Reading for Everybody.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXVII, Issue 2550, 10 July 1909, Page 1 (Supplement)

Reading for Everybody.

D. S. WINDELL FRAUDS. PRISONER’S AMAZING CONFES- • SION. . “ ’ ' ' DID IT FOR DEVILMENT. I herewith voluntarily declare that under the assumed name of “D. S. Win dell” I. obtained amounts of £290 from eight of the branches of the London and South-Western Rank, Limited on September 23 last.' I understand that besides the above offence, I am also charged with forgery.- •

The forgery charge I absolutely deny.' As to the other matter I beg to state, not in order to excuse my action, but merely for the purpose of explaining it, that my intention in the first instance was not to obtain money as such, but rather to feel myself able to do something which many others might feel themselves incapable of accomplishing. In other words, it was the devilment of the matter —the excitement, the ingenuity. the humor, the almost impossible success to crown it, which urged me to attempt the fraud. The very name assumed, “D. S. \\mdeil’ > —J)—Swindle —goes to corroborate this intention. . I am- still very young— 23—and tins may explain my desire for excitement of some sort or other. The great tempter exploited my weakness, and from the moment almost that I had been apparently successful I was sorry for the deed. I could not retrace my steps. 1 once intended to do so., to return the remnant of the money obtained to the legitimate owners. But subsequent considerations somehow made me reverse my decision. I had to go the whole hog and 1 am afraid I have come down to the tail now.I have been caught fairly and squarely and can hardly express how painful it is to find mysejf treated as a real criminal- . .. ® But I have made up my mmd to stand the racket and bear my punishment with courage and fortitude, and when I return to the world to become once more a decent and, .if possible, useful member of society.

The above is the astonishing confession of Bernard Robert. Isaac, the man who perpetrated the jdevesest swindle of modern times, when, by a daring coup, he robbed eight branches of the London and'South Western Bank. ; With Francis Reginald King, a cashier in the employment of the bank, ho appeared in the dock at Bow-street Police Court on May 14, the one charged with obtaining the money by false pretences-, and the other with being concerned in the frauds. There were •eight warrants against Robert. The majority of the spectators who crowded into the back of the court were well-dressed women, and over 100 people -were turned away bv the police. Behind the dock sat eight witnesses from the different branches of the bank visited by “Winded” in the famous cab tour. King, who is the taller of the pair by head and shoulders, preceded Robert into the dock. The smaller man looked quite as jaunty as when he first appeared before Mr Marsham, but King showed signs that his position is telling upon his strength. The prisoners stood in easy attitudes, leaning on the dock rail, whilst Mr. Mnskett began his explanation of the charges and the evidence on which they were based. ....

’ reply to the clerk, Robert said his name was Isaac.

STORY OF THE PROSECUTION:, •Mr. Muskett, for the congratulated tlie staff of tlie bank and tho officials of Scotland Yard on the successful results of their efforts,' which had extended over nearly six months. _ , In particular, he mentioned two gentlemen who would not be called as ■‘witnesses —Mr. Randall, accountant, and Mr. Holken, chief clerk at the head office of the bank in Fenclmrch-strcet. The magistrate, lie said, would agree, after he had heard the evidence, that he had before him in these two comparatively young men those responsible for the origination and carrying out of ■ one of the most daring banking frauds of modern times. As to the prisoners, Robert was born ill 1886 in Holland, being the son of Robert Isaac. >H.is proper name, therefore, was Robert Isaac. His father was a draper of respectability and good position in Rotterdam. This young man came to England when 18 years old. He had been hero practic.alß ever since that time. Undoubtedly he was a man of exceptional ability and genius, speaking "fluently five or six languages including ' his own. There _could he no doubt that be was a nian extremely well read, and it was almost incredible how he became a party to this fraud. The only explanation possible was the one he himsell had offered. They had in King a man of extraordinary temperament. Tie was 31 years of age, and entered the service of tho bank in 1894. From that year he did duty at several branches, and was finally, in December 1907, transferred to the West Kensington branch, where he occupied the position of second cashier. On March 8 last, after- suspicion had definitely fallen upon him in this case he was purposely transferred to tho Olapham branch. KING’S CAREER. His .Worship would have before him a.t a later stage certain- evidence as to. King’s antecedents. He seemed to have left Ins parental ■ roof about 12 years ago, owing to differences with his father and mother, and the latest address they had of him was at Greyhound Mansions, Fulham, where, if information was correct, he was mostly known lay tho name of Reynolds.

His Worship would have gathered already from the few questions which King put in cross-examination to Detective Burton, who arrested him, that he was a man of advanced socialistic tendencies, with peculiar notions as to the difference between, meum tuum. On Wednesday, September 23 (Mr. Muskett continued) advice notes were received at no fewer than 13 different .branches of the bank on the south side of; the river.

For the purpose o:f this case he proposed to deal only with the eight branches .from which money was, in fact, obtained. ; The Typical advice note he would take was dated September 22. and was sent from Harlesden branch to Vauxhall-

The description of the customer was given as D. Stanley W 7 indall, independent. 93, Craven Parle Road, Ilarlesdon '

Other entries gave the full amount of the account as £728 18s 4d, and stated that the account was opened in May . 1905. and there had been an average balance of £SOO < to £6OO. There was. also a note that the signature was* attached, and ' Mr. Winded” will call to sign the book. The document necessarily required the signature of the mandger of the transferring branch, and there‘would be found on each of the eight advice slips “Edwin L. Cox,” the manager of the Harlesden branch. THE ONE THING WANTED.

But to make it complete it also required the secret code word of the bank for the particular day- on which the document purported to he sent out. Upon each of these documents would bo found'the word “tack.” During Mr. Muslcett's speech, King, who had in the meantime been allowed a seat, rose and made some remark, whereupon Mr. Muskett turned round sharply and said: “Please don’t interrupt.” King thereupon resumed his scat. The slips, continued Mr. Muskett, sent to the 13 hanks, were contained in the printed envelopes of the bank, and bore perforated postage stamps which wore the property of the bank. In. addition to the advice notes there was contained in each instance a specimen signature of “D. Stanley Windell.” On the morning of September 23 there appeared at Vouxhall, Clapham, Balliam, Streatham, 'Tulse Hill, Dulwich, Forest Hill, and Catford branches, a man who (said Mr. Muskett) there ■was no question at all, was the defendant Robert. SENDING THE CODE ’WORD.

Before describing what Robert did he would explain the practice with regard to the secret code word. It was the practice on every Saturday evening to send out under private cover to the various managers of the branches the code word for the six days of the following week, from Monday to Saturday. That code word should remain in the confidential custody of the manager of the branch, or whoever might be in direct and principal charge at the time. But there was no doubt that in practice on the afternoon of any particular day in any particular week the code word for that day could well, in the ordinary course of business, come within the knowledge of any responsible member of the staff. Having regard to the fact that King was second cashier there could be no doubt he could, without much difficulty, have ascertained the word, in the ordinary course of business early in the afternoon of the same day. The code word for September 22 was “tack,” and he hoped to be able to show it was the undisguised handwriting of King. WORKING THE SWINDLE.

On the morning of September 23, Mr. Muskett went on, between 9 and 12 o’clock. Winded called at the var-_ ious branches. He asked the person in" charge whether an advice,note had been received that morning transferring his account from Harlesden to that particular branch. , He was told that it had been received, and that the matter appeared to be in perfect order. He thereupon asked to sign the signature book, and signed it in a way which, on comparison, agreed in every respect with the specimen.signature. He then asked for a cheque-book containing 25 cheques, which was handed to him, and lie drew a cheque for £290, payable to himself. In that case, and in all the seven other cases, the cheque was then and there cashed by the payment of £9O in gold and ;£2OO in notes, either £5 or £lO notes. He gave the address 93, Craven Park Road, as appearing on the advice note/and asked that the cheque-book should be forwarded to his address, tj’hat was done in each instance, and the books came back through the Dead Letter office, there being no such address in existence. Mr. Muskett went on to say that Robert, after visiting the. eighth brancli, which was at Catford, told the driver of his taxicab to proceed to another branch —Croft-on Park. The driver, who seemed to be getting a little suspicious of the movements of his fare, instead of driving. him near to that branch, drove- him right up to the door of the bank, winch he had not done according to his instructions, in the other cCiscs. . , Robert did not alight, but said lie would not call there, that day, . but would conic again to-morrow. Ho then directed the'driver to proceed to tbe head olfiep of the London and. SouthWestern Bank, in Penehurch-street,' where, having paid the cabman, he entered. He then disappeared entirely. The fraud did not come to light until ■ next day, THE MANAGER’S SIGNATURE.

The prosecution hoped to prove that the signature of Mr. Cox was taken from an enquiry shoot addressed from Harlesden to the West Kengsington branch. Although the document was found in its proper place in a bundle of such slips, it was attoiwards noticed that there was a small crease in the paper, above the signature at the foot of the -°go made evidently in the process of tracing the signature. A number of the stolen bank notes found their wav into the .Bank of England from Paris, Antwerp, and other places abroad. An Antwerp banker would identify King as being, the man who called at his bank in Antwerp to cash some of the notes', and when the banker consulted his' list of the missing notes, King, left the, establishment, leaving the notes on the counter. King afterwards wrote- to liis father, teiling him hte-had received £2OO foi •the sale of a patent, and offering to lend him £IOO. Subsequently he lent him £SO.

BANK MANAGER’S EVIDENCE. Sidney Herbert- Jarrett, manager of the Vauxhall branch of the London and South-Western Bank; stated that on the morning of September 23, 1908, he received tlie transfer advice form and -specimen signature produced. It purported to. be -a communication from the Harlesden branch to his branch; as to the transfer of the account of one D. Stanley Winded. It stated that the total amount of the • was £726 18s 4d, and that the average ballance was £SOO to £6OO. Tlie cominunication added that Mr. Winded would call. Robert called on September 23, and said that* his name was David Stanley Winded. He asked for a."cheque book and on the first form lie wrote "Pay self or hearer, the sum of £290. He said he would take the money in 40 £5. notes and, the rest- in, gold. " : • • - 1 ’ ~ 1 Cecil R. LoOkie, chief clerk at the Clanham branch of the London and South-Western Bank; Stanley Lassain, cashier- at the Balham branch - Charles

Burgess Wood, manager of the Streatham branch; Charles Frederick Bisgood, manager of the Dulwich branch; Hugh, JBassanio Hutchings, chief clerk at Forest Hill branch, and George Poole Ryder, manager of the Catford branch, gave simitar evidence, Edwin. Leopold Cox, manager of the Harlesden branch of the bank, said no one named D. S. Windell had an account there, and he knew of no one of that name. The rubber stamp which had been used on the forms was like that used at witness’ branch, but it was npt the, same. Only five communications bad juissed between his branch at Harlesden and the West Kingsington branch between July, 1906 and the date of the frauds. Percy Coleman, one of the inspectors of branches in the service of the London and South Western Bank, stated that at the West Kensington branch ho found tho last four of the communications sent from Harlesden, spoken of by the last witness, loose were found in the .places whore they ought to be, but the fifth communication ho found at the head office, so that it had been out of the custody of tho West Kensington branch. Mr. Muskett: Dkl you notice anything unusual about it?—l noticed a crease over the signature “Edwin L. Cox.”

Would an- ordinary folding produce a crease there, do you think? —No. TAXI DRIVER’S STORY.

Albert William Pendrith, a. driver employed by the London general Motor Taxicab Company, Brixton, said “Mr. Windell” hired his cab at half-past nine on the morning of September 23. Witness drove to Vauxhall and Clapham stations, and to Balliam, Tooting, Mitcham Lane, Norbury, Dulwich, Forest Hill, and Catford, and at each place Robert left tho cab and was absent a quarter of an hour. Witness missed his wav to Crofton Park .and happened to pass a branch of the London and South Western Bank. He said, “Here you are, sirj” but the prisoner tapped the window and said, “Never mind, I’ll call there to-mor-row.” (Laughter.) Witness then drove to the head office. His register then gave the fare at 225. Francis Edward King, residing at Haythorne-street. Wandsworth, father of the defendant King, stated that on March 6 lie saw his son who said: —“I have come to tell you something that I think will distress you very much. I engineered that ,‘D. S. Windell’ business.” Witness was much agitated and said:—“lf you have done this you must be mad.”

Mr. Lawson: Did he explain why he did it?—When I spoke to him of the wickedness of the thing, robbing his employers,, he said :-£“Nonscnse. It, is my arrears of salary.” The case was adjourned. [According to a cable published last month, King was sentenced to seven years’ imprisonment, whilst -Roberts received a term of 18 months.’]

STRANGE STORIES t-ROM THE AMERICAN PAPERS.

ALLEGED CANNIBALISM IN CANADA.

A case of- alleged cannibalism lias just been disclosed in Montreal through the evidence given at a coroner’s inquest .on tho death of a French-Cana-than guide named Lemieux. Earlier in the season Lemieux left Quebec as a guide to a party of French travellers, headed by a man named Bernard. In' the Roberval district, about 200 miles north of Quebec, in the vicinity of Lake .St. John, the party was overtaken by a blizzard which lasted several days, and resulted in all being lost. The expedition was, without provisions, and their situation was very critical. A rescue party was sent out, and some time later the bodv of.Lemieux was found with parts of his flesh removed by knives. There was evidence that tho guide had been killed, and portions of his body eaten. At the inquest the jury entered a verdict of murder, and accused the Frenchman Bernard and his party of cannibalism. Bernard’s whereabouts are unknown, and nothing lias been heard of the party since the guide’s body, was found.

WAITING FOR DEATH. For four minutes a boy murderer sat in the electric chair at Sing-Sing Prison, New York, on Monday, April 12th, and waited for the death that ordy came when repairs had been made to the deadly chair. The lad’s name was Bernard Carlin, and he was sentenced to death for the murder of his mother. Though only nineteen, Carlin had a dcplorablo record. He was always in trouble, and it was because his mother did not petition for liis release after his last escapade that lie shot her. At his- trial he appealed to public sympathy on the ground that he was the “only boy in America who had never had a chance.” After his condemnation he became very religious, and on Monday walked calmly to the electrocution cell, reciting the prayer “Into Thy Hand, Lord.” Ho was quickly strapped to the chair, and the electrician turned on the current. Instead of straining at the heavy straps which bound him Carlin looked about him calmly. Again the current was turned on, but with the same result. At last it was discovered that the, wire attached to the electrode on the culprit’s right leg had fallen to the floor, and Consequently no circuit was formed when the current was turned on.

This was soon remedied, the electrician again (stepped back and caught the lever, Dio current was switched on, and Carlin died almost without a struggle.

BABY’S DEPORTATION. A pathetic victim of the United States immigration laws is little Josscll Pasker, aged years, who was recently separated from his parents and deported back to Russia. When the child’s parents arrived he was found by the immigration officers to be suffering from a scab) disease, and the father agreed to pay 3s per day for his maintenance and medical treatment at Ellis Island. A total of £35 was remitted, and then came hard times, and the payments fell into arrears.

The Washington authorities then ordered the child’s- deportation. There was a touching farewell between the parents and tbe child, who, on April 11, started tbe eastward voyage. What the infant’s fate will bo when delivered at Kishineff the immigration authorities have no means of guessing. £10,000,000 WILL IN DISPUTE. An extraordinary will suit, involving tbe distribution of £10,000,000 has been decided against Mr. William Copeland Rhinelander, the eldest son of the late celebrated millionaire. Mr. Copelander Rhinelander was disinherited for marrying in 187 G a servant girl named Margaret McGinnis, of the household of his parents. When his first wife died he further estranged his familv bj T his second wedding. His father never forgave him, and when he died in January, 1907, bequeathed the bulk of £10,000,000 to his two younger sons, Philip and Oakley Rhinelander. O codical authorised the executors to pay Mr. Copeland Rhinelander £IOOO yearly. . The disinherited son immediately started a suit to have the will declared invalid. After a hearing lasting less than an hour, the jury returned a verdict in favor of the executors, who are now free to distribute the estate according to the beneficiaries. LAND WAR IN GEORGIA.

In: four counties of Georgia, where the Dodge family, of New York, are prosecuting claims against squatters, the representatives of tho Dodges are asking whether the game is worth the candle. “What is the good,” they ask. despairingly, “of wining clairhs m the Federal courts against the squatters if the latter refuse to accept the verdict, and forthwith murder you?” This train of thought was stimulator! on April 5 by the murder of Mr. Pope Hill a prominent lawyer, who represented the Dodges in litigation over 500.000 acres that are involved. Mr.'Hill, on arriving at the scene of strife, received tlie usual warning to o-o back home, but he took notice, and on tho night of April' 5 his body was found with a bullet in tho head. A letter, written by a squatte. and found near the body, expressed .regret that the Dodges should persist in taking advantage of technical claims, and declared that the squatters are “well able to look after settlements, law or no law.” Five persons connected with the Dodge land claims met tragic deaths in .1891'. Captain Forsyth was murdered not long after Mr. Lucius Williams, one of tlie claimants, was killed. Besides, th.ere ; arc many encounters from which participants emerged with gunshot wounds, two of which proved fatal. / . Tn the four counties of Pulaski, Dodge, Telfair, and . Laurence, the Dodge lands cover about 500,000 acres, and ever since 1882 there has been litigation over their possessions. A countless number of suits, countersuits, answers and demurrers have been filed. The . Dodges have i nvariably won. tlielegal decisions, but their victories have nearly always been followed by battles.

OPPRESSIONS OF NEW ZEALAND

A SCRAMBLE FOR SUPPER

(By Madame Melba, in the “Argus.”) Only a few months ago I read a description of New Zealand, in which the now Dominion was credited with the mountains of Switzerland, the lakes of aly, the' fiords of Norway, the rivers el: Germany, and the homes of England. In my somewhat hurried trip from south to north, I necessarily had to miss many of the’seenes that inspired this wide summary, but I had opportunity to note one or two points which it does not embrace; a climate like Arcadia, and fields as green as those of the Emerald Isle. By tho by, don’t they say that when St. Patrick banished the snakes from Ireland tho staff he used in invocation against the reptiles passed* through the earth, and served a similar purpose at the other end of the globe--—New Zealand? Lucky New Zealand!

I shall cite my impressions just as they run in my mind. At- Invercargill I had an early experience of some of the isolated extremes of the social ie■islation which has drawn to that country the attention of the whole world’s lawmakers. In towns of the same size in other quarters of the globe, the. betel accommodation is never first-class; but at_ Invercargill some of the local regulations reduce the hotel accommodation to farcical inadequacy. On the days when I sing I never dine, and after tea, at 5 o’clock, I have nothing to eat or drink until I return home ’after the performance. On such occasions I mii tired, hungry, and often too exhausted to- assimilate any but light, freshly-cooked food; yet in New Zealand legislation makes it impossible for me to obtain it after 10 o’clock. [Many English and American travellers could not believe in such a state of things, and if they came once and experienced t they would not come again. It is a small point, and I refer to it, not as one antagonistic to progressive, experimental legislation, but as one who has seen and sorrowed for the extravagantly contrasting conditions of the women and men toilers of the old world, who work all day and half the night for a pittance, and without any of the protection which New Zealand rightly gives to those who labor.

But- even this experience .had its amusing side. My man-servant viewed the situation with consternation, but eventually, like another Admirable Crichton, essayed to mend it. The kitchen and some meat were placed at his disposal, and, after a quarter of an hour, he, flushed and flurried, laid before mo a steaming, succulent chop, cooked b.v himself, and in flavor rivalling the finest Scotch or Welsh mutton I had ever tasted. I could then only remember the kindness of the people and the warmth of my welcome. Dunedin certainly reminded mo of “a little bit of Scotland, with the shadows cleared away.” The names, the faces, the accents of the people made it difficult to realise that I was about ten thousand miles south of the Tweed. Since my last visit to New Zealand great advance had been made in the railway accommodation, hut there is still room for the improvements which an enterprising Government is prepar■i. With hatter train service, the tourist traffic of New Zealand should increase greatly. The magnificent sceuerv, splendid fishing, shooting, liunt- ■ ng* together with yachting and mountain sports, provide a magnet -which ■ Would yearly draw thousands from the beaten tracks of Europe and America.

On© of the “characters’’ I met on my travels was an eccentric servant in an hotel. 'When dressing for the concert. I found that the ordinary lighting in the room was not sufficient for .the occasion. My maid, who does not speak English, asked' my servant to brine extra candles to my room. When lie asked -for these the eccentric attendant at once assailed him with vehement banter. “Candles, indeed,” said she, “what the dickens does your mistress mean bv going round the country wanting candles? "And what do you, a big, healthy man, mean by acting as a lady’s maid?” I know it is an easy thing for the hurrying traveller to question and criticise regarding local conditions. Still, ]. must say I was sorry and surprised to see so much of the Maori-owned land in the north ru tinnier to waste. It looked like land of great fertility, and if properly used, should bring in a large income. The Maoris tliem.s"Wes charmed me. Their traditions, their folk-lore, soft voices, and eayv manners, their sense, of music and u.-am'a, all appealed very strongly to me. Considering their sensitiveness to music, I was amazed to learn of the very few musical instruments they had ever used. Still, the nose Unto must have been quite a novelty! Rotorua I think most fascinating. So unlike every other place that I know. At Ohinemutu, 500 Maoris of the combined tribes gave me a most picturesque greeting. When I was last in New Zealand, they enrolled mo as a chieftaincss or princess,, so I was received with all the ceremony duo to a native ruler! Speeches by five chiels of the Arawa and Tuhourangi tribes, incantations, festal dances, liakas, and presentations of Maori handicraft were tlio principal events on the. day of my arrival. Next day “my” tribesmen and tribeswomen continued their picturesque celebrations, adding choral numbers by the flower-bedecked girls, and a whole series of ancient and singularly interesting games. A song of welcome, “Haeremai ra Madame Melba,” specially composed in my honor, was so admirably sung that I. had to ask the choir to repeat it. Then the little eliildrejy serenaded me at my hotel, and I tested their quickness of ear and precision of pronunciation by getting them to repeat in chorus phrases of English, French, Italian, German, and Spanish, which I gave out to them, and which thov spoke alter me with marvellous correctness. At the close we all sang the National Anthem together. •■The baths of Rotorua are splendidly equipped, and. in my opinion, equal most and surpass many of the great Continental spas. In every city I met old. friends, and made new ones, and was impressed beyond measure by the cordial courtesy extended to mo everywhere. Sir Joseph and Lady Ward, the \ttornev-Gonorul and Mrs Findlay, Sir James Mills, and Mrs Seddon were among tlio old friends who laid tlicmselVos out to add materially to my pleasure. The first tour for pleasure only which I intend to make, will be. through the length, and breadth of New Zealand. • , ■ . If anything enhanced mv tom through 'that country! it was the kind welcome and enthusiastic greeting given me en route in picturesque* Tasmania—the apple country, as so many call it. The beautiful homes and the. romantic scenery .left a lovely picture in my mind, and when I, return for my 'pleasure trip through New Zealand, I shall certainly seek an addition to my * cf.il joy in out by another look at Tasmania, ,