history of war that appeals so effectively to human nature as a soldier who has been blinded in the cause of his country. Sometimes the request for money rolls glibly from the tongue of a fair solicitor and gallant man is unable to resist the call. The appeal of childhood is also availed of to open the recalcitrant pocketbook of the passer-by, thus subjecting the children employed to the temptations of petty graft in the soliciting of funds and the sale of minor articles on the streets and in public conveyances. The price was often overpaid by generous purchasers in the expectation that the full sum might find its way to the charitable object, subjecting the child to the temptation, frequently yielded to, of returning only the price set and appropriating the change. VI.--PATRIOTIC SOCIETIES.

A related activity which came within the scope of the investigation was that of the so-called patriotic societies which sprang up throughout the country and met with varying degrees of success. While these institutions were not directly engaged in war relief work, the large sums collected by popular subscriptions to their treasuries suggested the need, as they came within the purview of the investigation, of scrutinizing their activities and bringing to light their methods and purposes.

The growing spirit of patriotism before America entered the war was played upon by the promoters of those institutions who rang the changes with flamboyant expressions of patriote sentmens and sonorous title. The public purse was liberally tapped with apparently the same degree of sincerity and scrupulousness as that exhibited in war relief endeavors. Here, to, the same varieties of human weaknesses were disclosed. Many instances were discovered where "soi de sant" patriotic societies sprang up, mulcted the trusting and generous, and disbanded or disappeared.

Early in the investigation the attention of the district attorney's office was called to the so-called League for Loyal Americans (Inc.). The league was founded May 29, 1917, by Milo T. Bogart, as executive director, and established headquarters at No. 200 Broadway, New York City. The enrollment card upon which subscriptions were received bore in colors on its face the shield of the United States and the following statement: "I hereby declare myself in full sympathy with every movement that aims to unite American citizens in the cause for which the league stands-'America efficient, prepared, and protected.'"

Bogart, when examined, promptly confessed that he was an ex-convict, had served three years in the penitentiary at Chester, Ill., and admitted having collected $600 or $800 up to the time his corporation was investigated. He consented to discontinue his propaganda and retire from the field of patriotic and war-relief work. Such a man was able to include among his charter members such distinguished citizens as Hon. Elihu Root, Robert Bacon, Hion. Reed Smoot, Cornelius Vanderbilt, Hon. James W. Gerard, and Judge Norman S. Dike. His avowed object was to raise funds for the purpose of drilling American citizens and the organization of a well-prepared army for national defense.

The Loyal Publicity League of America was the title under which Chester A. Applegate and W. H. Thompson conducted an ostensibly patriotic society at 1482 Broadway, New York City. The vehicle here used to extract money for personal gain by patriotic appeal was the issuance to citizens of foreign birth of a formidable questionnaire upon which, if the answers under oath were satisfactory, a diploma or certificate of loyalty was issued for a specified fee. This diploma or certificate was represented as an open sesame to the select circle of patriotic Americans. This form of fraud was promptly suppressed. A flagrant example of the uncontrolled institution of these societies is found in the case of the Boy Scouts of America and the United States Boy Scouts, two rival organizations in the Boy Scout movement in the United States. The Boy Scouts of America, from all appearances, is an organization that has been conducted upon a high moral plane, well administered, and its funds faithfully applied for the benefit of the youth of America, and has flourished for some years. The United States Boy Scouts, however, was an organization formed in competition with the Boy Scouts of America which capitalized the good name of its rival and secured money contributions through the misapprehension on the part of the donors that the moneys were to be applied for the support of the Boy Scouts of America, a confusion which the similarity of the names employed made possible.

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Contributions were obtained by the United States Boy Scouts upon appeals containing statements admittedly false concerning the number of their members and the disposition of their funds, and, so far as has been revealed, the only beneficiary of the donations or activities of the organization is one Ammerman, treasurer, who conducts a jewelry business at Nos. 5 and 7 Dey Street, where he also maintains the national headquarters for the United States Boy Scouts. "Majors," "colonels," and other "officers" are appointed with reckless abandon by Ammerman wherever contributions may be stimulated thereby, and one of these officers, Col. J. E. Smith, an ex-convict, who served a term for bigamy in Indiana, was sent to places of amusement making appeals for funds and taking up collections. Neither the amount of money collected by the United States Boy Scouts nor the number of its members or the disposition of its funds has been ascertained; neither has it been revealed or discovered that any part of the funds collected have been expended for the benefit of the boys in whose behalf the donations were made.

The National Women's Army, conducted by Col. Netta I. Boardman, proposed the enrollment of women for military training for self-defense as a device for securing a membership fee. Funds were also raised by public entertainments and private appeals. No accounting was had and no record kept of the moneys received or disbursed, and at the request of the district attorney the "army" was disbanded.

A large and successful organization, formed and conducted under the guise of patriotism, is now the subject of investigation by the United States Congress. This organization has announced that its budget for 1918 was upward of $1,200,000, which money was for the ostensible purpose of spreading propaganda throughout the country for our national security and protection. No institution in the entire field gave greater promise by reason of the personnel of its officers, committees, and leading members, of sincerity and honesty of purpose, and none was accorded a more general and liberal support. Twofold, therefore, is the wrong perpetrated by such an institution when it appropriates the funds contributed to it and employs its influence for the advancement of partisan and personal interests in contravention of its avowed intentions and patriotic aims. These flagrant examples of the abuse of public confidence and the misdirection of patriotic impulses call for official scrutiny and control.

VII.-RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION.

As the investigation progressed and the intricate ramifications and vast proportions of waste and culpability were unfolded, it became apparent that the situation called for drastic and perhaps extra legal remedies for the protection of the public and the successful and honest conduct of war relief work.

For the achievement of this purpose the more available devices seemed to be the immediate warning and education of the public as to the methods employed, the suppression of unworthy and improper activities by prosecution where possible or by pitiless publicity where an element of strict legal proof might be wanting, and the enforcement of restitution of funds fraudulently derived or culpably misappropriated in the conduct of existing charities.

In every case where legal proof was unearthed the facts were immediately presented by the grand jury for action, the defendants placed on trial, and convictions obtained.

As a result of the publicity given to the fraud and waste discovered, 384 out of 534 charities investigated by the district attorney were forced to discontinue their activities, either as corrupt, dishonest, mismanaged, or in fraud of the public. Of the remaining 150 which were found worthy of full or some of public confidence, three-fourths were found to employ some vicious methods of collection, disbursement, accounting, or administration, but all of them cheerfully accepted suggestion and criticism and corrected the abuses pointed out. These societies thus improved continued their activities and achieved useful results. Many estimable ladies, actuated by lofty motives and at great personal sacrifice, devoting their entire time and energy, and ofttimes their money, were discouraged in their support of unworthy charities and found avenues for the useful expression of their zealous and wholehearted philanthropy. Much difficulty was experienced, however, in convincing some of them of the necessity of discontinuing their pet schemes, as they seemed obsessed with the view that because of some especial virtue in their particular work an exception should be made in their behalf.

In many instances where lack of witnesses, want of proper cooperation from the innocent parties involved, and other tactical reasons made it inadvisable to institute a criminal prosecution, but where moral obliquity was unquestionable, restitution was forced from the offender by the district attorney, and in this manner upward of $250,000 was restored to the charities for which the money was originally intended.

Some institutions which were discontinued under pressure of the investigation were closed out and their assets turned over to worthy charities. In this manner, in a single instance $5,000 in cast and $35,000 worth of automobiles and goods were realized. Upward of $1,000 was restored to the American Ambulance in Russia; $30,000 realized from the discontinuance of the Drake Section Sanitaire was turned over to the French authorities or refunded to the donors; the firm of Forsyth & Fisk were compelled to return upward of $12,000 to the Seventy-first Regiment, and Mrs. L. L. Daniels and a man named King returned approximately $800 to the War Babies' Cradle.

In many other instances, dishonest collectors or fraudulently or improperly conducted institutions were compelled to discontinue their operations and turn over their funds to substantial and reliable societies engaged in war relief work. The revelations of imposition, mismanagement, or misconduct in the collection and handling of funds solicited in the names of foreign societies and committees in America, and especially in New York City, brought these activities to the attention of the foreign Governments and resulted in the suppression of the efforts by the respective Governments as an act of courtesy and respect to the United States. Many of these activities were doing worthy work and were properly administered and controlled, but with the advent of the United States into the world war the allied countries assumed the position that the generosity of the American public should not be diverted from the proper warrelief aims and needs of this country. In this connection, the statement of a well-known representative of the British Embassy is of interest:

** * *

"I have strongly urged this afternoon to the British authorities here and to Lord Reading, British ambassador to Washington, that such activities should be checked as being open to misconstruction. The American people, as a matter of fact, have been so generous in everything relative to entente relief funds that no appeals whatsoever should be made to them for contributions, save by societies which should receive proper approval and authorization from the local authorities here."

Italy, France, and Belgium adopted the same policy. In this manner, the activities of Lady Kingston, wife of the Earl of Kingston, of Kilronian Castleon-Shannon, County Roscommon, Ireland, were discontinued, although the lady enjoyed an excellent reputation and no objection to her methods of accounting was found. Lady Kingston's appeals were in behalf of the shamrock fund for disabled Irish soldiers.

The campaign conducted by Lord and Lady Aberdeen, instituted for raising funds for the welfare of Irish and Scotch orphans, was also discontinued at the request of the British Government when it was revealed that the lord and lady were employing the services of an imposter by the name of Carl Diener, and perhaps accepting some part or all of their expenses from the funds contributed.

As the searchlight of the investigation penetrated the dark corners where lurked the fraud, mismanagement, and corruption that were undermining the whole structure of war relief, the social "climber" and the social parasite who promoted waste and invited fraud and profiteering by their inefficiency and mismanagement were driven from the field lest their ambition for social preferment and advantage might lead them to public opprobium and disgrace.

It is thus evidence that the results of the investigation are not to be measured entirely by the court record of the prosecutions instituted and the number of convictions obtained or sentences imposed, but rather that the greater benefit was secured in the revelation of the frauds and vices practiced and indulged in the collection of funds for war relief, and the assistance and stimulus given in the rehabilitation of war relief effort on a constructive and sincere basis. It is therefore as a mere incident of this report that the following outline of the specific accomplishments of the investigation is included:

RÉSUMÉ OF THE RESULTS OF THE INVESTIGATION.

(1) 534 committees, societies, organizations, "funds" or vestigated.

(2) 1,583 witnesses examined.

"charities" in

(3) 947 statements taken, covering 3,454 typewritten pages. (4) 2,742 letters received and answered.

(5) 4,463 queries received by phone, by letter, or in person. (6) 26 indictments filed by the grand jury and a number of convictions had. Among those indicted were Mrs. William Cumming Story; Charles Donald Fox, Secretary of the Army and Navy Bazaar; "Doc" Waterbury, alias Julius L. Ford; George F. Sweeney and Arthus Curry, advertising solicitors; and The One Hundred Per Cent Boys, to wit: Michael J. Delahunty, Lester Winkelman, Alfred Gardner, James F. Mendels, and Fred J. Remsen.

Among the convicted were: Eugene Jess, sentenced to State prison for not less than one year and three months or more than two years and six months; Lester Winkelman, sentenced to State prison for not less than three years nor more than six years; Charles David Fox, sentenced to not more than three years in the penitentiary; William J. F. O'Neill, sentenced to State prison for not less than two years and six months nor more than four years and six months; Michael J. Delahunty, sentenced to State prison for not less than three years nor more than six years, later released on parole for service to the State as a witness.

Fugitives from justice: Alfred Gardner ("Stuttering Al") and James F. Mendels, of The One Hundred Per Cent Boys.

(7) A presentment filed by the grand jury warning the public against waste and misappropriation in war-relief work.

(8) 384 committees, societies, organizations, "funds" or charities forced to discontinue their activities.

(9) Restitution to the extent of approximately $250,000 forced from fraudulent "charities" and swindlers.

(10) The suppression of The One Hundred Per Cent Boys: This coterie of ex-convicts, professional swindlers and confidence men, who in 8 months, under the guise of charity, fraudently obtained $500,000 from the New York public, has been entirely wiped out, its members having either been sent to prison or are fugitives from justice.

(11) Gigantic frauds: The investigation revealed that during a period of one year in New York City approximately $4,000,000 had been stolen from the public in the names of charity.

(12) The elimination of the ex-convict and confidence man as a charity worker.

(13) The elimination of the charity worker or solicitor on a commission basis.

(14) The exposure of the "waster type" of war relief charity.

(15) The enactment of an ordinance by the Board of Aldermen of the City of New York requiring the manager of a charity bazaar or entertainment to be licensed and to be placed under bond for a proper accounting of the funds raised by him.

(16) A partial list of discredited war charity organizations:

Alien Women's and Children's Relief.

American Ambulance in Russia.

American Convalescent Home Association.

American Federation of Flying Yacht Clubs.

American-Italian War Relief Society.
American League for World Peace.

American Patriotic League.

Army and Navy Comfort Committee.

Belgium Babes' Relief Committee (formerly the American Committee

for Relief of Babes of Belgium).

American Soldiers' and Sailors' Christmas Cheer Fund.

Children's Free Lunch League (Inc.).

Cripples War Relief Association (Inc.).

Drake Ambulance and Drake Section Sanitaire.

Fund for the Orphans of Italian Soldiers in Italy.

The Godfathers' League of Our Allies.

The Italian-American Society for the Relief of the Blind, the Mutilated,

and the Orphans of the War.

The League of Loyal Americans.

The Loyal Legion of America.

The Loyalty League.

The Loyalty Publicity League of America.

The National Federation of the Committees for Assistance to Blind.

Lame, and Mutilated Soldiers.

National War Relief Committee.

National Women's Army.

The One Hundred Per Cent Boys.

The Penny-a-Week Fund (Nealy).

The Protection of French Soldiers Retired for Disability (Brahier Cie).
Samaritan Circle of the Fatherless Children of France.

Service Flag Hospitality.

Thanksgiving Dinner Fund for Soldiers.

World War League.

World War Record Association.

(17) Advertising solicitors forced out of war-relief work: Curry & Saunders, working on a 50-75 per cent basis.

Forsyth & Fisk, working on a 40-85 per cent basis.

M. F. Sweeney, working on a 50-50 per cent basis.

Wheaton Service Corporation, working on a 40-70 per cent basis.

(18) Notorious ex-convicts forced out of war-relief work:

(19) People of prominence who were requested to discontinue war-relief work:

Lord and Lady Aberdeen.

Countess Sartoris (Mrs. Cecile Sartoris, wife of a grandson of Gen.
U. S. Grant).

"Countess" Chic Mazzuchi (The "Angel of the Marne ").

Miss Henrika A. C. van der Flier.

"Countess" Laura de Gozdawn Turczynowicz.

Seumas, chief of Clan Fhearguis of Stra-char and Clan Ailpein Argyle,
Scotland.

Mrs. William Cumming Story.

Waldemar De Billie, manager of charity bazaars and entertainments.

VIII.-FRAUDS ABROAD.

As a necessary corollary to the investigation of war charities in America, with the ever-present question as to how the moneys were obtained and applied, the query as to how the funds, amounting to three or four billions of dollars forwarded abroad have been expended and administered suggests itself with the irresistible suspicion of misapplication and waste.

The venal, incompetent, and dishonest organizations and committees operating in America forwarded their funds, in most instances, to correspondents of their own selection or original alliance, and upon the simple theory that "birds of a feather flock together" it may be inferred, without violence to reason or logic, that irregularities equally as serious would be discovered abroad in these instances.

It is readily apparent that opportunities for investigation and detection with the restraint consequent thereon were better in this country than abroad, and at least an equal amount of irregularity might therefore be the consequence of the lack of this restraint. Throughout the course of the investigation occasional war workers, returning soldiers, and others were interviewed, from whom idelights on the methods pursued abroad were obtained, and while it may be said in frankness that insufficient information to legally substantiate the charge of corruption abroad was revealed, enough has been aid and suggested to support the inference that substantial irregularities exist along the lines deduced from the revelations here. It has been asserted that upward of $50,000,000 has been fraudulently misappropriated or diverted from the funds sent to Europe, and that moneys are even returned to this country for the use of local confederates who had with apparent honesty in their records here forwarded the moneys collected here. It has been confidently asserted that many of the committees to whom funds were forwarded were mere dummies for the