THE CENTURY CHARMER

NZ Truth, Issue 1185, 16 August 1928, Page 2

THE CENTURY CHARMER

Errick Scores Two Hundred On A Good Wicket !

(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Auckland Representative.)

"The whole thing was a terrible swindle/ observed Judge Reed, addressing Errick Charmers as he stood m the dock at the Auckland Supreme Court, last week* " but ? f ear you haOe escaped the meshes of the law." -'

DID a master mind conceive the . clever scheme which was put over I by the tall, sallow, Immobile man "m the dock? That is a question which is best answered by those who read how the well-bred man of theatrical ambitions placed to his credit £260 of hard cash, which three men of vastly different types handed over to him under a cunningly- conceived .agreement when they entered a business proposition with him. It was one of those businesses which had about it a certain amount of hair-oil, but very little cash, and the partnership advertisement that acted as the bait was of a nature riot unknown m the daily papers. It ran as follows: ' "Man, young, with £70, good appearance, light outdoor work, experience not necessary; £4 weekly; per-manent.^-Melville, Ltd., Palmerstori Bldgs." Errick Charmers obtained the cash, whilst three men anxious to rind employment—and profit — gained a certain modicum of experience. ' But they took their grievance to the police, and, as a consequence, the man whose knowledge of business was somewhat limited, if astute, had to face three charges of obtaining money by means which were not — well, not exactly morally legitimate. As Crown • Prosecutor Meredith " put it to the jury, "accused got the money m such circumstances^ as would absolve him from criminal liability, by covering himself beneath the cloak of legal contracts." One remarkable thing about the case was that ./Lawyer Singer, who defended Charmers, was able to sit back most of the time and let the course of the law go its own' gait, the witnesses for the prosecution proving the case m his client's favor without help from •himself. Being a keen young man, seemingly, Stanley Arthur Hodges, on spotting the advertisement m the paper — so he told the court — made haste to answer it. He . was out of work. . \ His first interview was with a man named Smith at the office of Melville and Co., m Palmerston Buildings, Queen Street. ' , Smith introduced him to Charmers, who said it was a good proposition and f»l-inw*>rt him tVirniie-h

the office of this budding enterprise, which was known as the 'Varsity Toilet and Household Requisites Co., m Hellaby's Buildings. > Hodges said that all he saw on the premises was an assortment of bottles of hair- oil and pots of face-cream; but of actual stock there appeared to be practically nothing. "He thought he had struck ■ oil," suggested Lawyer Singer. "He had," agreed Crown Prosecutor Meredith. Charmers, however, charmed s o sweetly that the optimistic Hodges was willing to accept a promised £4 a week as wages, with th© tempting

bonus of an extra 10/- a week to be paid every three months if he put his trust— and £100— into the business. Hodges had £70 m the bank, but he raised the other £30 and dived headlong into the web. The soft words of the proprietor of the business no doubt influenced him; he was told that the caretaker of his capital had a substantial banking account and had just finished building a steel aeroplane m England. He even showed Hodges a model of it about three feet across the wings. Though Hodges noticed that the agreement signed made the money over completely to Charmers, he said nothing about it ■ drown Prosecutor Meredith: You were paying the £70 to secure the position?— Yes. Asked to describe his duties, Hodges, who seemed to grasp the .humor of his venture, despite his financial loss, related how he had gone the first day to • the house of a photographer to collect some tea-caddies for his employer. 1 Armed with these, also hairpins and packets of moth balls, he set forth on his travels as a salesman., . "What did you sell that day?" asked Crown Prosecutor Meredith. With a broad smile, the ' answer came: "Two packets of moth balls, for which I got 2/-." "Did business improve?" continued the Crown Prosecutor. — "No, it got worse," and Hodges' smile grew wider. Judge and all present roared . laughter. Crown Prosecutor Meredith, enjoying. the joke, inquired: "Did you sell any hairpins?"— " No." And Lawyer Singer attributed this fact to the craze for bobbed hair. Later, said Hodges, he was sent out to deliver two tea-caddies to two ladies, but they were not at home. Even Charmers' sombre countenance bore the semblance of a smile at this period of the examinatlpn. Lawyer Singer (to Hodges) :, "I'd like to ask if there are any more like you m your family, but I don't think it's relevant!"' ■ In far Whakatane, Richard Henry Costih, of the Public Works Department, caught sight of the "enticing advertisement m the daily. Having £ 100, he came up to the wicked city. The man he first saw was named i liiiiiiniiiiiiiinnmiiiiiiiiittiiiinii iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii """""""""""""""I]"",";]"""""'",!

Raymond, a short man, who told him the job was still .open. Costin informed Raymond that he had no business experience, but the latter said it was not necessary. He was informed that the work was to pack, label and check goods, and later was shown over Charmers' "factory." Though the stock was not great, it was enough to induce Costin to part with £100. He even told the man of business that he would like to have it fixed .up there and then. "What did you think the £100 was for?" asked Crown Prosecutor Meredith. "For finding me. employment," replied Costin, placidly. He was assured he stood to lose nothing. For two weeks the man from Whakatane told how he potted face-cream from a bulk stook— •about four dozen pots m allpacked moth-balls and matie clothes pegs into packets. Crown Prosecutor: What made you leave; did you finish? — No, a detective came round. * Asked if he had seen Charmers since he gave him the custody of his hundred, Costin replied: "I saw him once m the street and exchanged a few words Avith him, but I didn't ask him about' the £100." . The only witness who appeared at all truculent was a small, dark young man, who gave his name as Thomas Garrick. He had given up his efforts m the hair-oil and face-cream business for fish at Onehunga. " He was very laconic. He couldn t say who if was he saw at Melville's when he strolled into the web, but this person rang for Charmers. As a result of the interview, Garrick went over to the P.O. and drew out £60, which he handed over. ■ ■. "The man said it would be better to fix it up straight away," he explained. "1 was m the office," witness added. "One room. Well, it was supposed to be the office. There was more hairoil than face- cream." He stayed a month. Business was not very brisk, it seemed, for at the end of that time Charmers suggested a very severe cut m his wages; from £4, to 30/- a week* ' That was too much for Garrick — he resigned. Charmers gave him a P.N. for his money. " "Did you present it at the bank? asked Crown Prose-

. cutor Meredith. "No," replied Garrick. "I gave it to the detectives." A ledger-keeper's testimony revealed that Charmers opened hia banking account on May 1 ■with £1. At a later date his credit stood at £37 odd, dwindling by the end of June to £13 17s. 6d., and finally to two shillings. Charles Frederick Smith gave evidence that he joined Melville's on April 2. "They wanted £200~ to let | me m," he announced. It was his first venture of that kind. Of this £200, £.100 went into the joint account; the man called Raymond got the other £ 100.

to do with the inside of the office workings and did not know who worded the advertisements. Judge Reed observed that it looked as' if Charmers and Raymond were working- together. ' Raymond, whose shadowy figure flits through the story, seems to have needed a. holiday — or healing w,aters — for on Monday, May 28, he went away, saying he was going to .Rotorua. Charmers rang up, and, when he heard that Raymond had gone, witness said he seemed "rather surprised." Crown Prosecutor Meredith (with a smile): ,Has Raymond returned from Rotorua yet? — No. When Detective Knight interviewed Charmers on June 15 as to his methods of business> he made a statement of some length which held out glowing prospects ahead. During his search of the premises, the detective found four blank and unsigned agreements. In his opinion, £25 would have completely covered all the stock, with the exception of a typewriter. Thelast witness for the Crown having completed his evidence, . Lawyer Singer said he did not think he had a case to answer and did not propose putting his client m the witness-box. Addressing the ' jury, his honor remarked: "I think you will agree that this is a pretty bare-faced swindle, but I regret to say that the accused has not been brought within the provisions of the law. He managed to get hold of three unfortunate men who were out of work at the time and were prepared to risk their money." Whereupon he directed the jury to find Charmers not guilty. One member rose to ask if it were not fraud for the accused to induce men to pay him money, knowing full well that he was not m a financial position to meet his obligations. "It is a moral, but not a legal, fraud," replied his honor. "On- . fortunately, it does not come within the statute." Then, to the accused, the judge added: "Prisoner, I regret very much that I have to discharge you, as your swindle was a barefaced and heartless one, m that you took money from men who were out of work." Calm, placid, immobile of features, Charmers was handed his effects by the gaoler and left the dock. nmn i i m