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The Impostor and the Army

A man posing as a member of the Salvation Army was caught panhandling for personal gain, drawing a stern rebuke from the organization's local leadership.

The story, cleaned up

A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.

A man claiming to belong to the Salvation Army was going about the city yesterday soliciting contributions to defray the funeral expenses of an alleged deceased comrade, painting a story of destitution and want. On learning of the man's actions, Sergeant H. M. Wallace of the Army at once went to police headquarters and denounced the fellow as a fake and an impostor, and stated that no such case existed. Sergeant Wallace, in speaking of the matter, warned the public against giving any contributions to anyone not wearing the regulation uniform.

“A man claiming to belong to the Salvation Army was going about the city yesterday soliciting contributions to defray the funeral expenses of an alleged deceased comrade.”

— Printed in The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894
Then · 1894132 years apartNow · 2026

Charity scams exploiting the public's sympathy for the homeless and vulnerable continue to be a regular problem, prompting modern nonprofits to emphasize transparency in their fundraising efforts.

The original page

The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-04-01. Library of Congress, Chronicling America.

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About this story

From
The Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, APR 1, 1894, Page 2
Rights
Public domain
Place
47.60323, -122.33028 · placed automatically
The paper in the Library of Congress catalog ↗