.

She stated that she received $5,000 a year as a royalty on her book; that she also rece ve $250 a month from the reconstruction committee; and that she sometimes received $200 per lecture for her lecture work.

In her lectures it is said that she capitalizes the claim that she was made a prisoner of war by Von Hindenberg, that her chateau was occupied by him, and that at times she had to wait upon him. As late as October 15, 1918, her press agent sent out a notice which read in part as follows:

"The Countess

whose chateau was captured and occupied by Gen. Von Hindenberg as he entered Russia, and who was forced to wait upon him, will speak before members and friends of the Institutional Synagogue th ́s Sunday morning at the Mount Morris Theater."

This, we are informed by intelligent Poles of this country, is typical of the press notices sent out on her behalf and with her sanction.

THE DRAKE SECTION SANITAIRE.

A remarkable incident of the charity investigation was the exposure of the Drake Section Sanitaire, organized and conducted under the auspices of Miss Ethel Langdon Drake; associated with her was Mrs. Mary E. Symons. Miss Drake attempted to recruit young women drivers for a thousand ambulances, 1 which, it is alleged, she intended to equip and sent to France. An appeal was made to the public for funds on behalf of the hospital Symons-Drake, France, as well as for the Drake ambulance. The appeal for the hospital was made in behalf of special funds-the barraque fund, the bed fund, the refugee fund, and the surgical-instrument fund-all being grouped under the general head of the hospital Symons-Drake, France. A hospital was to be established in France when contributions of the charitably inclined permitted it. Miss Drake's name appeared as secretary and treasurer of the Hospital Symons-Drake, France, and a prominent banking house in New York City was named as the depositary of the fund.

In the ambulance fund Miss Drake was able to gather together 20 or 30 I women of excellent social standing who were drilling and recruiting for the ambulence corps. Nine of the recruits resided in New York City; others came from the West and Southwest, and one young lady came from San Antonio, Tex. They were obliged to pay Miss Drake the sum of $100 a month for the privilege of belonging to the corps, and in return were to receive such training as she saw fit to give. For this purpose a training camp was established at the Oaks, Bayside, Long Island, N. Y., where the young ladies went into the active training. They arose at 6 o'clock every morning and worked and drilled until 9 o'clock at night. They slept in tents on the drill ground and dined in the mansion house on the premises, which they also used as a dressing room, and paraded a distance of several hundred feet from the mansion to their tents nightly, in their pajamas.

It was revealed that Miss Drake had written to officers of the French Army letters in which she offered to donate to them 23 motor ambulances, a touring car, and a touring van. She received in return from each of the officers a letter thanking her for her donation of the 25 motor cars. These letters were published in a circular without the explanation that the letters only accepted the offer made and that the cars were not actually delivered; the public were, therefore, led to believe that the cars were actually donated and delivered and that the published letters from the officers were in grateful acknowledgment and appreciation of her gift. In her examination Miss Drake admitted that the circular was misleading and that the statement quoted below should read that the ambulances were intended to be given.

"The 25 ambulances which Miss Drake has already given provide partial relief to one army, but the need is manifold, and Miss Drake is hoping to be able to take back with her from 500 to 1,000 ambulances. * * * As you read the expression of gratitude for the 25 ambulances already accepted, contained in the early letters and as the spirit of appreciation sent forth in the letter of May 24, then ask yourself what measure of thanks will be yours when Miss Drake is able to offer the magnificient donation of 500 or 1,000 ambulances above referred to."

Arrangements had been made with Mrs. William A. Gavin, the well-known golf player to give golf tournaments throughout the country, the proceeds of which were to go to the Drake Section Sanitaire. Upwards of $30,000 was raised in this manner by Mrs. Gavin, but had not been delivered to the Drake

Section Sanitaire when the district attorney's attention was first attracted to the fund.

Miss Drake, who is 43 years of age, dressed in the uniform of a nurse, which bore a striking resemblance to the dress of a sister of a religious order.

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Miss Drake and Mrs. Symons had a suite of rooms at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel, in New York City, which were used as headquarters. Miss Drake has had an interesting career; her secretary stated that she started in the charity game with nothing but a comb and a brush." It is said that Miss Drake was born in a small town in Massachusetts. She was for some time a dressmaker in Chicago, a venture which resulted in failure; she then went to Boston and became a Christian Science healer. From Boston she went to France, and then to England. In London, at a card party, she met Mrs. Mary E. Symons, the wife of a major in the British Army, who also has a son in the British Army.

Mrs. Symons wears two decorations for war-relief work. One is the Croix de Guerre, and the other is the gold medal of the La Ministre des Affaires Etranger, which she received for valor in ambulance work under fire. It is stated that these medals were often worn by Miss Drake as her own, and that she had her picture taken in her nurse's uniform, wearing the decorations. Mrs. Symons had a small monthly allowance; and came under the influence of Miss Drake, who induced her to leave England and come to the United States for the purpose of recruiting the Drake Ambulance Corps. Because of the relations existing between the two women Mrs. Symons admitted that her husband had forced her from his house.

When Miss Drake was confronted with the facts in the case she consented to discontinue her war-relief work in this country. Thereupon the Motor Corps was disbanded, the recruits returned to their homes, and the moneys which had been collected were directed to be turned over to M. Jusserand, the French ambassador, or returned to the donors. The young ladies who were recruits in the Ambulance Corps were mulcted of the money that they had paid for uniforms and for transportation, and had nothing from the enterprise but experience.

COUNTESS CHIQUITA (CHIC) MAZZUCHI.

The Countess Mazzuchi (known as the Angel of the Marne), claims that she was born at Singapore, China, 30 years ago, and that she is the daughter of a Spanish ambassador and an English woman. She also states that she is a niece of Cardinal Vaughan, and that her first husband was Lord Seymour, a nephew of Admiral Seymour.

She first attracted attention as a speaker at Keith's Theater for the Red Cross drive and other war-relief work. It subsequently developed that she was receiving $200 a week from the Keith Circuit for her appearances. Accounts of her alleged experiences in the war zone had been published in the New York press from time to time, which accounts she admits were grossly exaggerated.

She avers that she has done considerable war relief and hospital work in the war zone; and now suffers from "trench feet"; and that while driving an ambulance she was wounded in the hip by the Germans. The following quotation is from her statement given in the district attorney's office on June 22, 1918: "I have a dirty German bullet in my left hip. Just feel it. Lots of people have felt!"

For a time she occupied an apartment at 28 West Fifty-seventh Street, which was used as an assembly room for soldiers and officers.

Her favorite method of collecting was to assemble a number of officers or enlisted men, and tour the hotels at Long Beach and other resorts. The young men would sing camp songs and the "Countess" would deliver a thrilling speech and then take up a collection. How much money was collected in this way and what became of it is impossible to state.

Our investigations show that the "Countess was a well-known figure on the Great White Way in 1901, when, under the name of " Clarita Vidal," she was a chorus girl in "Floradora," "The Silver Slipper," "Cynthia," "The School Girl," and other productions. She was a member of the Stanford White coterie, and her name appears in the press of that year in several startling episodes. Two or three years ago she was divorced by her second husband, and the custody of her child was taken away from her on the ground that she was an unfit person to have charge of it. The child is now in a convent in Italy.

Our reports would indicate that for a year previous to her appearance in New York, in July last, she was living in a villa in San Remo, while, according

to her stories, she was performing wonderful feats of valor in hospitals at the front.

Upon information adduced in the investigation of her activities, the district attorney requested her to discontinue her war relief work.

THEATERS AND MUSIC.

The sale of songs on the streets, in public places, conveyances, and places of amusement has been an annoying source of fraud in the charity field. A number of musicians and song writers, inspired by the activities of the war, composed songs of mediocre quality, which they farmed out to publishers or to agencies for publication. Singers were engaged to go into public restaurants and public gatherings to sing the songs to the accompaniment of music, while an associate passed among the crowd and sold copies at a small price. In many instances, especially in the better class cafés, large sums of money were dropped into the basket for a song and no change received. It is said that amounts ranging from $1 to $10 were dropped in the basket and the holder of the basket told to donate the entire proceeds to charity. In these cases the fixed prices for the songs were usually turned into the fund and the balance was kept by the worker. Occasionally the entire proceeds were kept. It was a favorite feature to have a man in a sailor's or soldier's uniform sing the song. In January, 1918, George Heather, his mother, Mrs. Heather, and an associate, Mrs. Blanche Moore, were arrested in the Black Cat Restaurant, at 557 West Broadway. Heather, dressed in sailor's uniform, sang a song entitled "Do your bit; buy a bit for our boys in France;" the song was written by George F. Bickford, of Brooklyn, and its cover carried the reputed indorsement of Cardinal Gibbons, Theodore Roosevelt, and other persons of prominence. While selling the song Heather would announce that the proceeds were for "Our boys in France tobacco fund." The trio was turned over to the United States authorities, and Heather was subsequently indicted for illegally wearing a sailor's uniform.

Another form of fraud was that of padding the expense accounts of entertainments and benefits, and the filing of forged vouchers purporting to represent receipts from actors and actresses for money paid for services given at benefits, when the services were, in fact, voluntary. It is a well-known fact that actors and actresses gave their services and time generously and without charge to all war relief work; our information, however, is that in many instances expense accounts were swollen by items purporting to represent sums of money paid to performers for their services. The money so entered was deducted by the promoters from the proceeds of the entertainment.

A new species of fraud is found in the practice of ticket speculators selling cards of admission to free entertainments. In November, 1917, a Red Cross entertainment was given at the Hippodrome at which there was no admission fee, entrance being by cards of admission issued to Red Cross workers. Some of these tickets fell into the hands of ticket speculators and seats were sold at from $3 to $10. On Liberty Day, October 12, 1918, a free entertainment and reception, at which President Wilson attended, was given at the Metropolitan Opera House; admission cards were issued to the liberty loan workers, and many cards fell into the hands of ticket speculators, who sold them for prices that ran as high as $25 per seat.

The sale of complimentary tickets to theatrical benefits given by war-relief committees is a despicable form of fraud that was unearthed in the investigation. It appeared that in a number of cases where performances were given for war relief work under the direction of theatrical agents, complimentary tickets punched "Complimentary" were directed to be issued to the press and to dramatic critics; in many instances, however, all tickets so punched and set aside for a special purpose were not delivered as directed but were sold by the agencies and the money kept.

A source of complaint lodged in this office during the investigation was the overcharging for admission by ticket speculators to war-relief benefits and entertainments. During the benefit held for the Red Cross in May, 1917, at the Century Theater, tickets that ordinarily sold for $5 apiece were sold by speculators for $20; and at the benefit for the Sixty-ninth Regiment, held at the Hippodrome in September, 1918, tickets that ordinarily sold for $2.50 brought as high as $10 when sold by speculators. "Yip, Yip, Yaphank" was an entertainment given by the boys from Yaphank. Some of the tickets fell into the hands of speculators and the prices were, in many instances, doubled and tripled.

Even for the ordinary shows on holiday and Saturday nights outrageous prices were charged to the men in the service. In one case brought to the attention of this office, on a Saturday night at the Hippodrome, a speculator sold a sailor two 50-cent tickets for $2.25 each, and there were many other instances of serious overcharges. The matter of ticket speculators, however, has been remedied by a city ordinance prepared in this office which has recently become a law.

IV. FOOLISH CHARITIES.

The investigation revealed many ill-conceived or absurd war-relief charities; ofttimes these were well intended and the promoters of the enterprise sincere, earnest, and honest. Under this heading we may mention the following typical examples:

(1) The American League for World Peace by Allied Victory, conceived and launched by Max Baum, of No. 553 West One hundred and eighty-seventh Street. A circular issued by Baum read:

"I have a project which will require from 250 to 500 million dollars to complete, and it is desirable that contributions of $500 and upwards be received from each of many thousands of contributions. It is not my intention to handle any of the funds nor do I want any compensation or reward, except proper credit for my proposition."

In the New York Herald of May 21, 1918, he inserted the following advertisement:

"American world patriots, Attention: Those only desiring allied victorious peace' do not neglect to communicate immediately for cooperation with Max C. Baum, No. 553 West One hundred and eighty-seventh Street."

When called before the grand jury he stated that his scheme was to build secretly 100,000 aeroplanes for immediate dispatch to Europe. He was to take them to Washington and turn them over to the Government. Notwithstanding the wildness of his scheme, he was able to attract the attention of men of wealth and standing in this country.

(2) The American Federation of Flying Yacht Clubs was a scheme inaugurated by Lieut. T. C. Mars. Life membership in the club was fixed at $1,000 each. H. W. Merwin, a professional solicitor, of 31 Nassau Street, was engaged to solicit membership on a "50-50" basis; $16,000 or $18,000 was raised in this way. Mars's scheme was to inaugurate clubs all over the country for the encouragement of flying as a sport and as a business enterprise. As far as could be ascertained, the only persons receiving any benefit from the enterprise was Mars and the solicitors. At the request of the district attorney the scheme was abandoned.

(3) The Godfathers' League of Our Allies was a scheme devised by George W. Gabriel, who signed himself as secretary. The object was to raise money for comforts and smokes for the boys "over there." The circular sent forth stated: "You can adopt a soldier for the duration of the war by putting aside a stipend every month for him or send it to him as many times as you like; kindly designate, if any, which particular soldiers you care to help."

Only a small amount of money, however, was raised by Gabriel before he was requested to call at this office.

(4) The National Prayer for All Mothers of the Defenders of Democracy.It is difficult to ascertain the purpose of this organization. Its activities in New York were conducted by Brown-Lansdowne from offices in the Vanderbilt Avenue Building, 51 East Forty-second Street; appeals were made to the public for money and our information is that the responses were so few that the society soon passed out of existence.

V. MISCELLANEOUS FRauds.

Under this heading are included minor methods and devices which proved to be a fertile field for fraud and graft.

(1) Block parties.--Block parties became a popular institution in New York City during the past summer, and there is scarcely a block in the city in which a "party" has not been held and a service flag raised in honor of those who were called to the colors. Money to meet the expenses was raised by popular subscription; this money was expended for flags, decorations, music, fireworks, and kindred charges.

The amount raised varied with the enthusiasm and energy of the collectors; in some blocks as high as $1,500 has been raised, while in some sections of the

city no more than $75 was secured. Complaints have been made that the money raised for these objects occasionally has been misappropriated. From investi! gations made into the conduct of many parties it is evident that respectable sums! of money have been stolen; in many cases restitution of the money was forced. and in some cases the collectors disappeared from the city.

(2) Matrimonial agencies.-With our advent into the war a number of enterprising men, usually of foreign birth, devised the scheme of instituting matrimonial agencies for the benefit and convenience of the men in the service. The ostensible object was to get dutiful wives for soldiers or prospective sol diers. In some instances the scheme was intended to help the soldier to evade the draft; in other instances, the bureau was conducted in good faith. However in a number of the cases investigated, the bureaus were conducted for the sole purpose of defrauding the soldier. In one case brought to our attention by the Military Intelligence Bureau, the matrimonial agency was operated by aj Hungarian, who was an ex-convict. His proposition was to put soldiers in communication with prospective brides for sums ranging from $5 to $25. Upon payment of the sum demanded, the names of four or five women were fur nished to the soldier, who was to get in communication with them by letter. It developed that the director of the agency had in his employ some 8 or 10 servan girls, some of whom were married, some were widows, and others of questionable character; these were used as dupes for the soldiers. Upon payment of the money, the names, addresses, and photographs of the giri dupes were for warded to the soldier, and after a little correspondence between the girl and the: soldier (which was always conducted by the director of the agency himself and not by the girl), the correspondence ceased and the soldier was out his money and also his bride. Because of the difficulty in getting the soldiers, who were serving in France, to appear as witnesses, no prosecution was attempted; how ever, the agency was closed.

(3) The alien women's and children's relief was conducted by Robert C1 Veller and Rudolph C. Toth, two alien enemies. Their ostensible purpose was to raise money for the care of the children and families of interned alien: enemies. Large sums of money were raised in this way, but very little of it was used to aid dependent families of those interned. Complaint against Veller and Toth is now pending in the district attorney's office and will be presented to the grand jury at an early date.

(4) The Children's Free Lunch League at No. 4 East Thirty-ninth Street. [ was conducted by Bertha Herman and her husband. The scheme was to raise money for free lunches for children of soldiers in the American Army. During the time the league was in progress $2,100 was raised, of which sum $300 was! actually expended for lunches; the balance of $1.800 went for overhead ex penses and salaries. The enterprise was forced to discontinue.

(5) The Christian Nonsectarian Rescue Church of the Living God had headquarters at 336 West Forty-first Street. It is a mission conducted by colored people for the rescue of fallen men and women. It turned its activities to collecting funds for colored soldiers and their dependents. It is said that in the headquarters orgies were often indulged in at night under the guise of religious ceremonies. No record was kept of the moneys collected or disbursed, and they were unable to show that a single dollar of the money contributed had been expended for the families of the dependent colored soldiers in the service. Their activities in war-relief work were discontinued.

(6) Mrs. Smith, who conducts a boarding house in Brooklyn, conceived the idea of gathering canes and crutches for the wounded soldiers and sailors in the hospitals in Brooklyn. She advertised for canes and crutches in the Brooklyn and in the New York papers. Soon she had a large collection from a generous public. Some of the canes were very valuable, having silver and gold mountings and some were made of rare wood. Instead of distributing the canes to the hospitals, she kept them in her home, placing them on exhibition in the hall racks, in the parlor, and upstairs. At the time the matter was called to the attention of this office, upward of 300 canes and crutches were in her collection. She agreed to distribute the canes and cease from collecting others. (7) Street collecting.-The street collector is both a nuisance and a menace. There is no form of relief work that affords so many opportunities for petty fraud. His manner is sometimes obsequious, sometimes imperious, and often even threatening.

Every day the citizen is confronted on the street with urgent pleas to relieve some oppressing need of war sufferers. The blind soldier seems now to be the favorite subject of appeal on the street corner. There is nothing in the