A person representing himself as a representative of Premier Mussolini who accepted large sums of money from Warsaw Jews in return for leases on land in Ethiopia has disappeared without a trace, the Polish Telegraphic Agency reported today.
Numerous candidates for emigration to Ethiopia who had paid fees to the purported representative, one Samuel Salvatore, threatened him with an appeal to the police after he had continuously postponed their emigration. When police broke into his office, he and his secretary were gone.
The office was opened on Zamenhoff Street several weeks ago and attracted great interest among inhabitants of the Jewish district, Nalewki.
Salvatore and his secretary informed inquirers that Mussolini had set aside a large tract for Jewish settlers, who could obtain parcels on 99-year leases. He demanded cash fees for information and issued receipts in the Italian language bearing a rubber seal of the Abyssinian Colonization Association.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.