TINNED LIONS

Evening Star, Issue 22149, 2 October 1935, Page 9

TINNED LIONS

A FRENCH SWINDLER Tinned lion was the delicacy promised to Parisians by a man named Rosse, who has just been sent to prison for two years for not keeping his word (says the ‘ Daily Mail’). A young man with thick hair and a beard like an early Briton, he stood in the dock and listened docilely to the fantastic story of his adventures. He had a villa in the sunshine of the Riviera, and he was known as a good client of the best hotels at the smart seaside resorts. “ Lion steaks for strength and courage,” was the slogan that brought him wealth. He planned to form a concern, called the General Canning Company of the Upper Volga and Great West Africa, to exploit the jungle beasts as nutriment. While lions were his most promising article, buffaloes also were to be trapped and skinned. By allotting shares to a number of trusting people and taking cautionary deposits from a corps of game hunters ho engaged to hunt the lions, ho was able to live at the rate of £5,000 a year. His concierge was engaged as head of the packing department at a salary of £I,OOO a year, but ho had to find £4OO as a guarantee of Ins honesty. A woman investor jilted her sweetheart for Rosse, and gave him all her savings. Rosse apologised to the sweetheart for spoiling his romance—and took his savings, too. Rosse started two other companies that attracted a number of victims. One was a scheme to provide big-game shooting for all. Preserves were to bo acquired in the Congo and stocked with wild beasts, and subscribers wore to be allowed to shoot at the animals" from a point of safety behind a barrier. The other scheme was founded on a bright idea that came to him while he was awaiting trial, and was exploited by a friend who was a chemist. It was Hie sale of a magic potion to determine the sex of an unborn baby. The prosecution said the bottles were filled with tap water*