The Southern Herald

American Argentine Millionaire

Wealthy Through Shady Deals in South America

Ever hear of Jim Duggan of Cuggen? The man sent a swindling letter in care of the American consul at Buenos Aires and got a reply. With the money he bought a lottery ticket and won a prize. While he still had the money a man who owned a farm and who was noticing a quick sale sold him some land. Jim has furnished it. He got hold of a second beginning party, and he changed his name with that and called himself the both co. When I was in Rio in the time I found that everything passed a general gar his his. He has servant at such things as false teeth and glass eyes and not men being. I saw a man come in and ask the Duggan and then calmly take out his eye and put it in the corner. But in Buenos Aires there lives an American who is the prince of Brutus Wallingford. He makes a specialty of ruining our oil masters and selling them at high prices to the wealthy Argentinians, who do love to invest their money in works of art. The chap got hold of a Frenchman who can paint and he does the actual work at their direction with regard to taste. What was there the electric fans were playing cool three Tan Dees. There was an elderly woman of high degree who fancies she was stuck on the president of Argentina. What does the American do but get hold of a man who knows the old lady, and cause him to persuade her that the president is partial to Van Dycks. Soon she gives the American an order for a painting, and he collects the sum of $5000 of which the go-between gets $1000 and the artist $1000. The last report I had from him was to the effect: "You ask about the stately old lady? I am getting afraid she might rub some of the paint off that old master, and this would affect my artistic sensibilities."

This chap has got hold of all sorts of concessions. When I first knew him by the way, he was a colonel in the Nicaraguan army. One of his most successful ventures was to start a watch club in which you pay one dollar for initiation and then run the chances of getting a watch. Well the American showed a high municipal official in Buenos Aires that in watch club there is a pretty big percentage for whoever is running it with the result that 40,000 policemen and other government employees were ordered to become members.