THE SUNDAY OREGONIAN, PORTLAND, SEPTEMBER 7, 1919.
3
i I
This is "Georf e Fawcett Hamby,"
or So He Calls Himself,
the Thief and"
Murderer Whoso Good
Manners and Utter
Lack of Conscience
Have Astonished and
Confused All Students
of Criminology.
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Wbw Ybw Believe It to Be That of the Most
Astonishing Criminal in History?
Read What Others Say and Wliat Hamby the Murderer
Says of Himself in a Most Uncommon Interview
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THE BROOKLYN (N. T) BANK IV WHICH HAMBY COMMITTED HIS LAST CRIME.
When 70a think of criminal. parUea-f y
larly when you think of a thief who com
bines cool murder with hie syatem, you are
likely tohav an Image not only of a car
tain type of character, but of a mam hav
inf certain outward marks of the thing
he Is. With this in mind, consider the case
of George Fawcett Hamby, absolutely un
scrupulous thief and murderer, recently
sentenced to death. Read what Is said of
him by a exeat variety of persons who
saw him and studied him at close quar
ters.aad, more astounding still, what ha
aald of himself In a frank interview with a
woman who won his attention and confl-
dnC" BY ETJLA McCLART.
I SAW the moat aatonlahing- criminal
In history while ha awaited tha
call to tha electric chair.
A boy 2t years of as- A clean
faced, clear-eyed boy. Nothing- freak
ish or sinister about him. Just the sort
of a young: fellow you might meet
without suspicion sitting at a mahog
any desk in command of some big busi
ness enterprise.
George Fawcett Hamby la not his
real name. But a man can dia by any
name.
At this writing he sits in the death
house at Elng Sing with tobacco and
books oa psychology, theosophy. avia
tion and navigation. I found him
awaiting death with no regreu for his
deeds, for. as he said to the Jury as
one who participated in the robberies
which led to the Shooting of several
men "every man bad a chance."
The few weeks of life which still
belonged to George Fawcett Hamby.
When you think of a criminal, particularly when fou think of a thief
who combines cool murder with his system, you are likely to have an
Image not only of a certain type of character, but of a man having
certain outward marka of the thing he is. With this In mind, consider
the case of George Fawcett Hamby. absolutely unscrupulous thief and
murderer, recently sentenced, to death. Read what la said of him by a
great variety of persons who saw him and studied him at close Quarters,
and, more astounding still, what he said of himself In a fmnk Interview
with a woman who won his attention and confidence.
who also calls himself Jay Boyd Allen,
were to him merely the time which
must elapse before be experiences the
ao-far most Interesting phase of his
soul's existence. He believes in evolu
tion of the soul, via the reincarnation
route. In answer to my question, "How
do you look upon death?" he said: "It
Is interesting to contemplate what is
beyond if there is anything."
"You know," he continued, "if I
feared death I would now be serving a
life term in Washington. But I could
not stand confinement and I gave my
self up for the crime I was wanted for
In New York state, that I might end
it all quickly."
Aa to the electric chair this enigma
among criminals believes there la no
pain connected with It. He does not
have any theories on the right or
wrong of capital punishment, but be
lieves that many men who would other
wise be a menace to society are fright
ened into decent living or to careers
"Do you ev'er think about the sor
row and suffering you have brought to
the wives, children or sweethearts of
the men you have killedT" I asked him
during one interview which will never
be forgotten. For aa I talked to the
man who was sitting with a back
ground of prison bars as the confessed
murderer of three men and the rob
bery of many banks, I could believe
neither my eyes nor ears as he dra
matically unfolded in an impersonal
sort of a way with no bravado nor re
gret his deeds of the past eight yeara
"Never until I killed Bob," he admit
ted. "I was very fond of Bob and no
one regrets his death more than I do.
I meant to provide for his wife and
adopted child, but with the others
well, I gave them a chance. It was all
a part of my vocation. It was twenty
to one in favor of the others. But
usually I did not have to shoot. In
tha west men respect a gun. They
would rather be live men than dead
of crime by fear of capital punishment, heroes. But, if you do shoot in the
west you shoot to kill or they get you
first. I gruess I shot too straight in the
Brooklyn bank."
"Has your sense of social obligation
ever made you hesitate to carry out a
planned robbery?" was another ques
tion it seemed the public would be
Interested in having answered. "No,
never," be replied after a second's
thought. "Once or twice before enter
ing a bank I have thought I would
rather not, but I always went on as I
had planned for fear the men work
ing with me would not understand and
would think X had lost my nerve.
"I never could have controlled the
men if they didn't know I never lost
my nerve. I always found the oppor
tunities for a robbery, made all the
plans and directed the work. I never
shot unless I had to. Sometimes the
men I had selected to help me would
lose their nerve and I could not carry
out the plans. This happened in St.
Paul. We were to hold up a certain
bank one afternoon. One boy and my
self were to go inside with a bag as if
we wars going to make a deposit The
third man was to come In, draw his
gun and we were to make a quick pet
away. But he did not come. The boy
with me, now serving time in a Min
nesota penitentiary, and I stood at the
side desk making out a deposit slip.
We waited as long as ws could without
exciting the suspicion of the bank offi
cials and then said something about
making the deposit the next day in, a
tone loud enough to be heard. Wlren
ws got outside there, leaning up
against the wall, was the boy we had
been waiting for. He said he was not
coming in until the policeman on the
corner went and I almost lost my
temper as I explained to him that the
policeman left his post at 8 o'clock
and the bank closed at 3. But he would
not act, saying he did not like to com
mit a robbery with a policeman so con
veniently near.
"I was without funds at the time and
had been borrowing from a pawn
broker who, in the terms of the under
world, was a fence.' I did not want
him to make fun of me that night when
I told him I would not be able to pay
my loan. So the boy who had been with
me whom I had had sleeping with me
for some nights to keep him from tell
ing anyone anything and I gave the
third- chap the empty bag and let him
go. . I did not want him to know any
thing about me or where I lived. On our
way to my rooms we passed a laundry
which was in an inconspicuous place
and on the spur of the moment I de
cided to get my funds there- I figured
that it was possible that the laundry
had not banked the day's receipts. I saw
the safe door open. We walked into
the laundry, which was peculiarly built.
I sat on the counter casually, as if I
had come In for a friendly chat, pulled
my gun from the hip so it was hidden
from the street and told the entire
force, which included two men and
several girls, to keep their hands just
vhere they were. I could not tell them
to throw their hands up because any
one passing would understand. The
poor stenographers were so frightened
they held their hands rigid above the
keyboard. I told them to drop their
hands in their laps and not to be fright
ened. All this time the boy with me
was standing still. It is a way with
green men they cannot act until com
manded. So I ordered him to take the
money from the safe. I could see as he
put the bills in his pockets that we
were not doing a very big piece of
work. As we were ready to go I no
ticed a small suitcase on one of the
desks. "Take that bag," I ordered,
but one girl who was walking about
as we came in and who refused to stop
all the minutes we were there said,
"No," you don't. That's my handbag
and it has nothing in it but carfare and
a few clothes!' 'All right,' I said. 'We
will take the lady's word for It. Put
the bag back.'
"The next day I read a small notice
in the paper which said: "Woman Route
Bandits' and the article stated that
the bag contained $40. Since it was
not the company's money I forgave her.
However, I began to realize then that
a woman will not keep her word nor
tell the truth.
"As we were leaving the laundry I
held my gun in front of me and as I
backed through the door I advised thoBe
left behind to keep off of the streets
for a few minutes as it would not be
WHAT THEY SAY OF THIS ASTONISHING MURDERER:
"The coolest one ever." Inspector Faurot, Bertillon expert.
"The most unconcerned criminal I ever met." Warden McCann.
"I never saw anyone more respectful to women." Head jailer.
"One cool bird." The other prisoners.
"An interesting study in human nature. Psychoanalyzed, Hamby
would prove of real scientific value." Dr. M. Keshner.
"Undoubtedly hk acts are a form of sex perversion." Commissioner
of Health Copeland.
"Isnt he good looking and polite?" Courtroom women.
"I don't think he's absolutely sane." Hamby's lawyer.
"A second Jesse James." Judge Fawcett.
"We find the defendant legally sane." The Lunacy Commission.
safe to come out. I smiled good day
and closed the door."
For a minute following this narrlt
tive the robber smiled reminiscently,
then he said In the light and humor
ous manner he uses: "The boy with me
wanted to make good in my eyes, I
guess, for he opened the door on my
gentlemanly exit and yelled: 'Yes.
don't any of you come out or we'll
shoot hell out of you."
One must know Hamby to appreciate
how much of a hit such language
would make with him. Vulgarity,
strong language, even slang, is offen
sive. He did not say so, but there is
no doubt in my mind that the accom
plice ended his connection with Hamby
then and there even as Hamby made
a vow that never again would he risk
his professional respect over such a
petty Job. He held himself as a five
figured professional and nothing below
$10,000 gave him the sense of exclu
sivenees his soul desired.
During the eight years he has made
his living by robbing banks at the
point of a gun, Hamby had never been
under arrest until he gave himself up
In Washington. Indeed, he believed
that he never would be arrested, but
that he would meet his end in a gun
fight which he so loved.
"The play of the guns acted on me
like military music does on a well
trained soldier," he told me. "I wanted
money and the things money can buy,
but more than the money, I craved the
excitement of getting It and the auto
mobile races it bought and the ease
and books. Gun play certainly fur
nished the thrills and gave me a sense
of elation."
The most noticeable things about
Hamby are his gentle, manly charac
teristics, which are not veneered nor
assumed, and his instinctive respect
for women, though he does not believe
they can keep their word or a secret.
On his first trip east, while riding in
an elevated train he arose and offered
his seat to a woman.
"I always tried to quiet the fears
of any women who were around when
I was at work," he told me, "as I did
the woman in the Brooklyn bank. I
never could shoot a woman, I am con
fident. What would I do if she should
refuse to do as I said? I'd run."
Of his mother ho spoke with feel
ing. "No boy had a better chance to
live the kind of a life you believe
right," he remarked. "However, had
my mother lived I should have done
exactly as I have done. I should have
gone to another country to work, no
doubt, and hoped she would never find
out. But I know myself."
Hamby was not flattered, nor
pleased, to be called a second Jesse
James. He believes that the methods
of Jesse James and his contemporaries
were crude and would not be feasible
these days. It Is the wish of this In
teresting occupant of the Sing Sing
death house to be In a class alone, as
the last word in up-to-date, five-figured
high finance, as It were.
In eight years he has added to a
seldom light money belt $400,000.
Some of this he has had to share with
his helpers with whom he never asso
ciated after the money was divided,
thus avoiding the police.
Hamby will die. If the writer Judges
right, with no regrets expressed or
unexplained. He told me that If he
were free again he would reimburse
himself from some bank and leave the
country. "But," he emphasized, "I
would never go away without funds."
When his day comes to pass through
the gate which leads to the electrlo
chair Hamby will walk erect. He will
not weaken. Not because he will not
regret and repent, but because he
cannot. The part of us we call a con
science, he seems to lack altogethtr.
Before closing the green gate on this
youthful bank robber and murderer
whose real name at this writing is not
known, but which he confesses can
be found in a combination of letters
used in his aliases, hear his warning:
"Once you start you can never stop.
There is only one, way. Never begin."
BEAUTIFUL NATIVE WOMEN
OF MEXICO STURDY WORKERS
Visit to Guatemala Without Seeing Marvelous Inhabitants of Inland Town
Nearby Cause. H- W. Fatton and Crew of Mount bttasu ttegreu
BT H. W. FATTON.
Letter No. X
OFF GUATEMALA. N. C A., July
20. (Special Correspondencs).
We arrived at Salina Crux, Mexico,
about noon July IS. After a host of
officials, all dsd in spotless whits and
with manners as immaculate as their
clothes, had coma aboard and examined
our papers with great exactnesa. the
captain and myself want ashore In
quest of the oil so urgently needed.
Our arrival at Salina Crus was on tha
30th day out from Grays Harbor. In
that time ws had plowed through 2900
miles of salt water a little less than
100 miles a day and about four an
hour. If luck stsys with us ws may
have Christmas dinnsr at the "Cheshire
Cheese" In dear old London. There is
nothing in life so uncertain as a sea
voyage on a cargo v easel with small
auxiliary engines.
We dropped snchor outside the
breakwaters and. as ws rowed to the
shore In the official boat, I was much
Impressed wtlh the beauty and utility
of the little harbor. It comprises about
20 acres of IS-foot water, amply pro
tected by two breakwaters, on
axs slant electric
rbieh
rhidl lift
cargoes from the holds of vessels, de
posit It In cars through hatches in
their roofs, and in an Incredibly short
time the train' is speeding on its way
to Puerto Mexico, on the Atlantic side
of ths Isthmus of Tehusntepec. There
similar cranes lift ths Pacific cargoes
from the cars and deposit it in vessels
bound for ports of the United States
and Europe.
Railroad Opened In 1007.
This railroad was opened in 1907 and
fully Justified the expectations of its
projectors. The operation of the
Panama canal has, however, had a de
pressing effect upon this enterprise,
and I fear Salina Crus has lost its
chanca of becoming the Port Said of
the Pacific although It has many of
ths features Of that redoubtable port.
This is ths narrowest portion of the
continent north of Panama, and It was
here that Captain J. B. Eads wanted
to build a ship railway that would
transport ths largest vessels from one
ocean to the other without disturbing
crew or cargo. Ths Idea was pro
nounced entirely feasible, but efforts to
enlist tha necessary capital in England
failed.
That country preferred to see us put
up the money for the Panama canal and
let bar shins &9 through, oa equal tarm.
with ours. Roosevelt was responsible
for ths digging of the canal and Wilson
for giving England ths best of It. -
Inner Harbor Spaclons Basis.
Landing at a dock in the Inner har
bor, which is a spacious basin with
two swinging bridges over Its entrance,
we engaged a two-wheeled cart drawn
by a most miserable little donkey. We
soon were in the business csnter of the
city, a half mile away. Every store
and shop was closed and a funereal
air pervaded ths town of some 3000
inhabitants.
I found that It was the anniveraary
of the death of Benito Juarez, one of
the greatest fighters for Mexico's free
dom. He was born in this state of
Oaxaca pronounced wah-haw-cah in
1808, of pure bred Zapoteca Indian
parentage and spoke only that dialect
until 12 years of age. But he obtained
an education and became presldsnt in
1858.
It was Juares who promulgated the
reform laws, abolishing slavery and
Imprisonment for debt, divorcing
church and state . and granting re
ligious tolerance. He led the fight
against the French forces of Emperor
Maximilian and signed the death war
rant of that unhappy monarch. Juarez
died while president on July 18, 1S76.
Don Porfirlo Diaz, ths greatest Mexi
can, was also born in this stats and
was a pupil of Juares. He had Indian
blood, his mother being a Mixtoc. Diaz
was president for 36 years, until run
out of the country in 1912 by Madero.
He died in Spain and, now that the
people are beginning to realize what
good he did, there is a movement
started to bring his body back to the
land he saved and to honor his memory
In like degree with that of Juares.
Having visited Mexico during the
rsiss. of, iu J tbs sri '94a, and
learning then what a splendid president
and man he was, I took a mournful
pleasure in adding my name to their
subscription list.
Salina Crus is not much for beauty
or plcturesqueness, but it does a large
shipping business, all Pacific mall lin
ers, many coasters and some big
steamers flying the flag of Japan, call
ing there regularly. W. R, Grace &
Co. have an office there, as it has in
every Pacific port, and handles most of
the shipping. Mr. Nyrup, ths agent In
charge, is one of the most -courteous
of gentlemen. He is also one of the
best looking and while I was there was
certainly one of the busiest. He told us
that the same cyclone which we met on
July 4 had visited Salina Cruz and that
it looked as it the end of the town
had come. He said It struck at night
and he and Mrs. Nyrup, with their
two children, fled from the house.
However, it was only the tall-end of
our cyclone and little damage was
done. Had it been of equal force as
when it struck us there would have
been little left of Salina Cruz when
we arrived.
Some IS miles inland from Salina
Crus is the city of Tehuantepec, which
is well worth visiting, I was told. It
has a population of 10,000, with the
women largely in the majority about
five to each man. I met a gentleman
from Manzanlllo who had been there
before and was on his way again. He
wanted me to go with him and regaled
me with many stories of the beauty of
the place and its female inhabitants.
Words failed him when he tried to de
scribe the latter, and he was a voluble
talker at that. He said everybody
smoked, even the very young.
"Why, listen," he said. "There Is
one sight worth going a thousand miles
to see. The women there do not wean
their children until they are about i
years old. and Xil swear to Jfou
that I have seen a boy leave his moth
er's breast, sit down on the floor, roll
a cigarette and puff away In great
content-"
I have heard a good many liars in
my time, in many places and on many
subjects, but I figured that this one was
the chief, and that I had better get
away from the danger of inoculation.
I always try to tell the truth. So I
again declined the invitation and bade
the gentleman farewell.
Now, here on shipboard. I find posi
tive confirmation of the truth of Mr.
Manzanlllo's story and I blush for the
injustice which I did him. Before I
left Salina Cruz, Mr. Nyrup gave me a
handsome book called "Terry's Mex
ico," which, I think, the best guide
book to this country ever written.
Women More Thrifty Than Hen.
Also I want to do Justice to the
man from Manzanlllo. so here is Terry's
comment:
"The women are thrifty, animated
and more enterprising than the men.
The relative scarcity of males makes
individuals of more importance than
would be the case if the sexes were
equal in number, and the passionate
and Jealous, nature of the women is ac
centuated iy this minority. Like the
Burmese women, they are the workers.
- 'These olive-skinned queens of the
tropics possess beautiful sloe-black
eyes, superb teeth and luxuriant black
hair. They are much addicted to wear
ing jewelry, preferably American 320
gold pieces, and it is not unusual to
see a barefoot houri with a necklace
worth many thousands of dollars. They
bathe often and are clean. Many of
the women smoke and soms of the
children, are almost weaned on tobac
co fumes. Like certain other native
mothers, they nurse their Children until
they are 2 or 4 years old, and it is no
uncommon sight to see a child descend
from its mother's knee after a lacteal
resast, repair to an easy ctolr, light &
eiearette and enjoy an after-dinner
smoke.
"On Sundays and feast days, when
the women appear in all their grace of
form and dress for they are devel
oped like Venuses and would make in
comparable models for artists the ef
fect is wholly beguiling; a felicitous
blend of southern Spain, the orient, of
Mexico, and the lotus-eating tropics."
I passed the above along and the
whole ship's company came aft and of
fered to forfeit a month's pay if the
captain would put back to Salina Cruz
for 24 hours. Think of being only IS
miles away from all that and not
knowing it!.
July 28. Well, here we are, off the
coast of Costa Rica, and likely to be
here indefinitely. In fact, I don't know
tkat we over will get any farther, and
I don't know that you will ever re
ceive this letter. The truth is that
our air compressor has gone bad and
our engines are shut off. with little
prospect of ever being started again.
What makes it all the worse is that
we are below 10 north, in what are
the equatorial calm, or the "dol
drums," where there is not wind once
a year. Having no engine power and
no wind there is nothing to do but
wait for somebody to pick us up, or
else send a boat ashore 120 miles off
and cable to Panama for a tug. The
boat might get ashore and it might
not. But we have water and grub and
a splendid engine room force, so why
worry?
Trip Retrained e July So.
July 30 We are saved and are again
speeding on our course with both en
gines running. The resourcefulness of
Chief Tortensen, the industry of the
urine-room force and a 12-horsepower
sail hoist on deck, were the means of
our salvation. The force rigged a com
pressor, fitted pipes from it to the air
tanl below, started, the standard sail
engine, and soon had 250 pounds of air.
This got the engines to going yester
day and they are still pushing us along
at the satisfactory rate of six miles an
hour. My guess is that we shall reach
the canal by Sunday. August 3, or Just
48 days from Grays Harbor. I was sure
we would make it in 26 days and we
are wondering how the other Mount
vessels fared.
Yesterday a flotilla of seven steam
vessels passed us, bound north. We
were not close enough to make them
out, but think they were United States
naval ships on the way to the Pacific
stations. ,
Gulf of Panama, Aug. 2. Just befors
daylight today our good ship, the Mount
Shasta, was struck by lightning three
times in less than a half-hour. Ths
damage was slight, the foretopmast be
ing struck twice and badly shattered
for several feet down. The other stroke
connected with the electric wire and
put all the port and deck lights out
of commission. I was awakened by the
most ear-splitting thunder I ever heard,
and made for the deck. I got there
after the first stroke, but was present
at the other two. I stood near the elec
tric wire when the lightning went
along It, and I never before heard such
a strange hissing noise.
We are now some 90 miles from Bal
boa and will be in tomorrow.
August 4. What's the use guessing
as to when a vessel will make her port?
I said we would be in on Sunday, and
here it is Monday night and we are still
40 miles from base. A head wind. n
adverse current, and one engine shut
down, makes against us. The glass is
falling and we may have one of thoe
celebrated Panama Gulf blows before
morning and wake up 100 miles at sea.
But I have faith we shall get in eome
time.
Balboa. Aug. 6. Here we are after a
voyage of 47 days and 16 hours from
Grays Harbor.
t