THE MM: OMAHA, SUNDAY, JULY 31, 1921.
1 A
French Crook Wants to Be King, So Gets
Himself Elected Ruler of Russ Kingdom
and Sets Up Former
Shop Girl as Queen;
He's in Jail, But No
One Will Prosecute
Him.
By STERLING HEILIG.
,. ; Nice, French Riviera, July 30. A
most astonishing alleged crook plot,
"Vhich took in a number of Amer
ican visitors to the Riviera as well
;-ai French and other Europeans of
i(. ill classes, has . been going on for
(tnonthi here before local police or
French state department detectives
Iearned a word about it.
And even now that Leon Laforge,
Prince Vitanval old-time usurper
of noble titles and functions is un
,der arrest as king of Transcaucasia,
his "nobles" have such firm belief
in the political secrets which he con
fided to them that there has not been
.,'nB,e complaint made against
him. The police simply cannot ob
tain witnesses.
Constituted Monarchy.
r,Here is a man who not only con
uafjtuted a monarchy under their
'jioses, elaborated a constitution and
made regular application for admis
sion to the Society of Nations, but
traced out the great economic ques
tions which must occupy thfc skill of
Tns nobles, ministers and state sec-
etaries; and he had so captured
their confidence in the roles they
would be called upon to play that
"not to compromise the cause," the
n-faithful silence which, absolutely,
.1 every mothers son and daughter of
tfieni maintained, from three to six
. months past, is not yet broken! ,
A King and ministers were in. cor-
J . '.i. t..ir . i- - i i
- TcraiiiriiuriK nun nil- iianrr .
r leries of Europe and the State Dc
i partment at Washington! They
had deposited models of the postage
V stamps of Transcaucasia with the
Universal Postal un:nn at Berne.
! , , Rust Ambassador Backer. .
' The king, in fact, could prove that
he had the backing of the last reg
ular representative of Russia in
- France, the Ambassador Malakoff.
Transcaucasia Vitanvalia is a coun
try actually under the dominion of
'the Soviets; and in view of a coming
restoration millions of francs' worth
loi orders -for robes, court mantles
and diadems had been accepted by
?the well-known houses of Redfern
? and Mappen & Webb. . . ,
i And neither the local police of
tNice nor French state department
detectives knew anything about it!
. Leon Laforge, it must be admitted,
ris a wonderful man and a man of
? power because he almost believes
;in himself!
" - Makes Self Conspicuous.
As early as 1901, in Paris, I had
tr write about him. when he raised
a. writable fortune in "chancellery
ues as Dom Leon, t'rince Latorge
le Vitanval. Roman prince . and
t sovereign chief and grand master of
"the pontifical order of St. Leon and
chevalier of the crown of Italy. For
months, the chevaliers of his creation
tlit up the streets of Paris with their
bits of colored ribbon. In gold
Ufaced dress-coat of his own Heraldic
academy, he made himself con
spicuous, at the receptions of the
French white house, even, not to
'mention the various ministries, shak
ing hands with President Loubet,
patronizing high functionaries, con
ducting bdies whom he did not
know to me buffet, and offering his
"protection" right and left. One
".day. President Loubet asked: "Who
'is that encumbering person?"
The question was passed on to the
famous old prefect of police Lepine.
A week later, the Prince de Vitanval
.was languishing in jail, six months,
for swindling. It was those "chan--cellery
dues" which he got out of
3eople-inot the calling of himself
prince which got him into trouble.
;In France, anyone can call himself
prince if he doesn't do business on
: Invited to Receptions.
A- year later he was again about
?Faris. getting1 invited to receptions.
C(In France, anyone can get invited
-to receptions.) When invited offi
cially to cease wearing the "diplo
matic" costume of his own heraldic
-academy, he replied by letter to the
foreign office, threatening to c'l-
-plam to the king ot Italy, wnom ,.ie
"calltd "my illustrious friend and
an (rust cousin.
They thought they had him. now;
but Dom Leon sliujcd out of it, as
The has always done.
; "I have a right to call the king of
Ifaly .so," he said. "The Italian
protocol gives me the equivalent rank
Tof a cardinal !" .
- And it was so! They could not
leontest his being a chevalier, of the
;crown of Italy. It seems that, in his
"youth, he wrote a book on Mac
:Mhon. Having sent a copy of it
-to the easy-going old. King Hum--bert,
the latter was pleased to find
TJt speak so well of Italy, and, de
-motu . proprio, dubbed its author
chevalier.
Ceases to Be Chevalier.
? But Dom Leon so ready to col
lect chanccllary dues from others
-had not paid his own chanccllary
dues to Italy, the which, in every
'land, is sine iua non to clinch, per
fect, hog-tie and definitively vest all
such beautiful distinctions,
i So, he ceased for a time to be
"chevalier.
Never completely idle in the in
tervening years, devoted feverishly
genealogical studies and curious
-details of dying princely houses and
obscure governments, Laforge might
Jiave earned a nne living as nerawic
expert and booster of new-rich
families in the ancestral sense. In
stead, he craved always to set up
kingdoms of his own.
' Somebody has to set 'em up!
Shows Parchment
is as follows: .
Laforge began, about a year ago. by
Nwinsr a parchment written in Eng-
granting him the concession of cer
tain petroleum fields in trans-Cau-iVasian
territory. Take note of this.
'iA veritable princess of the Caucasus,
It .is claimed, hopes by these man
etrVers to-save her own bacon. Ac
cording to Baron Pursell (of Kansas
V 1 V ZPrtncess Carta,
t I sCrtt9 TKystarious
I " y'ff8( P rinccss-7
I v Y 1 Jf SX. Of rhe
f (J$wQucsus
, .. Lqozi La. for $9, prince 2r i 'K$MW2&: il
VtUnval And Wing Of Tmtii
rra.nscattcasta imfa ST6- $
City), she will be the means of sav
ing all. at needl
At Beaulieu-sur-Mcr last autumn,
Laforge got together a- quantity of
Georgian refugees, contract working
men, disbanded soldiers from the
Russian contingents, adventurers,
and even petty nobles by whom he
had himself proclaimed hereditary
king of a kingdom having prac
tically the same boundries as these
oil concessions.
Asks Wrangel's Aid.
This done, t Laforge demanded
(through the Intermediary of Am
bassador Malakoff. still , technical
representative of Russia recognized
by France) aid and protection from
General Wrangcl, jiot ... yet . . then
beaten, to deliver his kingdom from
the bolshcvist domination!'
Wrangcl, grasping at every local
recognition (a namoless village or
two gained, in those days, counting
well worth while) sent encouraging
replies to Prince Vitanval, called
King of Transcaucasia-Vitenvaiia.
(What did Wrangel know? The king
was introduced to him by Malakoff)!
And these encouraging reports from
Wrangel served as basis to obtain
new recognitions from parties know
ing none too much about the busi
ness or their own. And it was done
by mail. Laforge, it must be rcmerrf-
bered, has an erudition ana a readi
ness in these things probably equal
to that of the sptcialists.pt .;. any
chancellery of Europe! .. . V . ,
Refuse to Ridicule.
A desk full of stuff from the
League of Nations!
A big portfolio of correspondence
fsavs Baron Pursell) from our own
state department at Washington! :
. The more the trench sieutns ois
cover in this;','bottle of ink," the less
they think - they : understand. And
the more they understand,, the less
they despise -the .intelligence ot a
large category of, Laforgc's "dupes,"'
be they American tourists, rrcuui
business men, or Near East fishers
in troubled waters.
The French papers carefully re
frain from ridiculing them; and in
case of our fellow countrymen (and
women) they mention them by. ini
tials, like "Mr. G , connected with a
consulate;" "Dr. Y . American
dentist;" "Sir X, banker of Tol
edo, O." or "Mrs. W and daugh
ters of Philadelphia." Many names
enjoy transformations, local color
being introduced by adding "off" or
"sky." Regine, the Corsican from
New Orleans, is Baron Regihcnski
Suter, "agent for American agricul
tural implements," is undersecretary
of state for wireless Count Sutcr
off. on the books. '
For that matter, all citizens of
Transcaucasia-Vitanvalia, whether
resident or nonresident, become no
ble on payment of their chancellery
dues.
Institutions Set Up.
All have right to participate in
the sale of the first popular loan of
the kingdom of 250,000 roubles the
rouble royal being valued at 2.
And it is the duty, even, of all cit
izens and nobles to co-operate in the
building of the capital on the banks
of the Khanis Tzkali river if only
by the sale of its municipal bonds,
on which there is a' generous com
mission. Among other institutions set up
are:
A house of lords, senate and house
of commons, eaoh coensisting of
one-third women members..
A merchant marine, river fleet and
air service.
Hydroplanes and tank boats to
carry petroleum to foreign refiner
ies and a national pine line, whose
stock is to become "guarantee for
extensions" whatever the phrase
may mean!
Pennsylvanian Duke.
In all, two names stand out, beside
that of the kinp. One is Count
Yavorsky, secretary of state, the
other Duke Dokondowsky, under
secretary whom Pursell says is
George Dakin "of Erie County,
Pennsylvania."
Strange, how petroleum smells,
near and far! . J '
Baron Pursell was in France with
the A. E. F. in a welfare capacity.
He considers, still, that the plain,
untitled American is nature's noblest
work; but in Rome he does as the
Romans do.
"Mrs. W and her two daugh
ters are all . three countesses," he
says, "as real as the - majority at
Nice. The king has been acclaimed
by more real Transcaucasians than
any other claimant to the territory.
He has fought for his people be
fore the league of nations, council
of ambassadors and international
Red Cross. He has lodged claims
and protesets with the chancelleries
of Europe and the State Depart
ment at Washington! If Trans
caucasia is not lost in the shuffle
when the Soviets fall, it will be due
to Leon Laforge. Prince Vitanval I"
. "The queen?" I said.
. . Joker in Pack. .
"She was a sales girl in a depart
ment store." . snapped the Kansas
City lad." "Does that disqualify her?
The Empress Theodora was a mar
ket girl of Constantinople, and the
Princess Anastasia a typewriter girl
of Cleveland, O. They ought to be
I ' I
2?eore Tfte Pnoeee. was Qttaatt!
Clementina raroppa. Ttte
Girl On 7Aftacfc Of JYio
gad to get some brains on those
thrones!"
"But the king is in jail?" I said.
The Kansas City man blew smoke
rings from his cigaret and stared
into the sky. Slowly he fetched out
a big, black portfolio from his inside
breast pocket.
"Here is the joker of the pack,"
lie said. "Before the Soviets fall
this lady and her friends will have
the king at liberty to make his
claims, all right, all right!"
It was the photograph of a strong
faced; oriental-looking lady, in fash
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ionable lingerie blouse and big gold
Turkish chain.
Witnesses Silent.
"The Princess Caria," he said with
reverence. "She is a born princess
of the Caucasus. . Behind her is the
local pull. The territorial bosses
trust her. Up in Paris she has got
the pull of wewstcrn capitat to de
fend the little kingdom."
"Vitanvalia," I murmured.
"Why not?" he s napped. "It's
got to have a name. It's got to be
marked off from all those crooks
around its borders. And it needs a
bunch' of western boosters."
As I said at the beginning, Vitan
val is a wonderful man.
During six months his iiewly
appointed nobles had such confi
dence in the political secrets which
he whispered to them that not a
word about the kingdom leaked out
to the French police.
Today, with Vitanval in jail, it is
impossible to obtain witnesses!
Fremont Financier
Donates War Memorial
Fremont, Neb., July 30. (Spe
cial.) L. M. Keene, banker and
philanthropist, has donated to the
city of Fremont, through the Ameri
can Legion, a monument dedicated
to the sons of Fremont who died
in the world war. ' The memorial
will cost $5,000 and is to be dedicated
on .Armistice day, November 11.
The monument will be 22 feet in
height of highly polished marble,
with tablets inscribed with the
names, of Fremont soldiers who died.
The main shaft will be topped by
an American eagle, standing with
wings outstretched, ine memorial
will stand in the city, park directly
opposite the Lincoln statue dedicated
last Memorial day to the Lincoln
highway, donated to the city by L.
D. Richards. ,
Pawnee City Churches
Prepare for Revival
Tawnce City, Neb., July 30. (Spe
cial.) A scries of prayer meetings
to be held at the homes of church
members have "been " planned as a
preparatory program for the coming
revival meetings here. The services
wilr be union in character, alt
churches uniting, and will be held
once a week.
Swimming Pool Is Built
In Hildreth City Park
Hildreth, Neb., July 30. (Special.)
A swimming pool, 100 feet long
and 50 feet wide, is being con
structed in the town park here. Work
is being donated by townspeople
and farmers residing nearby. The
money necessary was raised by sell
ing tickets for $5, entitling the hold
ers to 20 swims.
delivers this beautiful
cabinet Grafonola to
your home. Your
choice of mahogany,
walnut or golden oak
finishes. This is the
most popular of all
Columbia Grafonolas
and has been reduced
from $120 back to
old-time prices as be
fore the war.
Now $85
Pay the balance at $1.50
per week. There is no
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McKenney
Den tists
Corner 14th and Farnam.
Russians Agree
To Release All
U. S. Prisoners
Acceptance of Ultimatum of
Hughes Contained in Reply
to Offer to Aid Famine
Sufferers.
(ily The Associated Treai.)
.' Riga, July 30. The offer of Her
bert Hoover to aid Russia in reliev
ing suffering due' to famine cn con
dition that All Amerfeans now held
prisoner in Russia be released hs
been accepted by the Russian au
thorities, who suggest immediate
negotiations , in order to realize
speedy assistance, according to a
dispatch from the Rosta News
agency of Moscow, received here to
day. .
'The text of the reply, made in the
name of. Leo Kameneff, head of the
nonpartisan, nonpolitical famine re
lief committee, is as follows:
, "The Russian . government, upon
learning of the proposals made by
Herbert Hoover in the. name of the
American :i Relief . association, finds
them quite acceptable, including the.
question of the release of American
citizens," "
. Want Aid Immediately.
"The Russian government consid
ers it necessary to fix as soon as pos
sible the exact conditions on which
the immediate relations are to begin.
"Its humane intentions guarantee
the feeding, medical aid and clothing
of-the million children and invalids.
For this, purpose, the Russian gov
ernment considers it useful that Di
rector Brown or any other.oerson au
thorized for the negotiations 'should
immediately come to Moscow, Riga
or Keval. .
"The Russian . soviet government
expects a quick reply, stating the
place and time for the negotiations,
c (Signed) . "M. KAMENEFF."
J M. Kamcneff's reply was sent, to
Mt AfoinL bhu E(SBmf Einit
But a hOTMug f FaMini .'.and Fa
Of Mew Fall Modes1 in All lhw -Eeaiitf
Coats, Wraps and Capes of Mink, Kolinsky and Natural Squirrel
Hudson Seal Coats Coats, Wraps, Capes, Scarfs and Neckpieces of
Moleskin Fox Scarfs and Chokers in all the new dyes Skunk Scarfs,
Chokers, Collars and Capes Beaver Scarfs and Collars Black Lynx
Scarfs and Stoles Baum Marten and Hudson Bay Sable Chokers. All
are of fered at one-fourth reduction from the prices of next September
You are invited to visit our exhibition and '
sale of exquisite furs.
Furs, which are made of the richest pelts
obtainable, purchased under favorable con
ditions, and priced for regular selling in strict
accordance with these low purchase costs, are
offered now during the Burgess-Nash August
sale at a straight reductions of 25, which i3
to be deducted from the: marked price at the
time of purchase.
These are quality furs. We ask compari
son as to prices based on quality, for behind
SALE OPENS MONDAY, AUGUST FIRSTHAND CONTINUES THROUGHOUT THE MONTH.
. The Fur Department Third Floor. v
Maxim Gorky, and to the soviet mis
sion in London for delivery to the
locat bolsheyik ..legation.
Was No Surprise.
The acceptance by Russia of the
demand for the release cf the Amer
ican prisoners did not corne as a
surprise, to the local soviet authorities,-notwithstanding
the outspoken
criticisms of the United States for
raising the prisoner question in ' a
time, of famine. The soviet officials
are understood to believe that their
acceptance will not only" bring the
needed famine relief, butalso open
channels of future relations between
Russia and America.
Can Begin at Once.
Washington, ' July 30. American
relief for starving Russian children
could begin 48 hours after Amer
icans imprisoned or detained in Rus
sia were released and out of Russia,
Secretary Hoover said today. There
could be no ' assurance that the
Americans had been released, m he
added, until they were out of Rus
sia. ' ' ' .
Mr. Hoover still was awaiting , a
detailed. 1 reply to Jiis -.offer of aid,
transmitted .through . Maxim. Gorky
and the State department had . re
ceived ' no "answer . to Secretary
Hughes' recent demand that the
prisoners be released. . ' ,
. Handled From United States. '
With the Americans out of Russia,
Mr. Hoover1 said, the American Re
lief association would be willing to
send a representative, to Riga to take
up with the Russian authorities de
tails of. food distribution. There are
relief) warehouses .in Riga and Dan
zig,' and it would only be a question
of. transportation for the supplies to
start rolling' into Russian famine
areas. The relief - organization - has
been at work continuously in Europe
so that a sufficient personnel could
be ' mobilized at Riga to handle the
work on short notice, he said.
Famine relief in Russia, Mr.
Hoover said, would be handled di
rectly by the American. Relief asso-
c!t;:'V through the co-operation of
the Reu , Cross-and other organiza
tions would be' sought. '
The principal difficulty the relief
association woiil;' encounter, Mr.;
'EVERYBODY STORE
Hoovei1 thought, would be a break
down in the Russian transportation
system. Food distributed would be
limited to , thosev., areas to which
transportation was available, he said.
Police Serve Warrants
On 3 Men in Hospital
Police served warrants on the three
young nien convalescing iiV Metho-
ujst nospnai as a result oi me auto
mobile accident on "death curve,'
in which Margie : McWilliams, 504
North Twenty-fifth street, was fatal
ly injured. ' ,' ' . . .
The - warrants charge the three
with joy , riding, v a state ' charge,
which calls for three months in jail.
The three, Fred Kelt,'; 5011 Under
wood avenue: Robert Swan, 618
South Sixteenth street, and Cliff Rus
sell, 'Fiftieth avenue and, Cuming
street, will be rcnjpved from the hos
pital to jailf tomorrow,; according to
police.' ' ; r s
They were driving thenar of B.
Pred at the time ;of "the 'accident.
The county attorney's office:,, an
nounced.-yesterday that" no " inquest
in the death ot Miss McWilliamj
would be held. . - . ,
R. B. Howell'A'sks Ticket to
Europe oil Publici Business
R.'ij.'Howellgcnerai'managcr of
the Metropolitan Utilities district, ap
plied yesterday in federal court for
passports for himself and his wife to
Europe. He - gave his reason for
going as "public blusiness."
Mr. Howell is' going to Budapest,
Hungary, to investigate operation of
a -wireless telephone system. '. He is
interested in installation of such sys
tems here. Mr. and Mrs' Howell wilf
also visit other sections of Europe.
Neligh School Instructors
Been Employed for Year
Neligh. Neb., July 30. (Special)
The entire corps of instructors of the
Neligh public schools has been se
lected. Supt. E. C. Nyrep returned
last week from a six weeks study
at the summer' school of the" state
university and is now, making prep
arations for the coming year's work.
fkmaCjfiMist
Full 25 Reductions
From our new fall prices are
.offered on our complete new
stocks of exquisite furs.
each garment bought stands. the quality and
standard assured in the name : Burgess-Nash.
Earliest, possible choice is advisable. If
immediate payment is not convenient, make a
small deposit at the time of purchase. .
All furs bought during the August Sale will
be stored free of charge in our New Gold
Storage Vaults. We are the only retail firm
in the city of Omaha to operate our own cold
storage vaults in our own building, and under
ouf own direct supervision. v . , ' ".
Small to Inspect
State Highways
Illinois. Governor to Transact
Business From "Capitol
On Wheels." 1
Chlrnso Tribune-Omaha Bee Led Wire.
Chicago, July 30. For an indefi
nite period Governor Small will
maintain a "capitol on wheels." He
will tour the state, inspecting the
highways on which a $60,000,000
bond issue is to be expended. Ac
cording to friends, he plans to Iran
sact public business from the vari
ous county seats and a corps , of
traveling secretaries will journey
back and forth from Springfield,
carrying out the governor's orders
on state business. Heads of varj
out state departments will meet him
at designated points on the tour and
will consult him by long distance
telephone when necessary.
The governor declares his tour of
inspection has nothing whatever' to
do with his indictment.
The governor's attorneys returned
to their homes at various down state
cities last night, but neither of the
three would make any comment on
the Chicago conference.
"There is nothing to do but wait
said Sheriff Mester, at Springfield.
"We are in n- hurry. We have until
September to produce the governor
in court and he is sure to return tp
the capital before then. I expect him
to come in this week and give
bond."
Prosecutor Mortimer says that , if
Governor Small surrenders to Chief
of Police Fitzmorris of Chicago or
to any other officer outside Sanga
mon county, he will order his re
lease. Attorney General Brundage
is also prepared to combat any ef
fort of the governor to obtain : a
writ of habeas corpus before some
friendly judge. ',
The seventh annua) national rex
position of chemical industries wil'
be held in New York the weekol
September 12. .v.
- .IIMWIH1
' --..'