sonntag, who | served on’ the board during the admin- istration of Governor Waterman, is work- | ing actively to secure appointment as Mr. | Hayes' successor. The story goes that Sonntag heard from the inside that Gov- ernor Gage entertained special admira- tion for General Alger and also had pro- | | found respect for public sentiment in | Michigan. Accordingly Sonntag laid the | wires to connect with the friendly cur- rent In Michigan and succeeded in getting Alger’s indorsement for the coveted place. When Henry P. Sonntag of the North | End Improvement Club presented peti- tions for an extra session of the Legisla- | ture it was surmised In certain quarters that an implied agreement had been NOTE. SPECIAL SALE at 25 per cent 1 mill prices. We will continue this week our of FINE ALL- WOOL GOLDEN GATE BLANKETS ess than present whereby Sonntag's brother Charles should | be Prison Director. The closest friends of the administration—the holders of office and others who expect to enjoy the favor of the office-holding—assert posit that Gage was never off his guard an i stant in the Sonntag presence. It is as- serted, moreover, that Gage with the cordage bill scandal in the L. islature of 1895, having heard the partic Jars of a letter written by Charles Son tag to President Tubbs, wherein it is familiar 2- uggested that the Cordage Compar should pay $2500 for services rendered at Sacramento in securing the defeat or withdrawal of the bill providing for the manufacture of cordage at San Quentin Prison. |~ Whether Governor Gage is or is not fami- | liar with the incidents of this scandal the | truth can be brought out by investigation. This much is at present known. * Governor Budd had nearly made up his mind to ap- point Charles Sonntag, a Republican, | Prison director, when he was informed | that Judge Henshaw, son-in-law of Mr. | Tubbs, had in his possession a letter wri | ten by Sonntag to Tubbs, which contained | | a request for the payment of $2500 on ac- | count of service rendered in defeating the | cordage bill. Governor Budd does not rec. | ollect that he saw the letter, but he was | s0 deeply impressed with the statement that such a letter existed andcould be pro- | uced, if desired, by Judge Henshaw, that | he dismissed the thought of signing Sonn- tag’s commission. @PORA, w9z © i, u3, us, uT, 19, GAVE HER LIFE 10 SAVE THAT | When the bill was pending in the Legis- | lature the leading stockholders of the | | Cordage Company were very bitter | against Senator Seymour for advocating a measure to break down their new indus- try by the establishment of a cordage piant at San Quentin. The Senator, hear- | ing of the indignation, squared himself by asserting that he introduced the meas- ure at Sonntag's Tequest. When the sub- ject reached the executive office, Gov- ernor Budd advised the people who were protesting against the bill not to pay a dollar to defeat the legislation. WIDOW HOFFMAN MAKES CHARGES OF FRAUD OF HUSBAND Heroic Action of the Wife of a Saloon-Keeper in Butte. ‘ BUTTE, Mont., April 3.—Mrs. Creech, a native of Frankfort, Ky., and wife of Joseph Creech, saloon-keeper on South Main street, lost her life this mor: ing while trying to protect her husband from the bullet of a would-be assassin. The murderer, who is unknown, had en- gaged in a trifling quarrel with Creech in the latter’'s oon about 3:30 o'clock this morning. The stranger drew a gun and snapped it at Creech, but it failed to go off. Mrs. Creech jumped between them just as the stranger aimed another shot at him. This time the gun went off and the bullet struck the woman in the breast. She died in a few minutes. Creech started after the man, but was unable to catch up with him. Ed Allison was arrested for the murder and taken to the City Jail, but afterward escaped. She Brings Suit Against Her Dead Husband’s Brother for a Large Sum. Mrs. Dora Hoffman, as administratrix of the estate of Isaac Hoffman, has filed suit in the United States Circuit Court against Charles Hoffman, a brother of | her deceased husband, to recover $21,274 62 alleged to be due the estate. Isaac Hoffman was a member of the clothing firm of Hoffman, Rothchild & | Co., in this city, and was murdered in his store on Bush street on June %, 1897, by some person or persons unknown to the jury that tried and acquitted Theodore el. FifSe complalnt recites that Charles and | .saac were partners in the business up to May 1, 189, on which date they took in Edward S. Rothchild as an equal partner, their stock etc., at that time being val- ued at $197,549 24. In forming the new firm, it is alleged that each of the three put in_ $75,000, Charles and Isaac taking their $150,000 out of the old business and loaning the remainder, $47,549 24. It is further alleged that Charles fraudulently and falsely represented to her that Isaac had transferred his interest in the re- | maining $47,540 24 for a valuable consider- | ation and that he induced her for a gift of $2500 to assign to him, Charles, all her husband's interest, which she ‘did, be- lieving at the time that his representa- tlons were true. —_——————— Dr. Parker's Cough Cure. One dose will stop a cough. Never falls, Try it. All druggists. * kbt ik san i Stole a Shank of Beef. John Burns, a ranchhand from Sacra- mento, stole a shank of beef from the butcher shop of Lee Sun, 10} Washington alley, Monday afternoon and was arrested for petty larceny. He told Judge Vogan yesterday that he had no money and wanted to get back to Sacramento, where A new hotel, The Bradbury. All rooms sunny 1604 Californa st., cor. Polk, near Van Ne: ARTHUR G. PERADA | DROWNED HIMSELF His Body Found Floating in the Bay Near Goat Island by the Amy’s Crew. 1 The dead body of Arthur G. Perada of | 6 Scott place was found floating in the bay | yesterday morning near Goat Island by | the crew of the launch Amy. The body | was identified by letters found in the | pockets from Frank Perada, a_brother, | who Is attending the Mount Tamalpais Military Academy. These letters speank of the poverty of the dead man, ana the writer thereof re{rets that he cannot as- sist him financially. The following note in pencil was also found: Addle Silva is my wife. To my brother #rank: You know I married | and how I regretted it. So I intend to end it he had friends. He did not know why he | all, The woman that I love is not true to me stole the shank of beef, only he felt des- | You know who I mean. Good-by. Gy § perate. As he was a respectable-look- | 3-19-1%00. ARTHUR. | ing young fellow the Judge dismissed the case and gave him $150 to help him back home. A TREATMENT THAT Cures Catarrh, Deafness, Noises in Fars, Throat and Lung Diseascs The deceased disappeared on the 19th of | March. He had been drinking heavily for some days before he disappeared. % half the time of other methods. Easy to use and with pain or injury. In 3000 test cases over¥d per cent cured. sy FREE trial of one week given to show the superior merit of my new treatment. Call at once or write. | DR. COTTINGHAM EXPERT QN FAR, NOSE. THROAT AND LUNG D 2C4 SUTTER ST. W corner Eesrny. Hours: 9to12a. m,1to3and7to8p. m. ISAAC H. SEVERANCE OF WILLOWS, CAL., SAYS: I have treated now about one month with Dr. Cottingham's New Antiseptic treatment. I have had catarrh in its worst form for 3 years, and was so deaf I could not hear a cable ear or the bell sound. Came near being run over several times. Since treat- ‘ing I can hear about as well as I ever could; in fact, 1 hear sur- P flnfily well. I never !houfh! it possible to be made to hear so well, 1 have lost gocd positions on account of my bad hear- ing. ‘It is an awful misfortune to be deaf. The treatment is all right and will cure catarrh 2nd deafness. ? ISEASES, Nothing like my new ANTISEPTIC TREATMENT. It cures in | _ Corenos % 121 POST STREET. No More Dread of the Dental Chair, These are the only dental parlors in San Francisco that have the patent ap- pliance and ingredients to extract, fill and apply gold and porcelain crowns, unde- ctable from natural teeth, and war- ted for 10 years, without the least par- teeth with- ngs and all other den- tal work done painlessly and by special- ists. TEETH EXTRACTED and filled abso- Iutely without pain by our late scientific method. No sleep-producing agents or co- In our GOLD CROWNS and BRIDGE WORK. of which we are making a SPE- CIALTY, the most BEAUTIFUL, PAIN- 1 nd DURABLE of all dental work known to the profession, you will find an example of the HIGHEST ARTISTIC AT- T NME adaptability of which to : conditions of the mouth ra at should not prove sats- factory be attended to without charg. t office. Geld Crowns, $5; Full Set Teeth, $5; Bridgework. $5; Gold Fill= ings, $1 up; Silver Fil will at our neare: New York Dental Parlors, 723 MARKET ST, SAN FR. ~0. ——MAIN Ol — FOURTH AND MORRISON STREETS, PORT- LAND, OR. 4-Room Furniture ror $OS8, BEDROOM-—Bedroom set, T pieces, hardwood; op Mattress, 1 1good Wirs Spring, 1 go0d T Pair Pl PARLOR.: pleces Oak or Mahogany Up- holst, Set. e nOOM — 1 Hardwoed Nutension Table, § Oak Chalrs. KITCHEN—1 Patent Table, 1 No. 7 Stove, 1 Cha; ™ No extra_charge on credtt. MAKE YOUR OWN TERMS. EASTERN OUTFITTING CO,, 1310-1312 Stockton St., Near Broadway. Open Evenings. PALACE AND GRAND HOTELS | Loecated on Market Street, In close proximity to bust- ness section, places of amusement and depots: 1400 rooms, %0 with baths at- tached. The largest and fine-* hotels ia he world. Ameri- an and European plan. D e S, D HAY.FEVER AND CATARRH | Oppression, Suffocation, Neuralgfa, ete., cured by ESPIC'S CIGARETTES, or POWDER Paris, 4. BEPIC: New York, E. POUGERA & 0 BOLD BY ALL DRUQGISTS W, T. HESS, KOTARY :GJlis ady ATfuRNEY-AP-LAY, Tenth Fioor, Room 1015, Claus Spreckels Bldg. Teiephone Brown St Residence, $21 California st., below Powell, San Francisco.