The End of the Road for a Timber Swindler
A notorious operator who preyed on hopeful settlers finally lands behind bars after a farmer refuses to be cheated.
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.
S. U. McLean, the timber land swindler whose methods have several times been exposed by the Post-Intelligencer and whose victims are numbered by the hundreds, has finally been run to earth. At last, he found one man whom he could not rob with impunity, and he is now where he belongs—the common jail of King county. McLean had for several months had an office in the Epler block. His plan was to lure suckers to his office by speciously worded advertisements and play upon their credulity. His usual offer was to locate men on timber claims guaranteed to cut at least 8,000,000 feet of lumber for a consideration of $100. He further signed a contract on behalf of the bogus Bangor Lumber Company to purchase the claim from the filer upon final proof being made. It was a very transparent swindle, but hundreds of suckers flopped into McLean’s net. In November, a farmer named X. Massa was decoyed into McLean’s office and paid $100. After the swindler got Massa’s cash, he failed to carry out his agreement. Yesterday, Massa caused an information to be filed in Justice Von Tobel’s court. A warrant was issued, and Constable Robinson tracked the man down at midnight in Seattle’s cafe.
“It was a very transparent swindle; but hundreds of suckers flopped into McLean’s net.”
Land fraud and predatory investment schemes targeting dreamers looking for a 'piece of the West' have been a constant thread in Seattle's history. While the Epler block is long gone, the struggle to protect settlers and small investors from sophisticated grifters remains a familiar civic challenge.
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