Fresno Weekly Republican (California, U.S.A.)
9 January 1890

Seattle, January 7.
Herbert John Ames, aged 19, who was an inmate of Charles R. Hammond's notorious Cleveland street house in London, and who escaped with Hammond to this country, today made a statement concerning the notorious place and swore to its truth before James A. Hillyer, a notary public, in the presence of several witnesses. Hammond is under sentence of two years in the penitentiary for grand larceny, and the boy who has heretofore been afraid to tell the story because of Hammond's threats of personal violence, now tells it voluntarily. Young Ames was secretary for Hammond and says he wrote many letters to English noblemen, demanding hush money. His sworn statement, in part, is as follows:

"In June, 1888, Thomas Conway, a boy 19 years of age, told me of the existence of the house kept by Hammond on Cleveland street, London, and induced me to go there with him. As the life was an easy one and money plentiful, I remained there until June, 1889, at which time the discovery of the nature of the house forced Hammond and myself to leave London. The house, I was told by Hammond, had been running three or four years, and during the year I was there about twenty men visited the house regularly. Many of these were introduced into the house under false names, and the names of some were never known either to Hammond or myself. Seven of the men I became personally acquainted with. and their names were: Earl of Euston, Lord Arthur Somerset, Robert Jervoice, queen's officer, Dr. Maitland, Percy Stafford, capitalist, Hugh Waglin, banker, and Captain Barbery of the army."