University of South Carolina Libraries
* 1 L Recollections < By Col. D. No. 4. Greatest Inpi It was the great Barnum who said,] "Am-ericans love to be humbugged." That seems true but they are not the Snly admirers of humbuggery, and imposture. Some centuries ago, the; world's greatest Charlaton and imposter, appeared in France and set Europe by,the ears. He, like the subject of this sketch, did not intrude himself ?u/>on the common heart but it was with kings and queens, princes and princesses and all the wealthy blue x, bloods. No one knew whence he came, j f he claimed to have lived always, or: at least, he talked of incidents and peo- I pie who lived hundreds of years ago with as much ease and accuracy as of yesterday. He told fortunes and to iiis devotees he explained mysteries that the hearer thought forever locked in their breast. He could tell what was happening in a strange city hundreds of miles away, could unlock every mystery a century ago, could >turn base metals into gold, etc. His name was Cogliostro, and was accord- | I ed the title of prince of imposter. wei would not think the cold phlegmatic czar of Russian, Nicholos the 11th, easy to be imposed upon, yet since twenty-five years ago, a Frenchman dup^d him. He claimed to hold communion with the secret powers, could > cure diseases, tell the future, could fc scent danger and ward it off, could f even make one's wishes come to pass. All this he imposed upon the czar for nearly two decades living in his palace | -^as one of the family and forever traipsing at the czar's heels, the latter discharging his two physicians to make way for this baseless character. But when he proposed to have brought to the royal ruler a male heir apparent and instead another princess came, Philip, for such wa? his name, fell into ill repute and sent away in disgrace. The subject of this sketch, Lord Gordon-Gordon, of Scotland, made his appearance in Minneapolis in the late seventies, when the Northern Pacific railroad was struggling for existence, and wanted money. Col. Loomis, the land agent of the railroad had millions of acres of the finest lands to sell along the proposed road, but no buyer. Thpsp lands were government grants in aid of C5e trans-continental road. .< Every inducement was offered for Eul ropean immigrants. Just at this W psycological crisis, Lord Gordon-Gordon, with a retinue of secretaries, valets, barbers and a score of servants appeared upon the scene, and almost monopolized the greatest hotel in the city. By way of a starter h-e deposited I in a local bank $40,000 in hard cash. In a day or two he had it noised anound. (he himself as becomes royal f^ty, kept his apartments,) that he was Lord Gordon-Gordon, cousin of the great house of Cambells, and heir to the great earls of Gordon and a near relative of Lord Byron. Ke had it further noised abroad that he was on the lookout for large bodies of good land on which he might.settle his congested tenants, on his estate in Scotland and would take 500,000 acres of land or more from the Vailroad if they would spare so much. I When Col. Loomis heard this, it is said he threw three consecutive fits, aDd fell at the feet of ths great thier, i and said, "my benefactor, my savior." i Now much of this road had been A built by Dutch capital money the far mers, -dairymen and artisans had deposited in savings banks and had Besought investments in this road. But ^ Kt had run short so this is why the^ railroad authorities hailed the new-1 ^Rcomer as their savior. Col. Loomis called the directors tor gether from the East and laid plans I Hb before them by which they might an- J HBgle for this rich lord. They bade him 1 ^B?o ahead and spare no expense. He ^ j Ikvas feted, banqueted and great dui- j lalo hunts were given in his honor Ind the railroad world bowing down to him in honor. . When his lordship gave it out that he was ready to lay out the land and town sites on which to settle his k crowded tenants the fun began. Would Wl not a layman think, "why di I not these B lailroad potentates inform themselves I of the genuineness of this reported &?rd before going to such enormous ^^Hzpense to amuse him?" The question easy. The Democratic American B Kps royalty as well as the Britisher. B Wk Loomis had "carte-blanch-e" to ^HRare no expense. He oiganized ail expedition that in spectacular and ^ gorgeoLsness, equalled in splendor the ^ eouipage cf some oriental potentate. ^ Twenty or thirty of the most expert guides and hunters were pressed into Bp service, thirty or forty horses and a! w for Ms lordship and others 1 V for his secretaries, valets, barbers, etc. j ??a?mbpi m iinil i *i f?mm iw ju'i rf a Long Life A. Dickert oster of the Century u i A marvelously decorated wall tent, in which was the finest china and silver service, was set apart for his highness. From M-exico came choice fruit for his lordship's exclusive taste, curacoa from the spice islands, monopole from abroad, nothing too costly nor difficult to obtain for Lord Gordon-Gordon 1 U.. ? - AA AAA WUU was iu uuy ovv,vuv aiics ui iauu from the Northern Pacific. Wagon loads of rifles was followed by packs of deer hounds in which the party was to engage in the excitement of the chase. A wagon load of boats and fishing tackle were carried along so that when camp was struck along the river or mountain laKcr His iordsnip might while away the *ln toying with the mountain breams or trout in the lakes. For three months did this swindler lead Col. Loomis and his layout through the wilderness, hunting, fishing and eating of the delicate j viands of the world all at the expense j of the Northern Pacific laying out' thousands of acres of land, town sites j church and school house sites, naming | " " ? t-- ?~ i i tn-em an as ne wtui aiuug. In the meantime he extracted small j loans of several thousands of dol-! lars from Col. Loomis while his re- j tinue ran riot with the shop keep-ers, j until the lord's remittances arrived.1 Does it look possible that such a fraud could be perpetrated upon a corpora-.1 tion of sucjj gigantic proportions and, such an array of tal-ented dignitaries as the Northern Pacific at that time 1 possessed? But he did it and more in a few months in the east. Col. Loomis spent $45,000 on the trip outside of the loans and shop keepers accounts and told the directors it was money well spent as the lord vas one" of their richest clients and would in all probability invest $500,000 if not several millions with them. The trip over, he had urgent busi-1 ness in New York for which place he left early one morning after drawing his $40,000 from the bank the evening before. Of course all his and his servafftsHcTebt remained I. O. U. He struck New York, the. financial ! metropolis of the new world, at the same psycological moment that he had found at Minneapolis. The great wHo railroad war was on. This, at that time, was the biggest system in the world with the wizard of finance, Jay Gould, at its h?ad. He and his i conferees were about to be downed by a great syndicate with Generals Dix j and Sickles at the helm. $30,000,000 1 were at stake. The road was about to be sold, Gould and Col. Scott, the leading luminaries in possession, wera being forced to the wall, soott was at that ime tHe leading railroad magnate of the world and Gould the wealthiest and shrewdest financier then on the continent. The road somehow had got into the 1 on/? hie Tordshin saw an onen WUi CO U"u **4V - w - ? ? ing whereby he could take a hand. Renting whole suites of rooms in the most fashionable hoteLin the city, the Metropolitan, he there -"nstalled, himself with his great suite of equerries, secretaries, and valets in all the, pomp and paraphernalia of a lord to j the "manor born." Horace Greely. j then editor-in-chief of the greatest newspaper in the country, soon tn j become candidate for the presidency of these United States, and dies of a broken heart a few months after his defeat, heard of this visiting noble? ? ~r.j+v. +v>? limn rvf Alnrlin visitinsr ! Hid II Willi LUC luuiji W*. " ^ Tn hfs sumptuous quarters. Gree!v fell on the neck of this blatan imft>?T?r. The spurious Gordon-Gordon. *>eir of the great e^ii of Gordon and de-! scendent of the bold and warlike Loch-! invar, told Greely of his great pur-, chase of lands in the west, his town- ; sites, ?tc., of the congested condition of his tenants, of his purpose to build a palatial residence near New York in wlr'cli nobility misrht be -entertained when they visited plebian Am?rica, and incidentally dropped out. to the erpqt. editor thp fact of his having sixty t.housv* cha^^s jn hi<! nwri . risrht and fifteen or twenty thousand morp h^loneins: to relatives and , friends wh'ch he was to use as proxy, i Heavens!" thought Greely. This is the ! controlling power! Gordon-Gordon is master of the whole system. Share being worth $1,000. Greely sent for Gould and Scott and told th-em of this great lord's presence and no, devotees of the prophet ever humbled themselves before the shrine of Allah as did thes* great magnates crawl before this thieving imposter and implored mercy and assistance. Does that look possible in free America with Jay Gould, Tom Scott and Horace Greoly ravine in +h^ Htlo role? I do not remember all the details but, "r ' I Lord Gordon made Jay Gould write out his resignation as president of Erie and put it in his vest pocket, promising in future to riak-e him chairman of the board of directors. He further promised to have some laws ; passed at Albany to the benefit of the road in which there would be considerable expense his personal expenses were very large and he demanded one J ino o mnmoratinn IIUU1UI1 uunaia ao a, ? . Gould assumed half of this sum and i pushed across the table $310,000 worth of gilt edge securities and $140,000 in cold cash. The next morning he sent to his lordship $60,000 more in cash as the swindler did not think the securities would bring th-eir face value. Gould took not the scraping of a pen ar. o r?r?oirit fnr this vast Tlile Of ?OOd CI, *VVV*i/v - ^ - W, _ money, the sacred word of his lordship was ample. Instead of taking this half million dollars shoved into his hands and go to parts unknown, (no law could touch him) he wished to play royalty yet awhile longer and to his undoing. Now all these transactions took place when j neither had seen the other exceeding | a week. oGrdon-Gordon began to | throw his securities upon the market I in Philadelphia and for some breach I of contract. Gould hailed him into court. There, for hours he answered all ouestions as fast as David Dudley I Fields, the greatest lawyer of the i times, could throw at him. He told j his pedigree, of his relatives with royalty in England, of the bond holders in France and Holland, whose stock he represented, of his estates in Scotland, his vast purchases in Minnesota and Dakota, etc., with as much "sangj froid" as rehearsing a fishing story. J The court was adjourned until twelve! ? 1 - ->i i next day. Tnen, ana oniy uieu, uiu i Jay Gould think of enquiring into his antecedents. In reply to his cablegrams asking of Lord Gordon, he was laughed at. There was no such person, but this spurious nobleman, filled to a dot "one Lord Glgncairn" who! as representing this wealthy nobleman, had swindled the jewelers of Scotland out of $125,000 worth of gems, and had fled to parts udkhowu. A large standing reward was offered for his apprehension. Lord Gordon-Gordon fled to Canada, some distance over the border from Minneapolis. For his rascalities there a troop of kidnappers were formed out of the best men in the city. They crosshnrripr in lisht, fast running wagons, reached the house at which! his lordship was resting, arrested him | and started South. But they were overhaul-ed by a party of Canadian officers, the kidnappers carried back, and placed in dungeons from which they were relunctantly released after j months of confinement by the intercession of President Grant. Gould Kafl offered $25,000 for Gor-1 don's arrest and some shrewd detectives obtain extradition papers, track-! ed him to his lair, in a des-erted house, | in an out of the way neighborhood in! Canada. When the officcrs came upon j n?orrv Vip Ffle asleen. On beingj men nuui * j us/ .. ?^ aroused and told of their mission the spurious lord asked to be allowed to finish his nap, it lacking an hour to j noon. He with his valet, went into an 1 inner chamber to dress and pack for the journey. Detectives guarded everv avenue of -escape. For a long time all j was still within, when a pistol shot ' rang out and on forcing an entrance ; the officers found his lordship dead.! ' * ? rifill . a ball in his brains, me pistui suu, smoking: in his hand. It was learned afterwards this great j imposter was the illestimate son of a minister, his- mother a aomestic in the house. Many Men Out of Jail Aided by Chi-; eago Man. j I i Superintendent F. Emory Lyon, of: the Central Howard association, Chi-j cago, is big brother, or "first friend,"; to probably as many, if not more paroled prisoners than any other man; in the country. Yet the association which he heads is comparatively ob- ; scure. This is partly because the work it does, can be better done in a quiet, unostentatious manner, says the Unroll TTrtdpr thp narole V^ili itMiail jlx^luiut vmmv- Jlaws of the States in the middle west,! ! certain prisoners may be released on, condition that some individual qualified as "first friend" guarantees employment and general oversight of the one thus given his liberty. Hundreds of prisoners appeal to this association J for such help. Mr. Lyon either signs - * i me papers or appruveu apyuvomo "first friend" or secures them employment. The work of the organization is not j confined, however, to merely released prisoners and standing by them until they get upon their feet. It champions the cause of the friendless ntlmr TUfl vs. Those I iu vkuv. .. ?~- ? brought before the courts without friends or funds to aid them in their i effort to secure justice have found helo 3"^ practical encouragement from Mr. Lyon and the Central How-. ard association. Destitute farrtilies of prisoners are frequently provided for, and better laws for the handling and care of prisoners have been, placed on the statute books because ; of this earnest work. Form Base Ball League. Laurens Advertiser. A regular base ball league was organized at a meeting held last week when the Lvdia and Clinton Cotton mills teams of Clinton, the Newberry Cotton mill and the Watts Mill team went into an agreement to play according to a definite schedule during the coming summer months. The games wil be played -each Saturday, a game being on each of the home grounds about every other week. All of these mills have well organized teams and some fast games are expected during the summer. The players are already getting rounded out into shape, several games having been played already preparatory to the season's opening. The games here will be played on the Watts Mill grounds. Mr. Bob Walker of Laurens is one of the directors of the new league. NOTICE TO THE PUBLIC. At the meeting of the last legislaA **4- nnpnA/l nnnfninirnr +Vl a CUJLC d 11 ALl wao V/Uinanuu^ following language: 'No supplies shall be bought or expenses incurred on behalf of the county except with the consent of the county supervisor" The'purpose of this Act is to keep tbe county expenditures within the appropriations fixed by lsw, and as the county supervisor is chafed with tins uuty, ueieaiici nu \;ia.nii agaiuoi. the courfty will be approved unless the supplies bought or expenses incurred are bought or incurred as provided by said act. W. A. Hill, Supervisor Newberry County. April 4, 1913. ltaw-3t.. PROPOSALS WANTED FOR LOAN. - By Section 11 of Act of General Assembly of State of South Carolina entitled "An Act relating, to the Fiscal affairs of County of Newberry" and passed at the session of JL913, the commission therein created was directed to advertise for proposals to take up certain railroad obligations from the sinking fund commission by assignment and also proposals to loan said county a sum sufficient to pay off past indebtedness. The said commission by said section is also directed to advertise for proposals to loan to said county a sufficient sum to take up cer tain railroad honas maturing January 2, 1913. The railroad obligations held by the State sinking fund commission are represented by three notes upon which be due April 25, 1913, the following amounts, namely: No. 1, $15,313.33; No. 8, $5,401.15; Xo. 9, $2,688.94. (A small balance of late tax collections will slightly reduce the above amounts.) rTTI ? nnrtt.n(.on17 +n nOTT nff ! me cUiiUUIl L UCCOOcai j IV t>a.j past indebtedness is $20,000.00. Three | bonds maturing January 2, 1913, upon which will be due April 25, 1913, the sume of $1000 each with interest from January 2nd. 7 per cent. The sinking fund commission bein gdirected by act of General Assembly to call in certain loans made to counties, the undersigned will receive proposals until April 25, 1913, for the several loans mentioned above, the right being reserved to reject any and all proposals. For further information address either of the undersigned at Newberry, S. C. I W. A. McSwain, /~* nhoirman J no. Ks. UUggftUD, Secretary. 4-8-4t-ei. MERCANTILE STOCK FOR SALE. By virtue of the authority given me in a deed of assignment from William P. Allen, and under the authority of a resolution passed at a meeting of the creditors of the said William P. Allen, on April 2, 1913, I will sell at Chappells, S. C., on Monday, the 21st rla-tT nf An-ril 1Q13 at 10 o'clock a. m.. v. "i-"' ? - - | the mercantile stock and fixtures of the said William P. Allen, situate in the store room, recently occupied by the said William P. Allen, the same to be sold to highest bidder for cash. The stock of goods iventories $675.86, and fixtures $156.75. The said inventory may be seen by calling on the undersigned at his office at'Newberry, ' S. C. I Eugene S. Blease, Assignee ad Agent of Creditors. 4-4-3t-ltaw. STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, COUNTY OF NEWBERRY. By C. C. Schumpert, Esquire, Probate *udge. WHEREAS, W. L. Schumpert hath ( made suit to me, to grant him letters ? of administration of the estate of and < effects of J. J. Schumpert, 1 THESE ARE THEREFORE to cite and admonish all and singular the kin- < Ladies' Handb Purses We have on display beautiful line of Ladie and Purses which we fering at very reason Prices from 10c Bags and Purses oi scription. See our disp "More Goods for Lei MAYES' C Book & Km The HOOSE of 1.000 A I Reunion United Confederate Aiken, S. C, A] Exceedingly Low Excursion Southern Rc PREMIER CARRIERS T] c r from ail points in juuui v Asheville, Marion, Statesville, and Augusta, Ga, and intermediate po Tickets will be on sale April 2 limit returning to reach starting po midnight, April 26, 1913. For the accommodation of vet centering in Columbia A SPECIAL TRA Will be operated on the follo\ APRIL 22: Leave Columbia " Cayre " Arthur " Lexington 4 4 Barrs " Gilbert " vSummit 4' Leesville li TRo+ocVmrcr j.yabwtyv?' ^ " Monetta " Ridge Spring " Wards " Johnston 4' Trenton AriiveAiken Ample coach equipment will be pro1 trains to comfortably handle the extra tra1 An inteiesting programme i? arranged of the veterans and their friends. A rare opportunity to visit the beautift of Aiken. I For full Information as to excursion fa apply to ticket agents Southern Railway < L. D. ROBINSON, W. E. M Columbia S. C. S. H. McLEAN, D. P. A., Coli HIB6AND mi k MM HIGHEST MARKET PRII P li ^ FOR RAW FURS AND H fl | SUV Wool on Commission. Writ* list mentioning this ad. JOHN WHITE & CO. LOUISVILLE,"Y. Ired and creditors of the said J. J. if any the Bchumpert, deceased, that they be and istration ippear before me, in the Court of Pro- GIVEN oate, to be held at Newberry, S. C., on day of A April 17, next sffcer publication, at 11 o'clock in the forenoon, to show oautt, agsand I l 0 I a large and | s' Handbags I are now of- I able prices. I to $5.00 # F every delay window. ;s Money." Varietv ttore. things I TCicimuB pr. 23-24 i Rates Via tilway HE SOUTH Carolina, including Salisbury, N. C., ints. I, 22 and 23, final int not later than / erans and visitors ! > . lIN ring schedule 3-?? P. m. 3-05 P. m. I . 3.20 p. m. | ; 3.28 p. m. | 3-35 P. 3-47 p. m. ; 3-52 P. m. 4-03 p. m. x m % > 4*0S P? 111 4,20 p. m. 4.28 p. m. 4-37 P. m- \ 4-45 P- m 5-00 P- m 6 00 p. m.. rided 011 all regular vel. for the entertainment il and hospitable city .res and train service Hr 3r IB cGEE, A. G. P. A. Columbia, S. C. I i umbia, S. C. ;y have, why the said adminshould not be granted. under my hand, this 2nd \ .pril, Anno Domini, 1913. C. C. Schumpiert, J. P. N. C.