Alleged Arch Swindler Makes Friends With Victims

MAYBRAY MAKES FRIENDS -- MANY BELIEVE IN HIM

Alleged Arch Swindler, Though in Jail, Makes Good Headway Toward Freedom

A lot of people have decided that J. C. Mabray, alleged king of the wrestlers swindling gang, is not the archangel of the devil he was painted when first arrested.

Mabray is still confined in the hospital ward of the county jail, and two of his best friends of late days have been Ham DeFord, chairman of the county board of supervisors, and a nameless man who was swindled by the Mabray gang, it is alleged, at Keokuk.

DeFord is not exactly an easy man to win over by the gift of speech, being of the Abraham Lincoln hardy, rough and ready order, but since a memorable day a couple of months ago, when he spent a forenoon in talk with the alleged swindler, he makes the most of every opportunity to talk with Mabray in jail, or rather, to allow Mabray to talk to him.

A Keokuk man who was the victim of race horse swindlers, believed to belong to the Mabray gang, spent a day in the federal prisoner's cell, and when he came out told the jailers he was convinced Mabray had nothing to do with the swindling game.

"He's too nice a man," he asserverated. "I believe he's on the square."

And he went away with that belief firmly imbedded in his mind.

Another one of Mabray's victims, whose name is not public, is a wealthy banker in a small town near Omaha. He refuses to join in the prosecution of the alleged swindler. He lost $13,000 but he's ashamed of the transaction, and refuses to allow his name to be mixed with it. Federal authorities figure that there are dozens of such victims of the game who are taking the same attitude, too much ashamed of the game by which they were caught to attempt to recover their money.

Ready to Talk

Maybray's most noticeable characteristic is his readiness to talk on any subject, his ready gift of speech, and his seeming innocence of wrong motives. He is so eloquent on many subjects that federal sleuths may he could have made a fortune at any business as readily as he got away with the money of his "Mikes."

--The Des Moines News, Des Moines, Iowa, July 22, 1909, page 3.


From lengthier family news column, looking a hundred years ahead to Good Friday in 2016:

The birthday of Douglas, son of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Nelson, was celebrated today, Good Friday. Douglas was born April 21 on Good Friday. This year is the first time April 21 has fallen on Good Friday since his birth. Looking up the dates of the years to come, Mrs. Nelson finds that her son's birthday will not occur again on Good Friday until 2016.

"Bryan to Be in Storm Lake" read a headline in last week's Buena Vista Vidette. Well, guess it's all right. The darn lake ain't much good, anyway, and if the people want to turn it into a pickle factory it's none of our business. -- Estherville Democrat.

--The Evening Tribune, Albert Lea, Minnesota, April 19, 1916, page 15.

Comment: There seems to be a lot of confusion as to when Easter is. I googled it and you basically need a degree in advanced math to figure it out. But finally I found one site that appeared to know when the actual date is. They were right for this year, let's put it that way, and didn't have future Easters in May. Anyway, if they are correct, then Mrs. Nelson had it wrong about 2016. Although, if the sources were as confusing in 1916 as they are now, she no doubt thought she was right. And maybe she was, because it looks like some of the rules about this calculation have changed over time. I'm just glad I don't work for a calendar company as the guy in charge for getting this right on millions of dollars worth of calendars. They look at March, April, and even May and I've got five or six different Easters every year. I'm out of there and the entire Christian world is mad at me.