WHITE HOUSE FOR RENT

 

21. WHITE HOUSE FOR RENT

European cities had a distinctive feature. The expression ‘had’ does imply that such a thing is no more there. European cities had security. In the railway stations, in the cabs,in hotels, at public places, in fact everywhere there was assured security. But is it not becoming a thing of the past? After the collapse of the Soviet Union, some East European countries gave up Communism. Because of poverty, many youths from such countries migrated to the affluent west. From Czech Republic and Romania thousands of migrant refugees thus went over to cities like Paris, Frankfurt and Copenhagen.

Now there is a different kind of ambience in the railway stations. Announcements are made at regular intervals asking the public to be wary of pickpockets. I did not attach much significance to the announcements till my own pocket was picked. The modus operandi of the pickpockets was to cause an artificial crowding while boarding the train, divert one’s attention to something else and then smoothly relieve him of his purse. I lost my purse to a young man and young woman from Romania. That was what Paris’ policemen told me. A fellow passenger consoled me. After all it was only a purse that was lost. Some clever fellows in Paris had even sold the Eiffel Tower as scrap to gullible purchasers. Information was that this was done by some people from Czechoslovakia. I listened to the friend’s narrative, thinking the story telling might help me in forgetting my own loss.

When Victor Lustig from Czechoslovakia came to Paris and settled down in a hotel room he saw a news item in a daily that intrigued him. The Eiffel Tower was suffering from wear and tear and badly needed repair. There was a possibility of pulling it down so as to erect a new tower.

Reading the news, Lustig had a wonderful idea to make easy money and he immediately decided to put it to practice. He joined hands with a friend to lay a trap. They invited some leading merchants of Paris to the hotel and informed them in all seriousness that the government is forced to consider pulling down the Eiffel Tower. There is bound to public outcry against the move. But the government has to do what is inevitable. These people have been invited to the hotel in the belief that they will handle this issue with the utmost confidentiality that it deserved. If they are interested they may submit quotations.

The merchants were naturally beguiled by the recognition they received. They submitted their quotations in all earnestness, and in full confidentiality. The quotation was fixed in favour of one of them, a new moneybag. To enhance credibility Lustig made one more proposition. For smooth running of matters it was necessary to grease some palms and so some money had to be given for that purpose. The merchant was convinced this indeed was government matter. He gave the quotation money by bank draft and received receipt for it with government seal. Lustig soon left the country with the money he received. There was no earthquake following this cerebral cheating. Nothing happened. The merchant did not approach the police as he did not want to be humiliated in public for his folly.

This emboldened Lustig to return to Paris and try his luck once more. He sold Eiffel Tower for a second time to another gullible merchant and got his money. But the merchant this time suspected foul play and informed the police. But by that time Lustig had made himself scarce. The police could neither trace him nor get back the money.

It is not the first time that important world monuments have been sold in this manner. Lustig of Czechoslovakia and Arthur Ferguson of Scotland are birds of the same feather. Ferguson was cleverer of the two. He leased American President’s residence The White House for a hundred thousand dollars. Ferguson who befriended a billionaire from Texas told him in the course of a conversation that as part of economy measure the government had decided to give the White House on lease. And the billionaire thought this was the best opportunity to shine in front of others. He wanted the White House at any cost and he entrusted the task of getting it to Ferguson himself. Ferguson fulfilled that mission and got his easy money.

Ferguson’s games did not end there. When he was in England he sold many prime properties. For instance the Buckingham Palace was sold for 2,000 pounds and the Nelson Memorial for 6,000 pounds. The cheating was exposed when the man who bought the Nelson Memorial engaged a contractor to pull it down.

It was said the New York memorial, Statue of Liberty, escaped Ferguson’s nimble fingers by a hair’s breadth. In his inimitable style Ferguson was once spending time in front of the statue, observing it, examining it and measuring it. An amused Australian tourist asked him what he was doing. Happy that he had got a victim, Ferguson explained to him that since the New York Port was being developed the Statue of Liberty was likely to be shifted. It was indeed a sad thing, but inevitable. The Australian was angry that the Americans in their commercial mindset made light of such a great memorial. In the course of the talk, Ferguson cleverly put across his bait for the tourist to bite. Why not get the Statue for a paltry sum and transport it to Australia so as to install it there? The Australian was fascinated by the idea. Not long after that he arranged a hundred thousand dollars as payment for the Statue. But better sense prevailed when his bank asked him to consider the proposal in detail before spending so much money. As the Australian started enquiries, Ferguson made good his escape.

It is indeed harvest time for people like Ferguson when pea brained billionaires walk around with stuffed pockets. How many cheating cases are reported day in day out in our country and elsewhere! Many of those cheated do not complain for fear of humiliation. And even if complaints are made appropriate action is rare. Anyway, such cases will continue as long as there are people out to show off their wealth. It is rarely that money and brains go together. But why should we blame people who cheat to make money? Are not the political parties who give umpteen false promises in their manifestos, promises that can never be implemented, the biggest ever cheats?