The herald and news. (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937, April 18, 1913, Page FIVE, Image 5
* 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.