Military Con Men

RETURNED SOLDIERS ARRESTED

            A couple of returned soldiers were making a very successful appeal to the sympathies of Cranbrook citizens on Saturday afternoon, when Chief of Police Hersey put a stop to their operations.  Their system is as simple as it was successful.  Armed with a supply of envelopes containing a half dozen post cards on which are printed some alleged poems; they arrived in town at one o’clock and proceeded to offer the cards for sale for the benefit of returned soldiers.  These men apparently come from Calgary, and admit having “worked” Coleman and Fernie, their method apparently being to gather in as much currency as possible in a short time and then take the next train for some other point.  Both men, whose names are Fred Kunell and Robert Sceales, appear to have enlisted in Calgary something over a year ago, one in the 191^st and the other the 187^th Battalion.  They went to England and were invalided back to Canada and though both of them have apparently been discharged for some time, were still wearing uniform.  When questioned by the Chief as to why he was not wearing civilian clothes Kunell stated that he had not the money with which to buy them.  Investigation however disclosed fourteen 25 cent pieces, one 50 cent, a dollar bill and $1.50 in small change in his possession, all of which he admitted had been collected in Cranbrook.  In addition he also had $50 in bills.

            It is unfortunate that the public, which is always so ready to give to any cause that is helping our soldiers who are overseas and who have returned, should be victimized in this way, and credit must be given to Chief Hersey for stopping the proceedings of these men as promptly as he did, for they had not been in town two hours before they were arrested.

            Not only were these men abusing the generosity of the public, but by posing as members of the Great War Veterans Association they were acting in a manner calculated to bring into disrepute an organization, one of the aims of which is to maintain a high standard of dignity and honor among returned soldiers.

            These men appeared before Magistrate Arnold on Monday charged with an offence under the Vagrancy Act and were each fined $10.00 with an alternative of 21 days imprisonment.