He Always Has a Passport

1895

H. L. Benson of Now York, according to a reporter of a St. Louis paper, takes pains to be always provided with a passport. He says that it cost him but a dollar and a little trouble to get it, and that it saves him a great deal of trouble whenever he is where he is not well known.

Says he: "With the passport I never have to be identified at a bank, postoffice or other institutions where strangers transacting business always have to be vouched for by somebody known to the officials. You see that the body of the paper contains a most minute and unmistakable description of me, together with my age and residence. The whole bears the great seal of the United States government, thus making deception or imposture almost impossible. My description was sworn to by notaries public who know me before the state department at Washington issued the passport. With this affidavit and another one certifying that I was a good citizen I inclosed $1 with my application to the secretary of state and received the passport."

Refuses Freedom for Prison Term

1920

ST PAUL, Minnesota. — Given his choice of freedom or an indeterminate sentence in the State reformatory by Judge Waite in Hennepin County District Court, Frank Kingsbury, 26 years old, chose the latter.

"I am of no use to myself or any one else the way I am," asserted Kingsbury. "Freedom would not do me any good. Maybe I could learn something at the reformatory."

On his examination before sentence was imposed Kingsbury told how rather than be a burden to his parents, who already had a large family to care for, he had voluntarily become a derelict and a wanderer.

Even in court Kingsbury shielded his parents by refusing to give his true name.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 2.

Eugene Leroy Sought as Slayer of His Wife

1920

Arrest of Man in Mexico Seems to Solve Trunk Mystery.

DETROIT, Michigan. — Eugene Leroy, sought as the slayer of Katherine Jackson Leroy, whose mutilated body was shipped from Detroit to New York in a trunk June 10, and Oscar J. Fernandez are the same person. Twelve persons who knew Leroy here positively identified pictures of Fernandez received from San Antonio, Texas, as those of the man they knew.

Among those who identified the pictures were Patrolman Trumbull and his wife and the Pfister couple, and with whom the Leroys lived here.

The man known as Leroy is being sought on a charge of first-degree murder. These steps followed a dispatch from New York that Mrs. Leo Trumbull, wife of a Detroit policeman, had identified the body as that of the woman she had known as "Mrs. Eugene Leroy."

A warrant was immediately issued here for the arrest of "Eugene Leroy, alias O. J. Wood, alias O. J. Fernandez," for first-degree murder.

Then, via San Antonio, came word that Oscar J. Fernandez, believed to be Leroy, was under arrest at Saltillo, state of Coahuila, Mexico. Steps have been taken to extradite him.

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Aug. 7, 1920, p. 2.

Peddler Recovers His Cash

1916

Identifies His Lost Roll by Odor of Onions.

NEW YORK — The much-maligned onion is a good friend to Simon Silverman of Brooklyn, who drives a fruit and vegetable wagon.

Simon missed $32 just after he had delivered his last load to a customer at Reid avenue and Kosciusko street. He told Patrolman Gleason that he thought George Boland had picked up the bills. Boland, who was standing near by, was searched and a roll of bills found on him.

"Are these yours?" asked the policeman.

"My money always smell of onions," replied Silverman.

Gleason took a whiff of the roll and when he had recovered said:

"They're yours, all right."

—The Saturday Blade, Chicago, Sept. 16, 1916, p. 7.

Missing Harry Potter May Be From Michigan

Illinois, 1918

H. L. Oldham Wires Red Cross

Harry L. Oldham, formerly of Decatur but now of Charlevoix, Mich., has wired the Red Cross at Decatur that it is possible the Harry Potter reported as missing by the war department and as from Illinois may be the Harry Potter of that county in Michigan, who was reported killed and whose death has since been confirmed.

Mr. Oldham sent the message because he saw the notice in the Review of the report of the missing of Harry Potter of this state and thought possibly it might have been the one from that district and as he had confirmed the report regarding the Michigan Harry Potter he felt that possibly this would relieve the anxiety of the Decatur relatives of the Illinois Potter.

Mr. Oldham has taken a very active part in the Red Cross activities at Charlevoix.

—Decatur Review, Decatur, Illinois, Dec. 8, 1918, p. 4.

African's Teeth Passport

1922

When a man of Central Africa is asked from where he comes his answer is a grin. This answer is perfectly satisfactory, because his teeth are filed and sometimes colored to show to what tribe he belongs.

The women of the Felletah tribe stain their teeth blue, yellow and purple, leaving a white tooth here and there. These women are veritable "rainbows of fashion," with their contrasting colors. Sometimes the women stain their fingers, toes and hair also. Then they feel sure they are much more "dressed up" than any of their neighbors.

In time of war, or any kind of trouble among the tribes, the shaped or colored teeth are a good means of identification. A spy from another tribe can be detected immediately and will not be able to prove an alibi. The dental work is done when the African is very young, and marks him all through his life. — Detroit News.