RUDOLPH MAS1 CRIMIN Man of Culture and Re Forger Throu Exci A criminal for the pure love of i' A crook who "played the game not from a desire for gain, ^ n( through the demands of dire nece sity, but frpm sheer longing for tl zest and excitement of the chase. Originally from an excellent fam iy, with independent means, equippe with a splendid education and wit abilities that would have insured success in almost any branch of hoi est endeavor, it seems almost unb> lievable that any one would choo< insrpari a. career of crime merely f( the thrill that accompanied the di ception of his victims and that t gained in eluding the officers of tt law. Yet, such, in brief is the record < Rudolph Masling, linguist, artist, e: pert accountant and mining enginee man of letters, and last, but by e means least, master forger, lately a rested in New York after a series < spectacular swindles successfully e: ecuted, says the Pittsburg Leader. His case has attracted the attei , tion of medical men and psychol* gists, who are striving to ascertai the fundamental causes that lie b< hind his peculiar crinkle. They ha\ found that there is no apparent ou ward cause for the man's evidei moral deformity. He is sober, industrious and a( dieted to none of the dangerous drug that make their victims morally, not legally, responsible for their act Moreover, his medical history show nothing, either in his own life or i that of his immediate ancestry, whic might offer an explanation for h strange criminal tendencies. His case seems to be entirel unique. According to his own statementthis is borne out by the records c the police?it is no more possible fc Masling to refrain from his illeg; acts than it would be possible for morphine victim to renounce tb drug which enslaves him. He reco? nizes his danger and knows that dif grace must inevitably follow a coi tinuance of the habit but is utterl unable to forego its delights. So it seems to be with Masling. H recognized that his ultimate disco^ ery and conviction were absolute! certain, yet declared it to be impo: sible for him to reform. Perhaps the best that can be sai of him is that apparently he i anxious to make every amend in h: power for his misdeeds, the best proc of which is, that he voluntarily gav himself up to the police. Had h wished he could easily have escape ?at least for a time?and he coul speedily have satisfied the demand of his dupes and rnaae resuiuuuu i the money his big operations had coi them. "It's the only thing for me to do, he told the police lieutenant to whoi he surrendered himself. "As Ion as I'm out I can't help being crook. I don't know why it is, I don need the money, I have every reaso to keep 'straight.' "But I "love the excitement of i It's like the 'dope' habit with m< I've lost a wife and friends throug my weakness, but I can't stop bein 'crooked.' So I guess maybe the be; thing for me is to do anoth* 'stretch.' This one will be a Ion one and it may cure me." The police, nowever, nave soil doubts of this, for Masling's recor of wrongdoing is a long one. He now 52 years old and has served i least three terms in prison. On eac occasion after being liberated he hi lived honestly for some time, ar then the fatal fascination for the e: citement of his illegal art has clair ed him. Even if he is now convicted und< the "habitual criminal" act and giv* a ten-year sentence, the police d clare he will resume his old-tin operations once he has served h time. They, look upon his crimin failing as a form of mania, and it this which physicians and psychol gists who have been studying Ma ling are trying to ascertain. Apparently Masling lacks all sen: of control when the desire to comm forgery assails him. It is like a di ease, which remains dormant for i determinate periods, only to retu: with an increased force to wrack ai wreck its victim, as malaria, in ce tain forms, returns again and aga to those who have contracted it. According to Masling's stateme to the police, certain signatures ha' a fascination for him that is actual uncanny. He is unable to think anything else until he has sucees fully imitated the handwriting th attracts him. And such signatures are usual those which are considered to off the greatest difficulties to the forg( JNG IS A AL FROM CHOICE c:~ j. ^ ^ M^i-^ IllieillCill UCLU1UC9 CL 11UICV, gh His Love for fement. t! ' The average man's chirography doe , ' not interest this unique penman? )r perhaps because it can be copied to< s- readilv. ie It was this that .brought Maslini to his present plight. As long as th< i- head of the large manufacturing concern in which he had held a trust -h ed position for more than two year a attached his signature to the firm'! checks, Masling remained honest e_ The signature was a simple one anc * one that even a tyro might havi )r copied successfully. Therefore Mas e- ; ling had no desire to imitate it. ie ! Snpnkin^ five lanaruaeres fluently ie able and discreet, Masling .speedil: became the firm's confidential man j His employers knew nothing of hi! {prison record and counted him a val r? uable addition to their organization 10 They paid him handsomely and this r_ : with some private means which Mas i ling possessed, made his position ar enviable one from every point o I : view. 1_: Then the head of the concern de > | cided to relinquish some of the re n' sponsibilities of the business anc turned over the detail of attendins "e to the checks to one of his partners t" At once Masling became restless anc discontented. He eyed the new sig mature apprehensively and wit! dread, for he knew that his fata >s weakness would compel him to essaj i its imitation. . s-! Every time a check passed through 's his hands, which was frequently, ir n his position of trust, he pored ovei 11 i the signature. Then he would rej cover himself with an effort and senc i the checks to' the bank before the y j temptation became too great to bear I All these things he has told bott ? | his former employers and the police )f and the former have confirmed then )r j in nearly ever particular, in so fai j as it is possible for them to do so. a For two months Masling resistec ie temptation. Then he commenced tc | practice his employer's signature. Foi 3": awhile the mere act of imitating i1 1_ satisfied this strange criminal, anc ? s then he began placing it on the firm's j blank checks. e Having full change of the books 7~ j and enjoying the complete confidence y; of his employers, it was an easy thin: 5~1 to obtain money, whenever he wish led, without exciting suspicion. He ^ j had no need of the money himself is : and what he gained in this way he ^ usually squandered or gave 'away i Yet, with his own money, Masling e ! was always frugal and economical. e j All the time that he persisted ir ^ I his illegal operations he had a comd | fortable balance at his own bank. The j salary that, he received from his em)f: plovers was more than ample for all his needs. And in addition to all thi< he was left a legacy of close to $10,000 by a relative in Germany. 11! Yet he could not resist the temptaS tion to counterfeit the signature thai a j fascinated him. He knew it was 't j wrong. He suffered agonies of ap n ! prehension and regret for the wrong i hp was dome men who trusted anc ! ? --- t j had been kind to him. But he coul^ 2-1 not stop. h ; The very danger that attended his ? I efforts to deceive, held the secret o: ; the fascination, which led him agaii 'r | and again to pursue his nefarious S | practices. He grew bolder and bold I er. if his employers had not truste( 'd him so implicitly they must have be is | come suspicious of him long before it j Even when they knew that some | thing was wrong they did not sus ts! pect him. lcI | Instead they took him into thei x- confidence and asked his advice as t< a- the best way of discovering the cul prit. ? This final proof of their regard fo: in him was too much for Masling. With e-; out formality he made a clean breas of the whole matter. He feared t< is wait, lest his suddenly formed reso al lution should forsake him. is : At first his employers refused b o- ! believe him. His action seemed in s-1 credible to them. Then they calle< in an expert accountant and his initi se al investigation showed that Mas lit: ling's statement was correct in ever; s- [ essential detail. His operations, ex n-; tending over half a dozen months, to rn j taled many thousands of dollars, id > Yet they were loth to prosecute r-1 Masling agreed to make restitutioc in j in so far as his private means per | mitted. And his employers wer nt j even willing to permit him to remai ve | with them though, of course, not i ly ; his former responsible position, of But Masling feared to accept thei >s- proffered generosity. He declare at that he knew his strange weaknes : would assuredly return. So withou ly! consulting his superiors in any waj er he gave himself up to the polic< jr. charging himself with forgery in th DIES PROM GUNSHOT WOUND. * Harvard Long is Accidentally Shot f ^ Play by Cleo Shull. Lexington, March 1.?Harvar Long. 12-year-old son of Mr. and Mr I Wade Long, was shot and mortal) wounded about 4 o'clock yesterda afternoon within a short distance c his parents' home, by Cleo Shul aged about 15, his schoolmate. Th shooting is said to have been the r< s suit of the accidental discharge of _ shotgun. ' The wounded lad was gii ) en medical attention immediately an was later rushed to a hospital in C( r lumbia, where, at 11 o'clock las ~ night, he died. The entire load too r effect in the groin, the shot havin ] been fired within a distance of abor six feet, it is said. The children had ben attendin school yesterday and after the clo: j ing hour they went to the mail bo: a a short distance from the housi carrying the gun with them, or eithe young Shull or Taylor, another bo nortir hoH the fllTV Tt lft S3 1 ill Lli^? yen. tj 9 auu V4*\/ o"*** ? ~ ? ? ' that the boys were playing with th gun and had been pointing it s 3 each other in play. Murphy-Bull. , Of interest to their many friend - was the marriage of Miss Daisy Mui 1 phy, of Midway, Bamberg county, t f Edwin Bull. Only a few friend were present at the ceremony. In - mediately after the marriage th - couple left for Cameron, their futur 1 home. Miss Murphy is a young wc J man of many graces and numbei . many among her friends. Mr. Bu I is a progressive farmer of the Can - eron community.?Orangeburg Sun. i 1 first degree. "It's the best way," he sums u his case. "As long as I'm out c i prison I can't keep from wrong." i The story that he told the polio r and to his employers is a strange on< - Even as a boy it seems he was ol 1 sessed by the same peculiar per ? chant for imitating the handwritin of others which proved so serious fc i him in later jears. , According to his statement, whe i he was only 12 years of age he s * successfully forged the handwritin of the school principal in a note t 1 the father of another pupil who wa ) a member of the school board as t r cause an upheaval in the school. Th t principal naturally denied the ai 1 thority of the note. There- were r< ? criminations and accusations an finally the principal resigned his p( 5 sition. J It was not until nearly a year late ? that the facts came out, and then : - was too late to do anything. And th i sole reason that impelled Masling t , utter #this forgery was his dislike c * the school principal and the weir fascination which his handwritin J possessed for him. From time to time during his late i years the fatal attraction which ce] - tain handwritings exercised over hii J resulted in his imitating them, be - never criminally, according to hi 1 statement, until* fifteen or sixtee 5 years ago. Then the danger that ai - tended the passing of forged pape appealed to him even more strongl than the pleasure he enjoyed in su< t cessfully imitating another's chiro? 3 raphy. In the meantime he had married >r well-to-do girl and was engaged in I prosperous mining business in Penr I sylvania. His strange obsession le him into difficulties and he wa 3 forced to seek other fields for hi f efforts. * It was at this time that he firs 3 commenced his criminal operationi - Beginning on a small scale, he soo increased his forgeries until the 1 reached considerable proportion - His success was such that, as eve the cleverest criminals are sure t - do, he at last overreached himse - and got into the hands of the polici As Charles Winkler he was sei r tenced to two years and six montt "> on a forgery charge in Newark i - 1899. His wife, believing that tt punishment would effect a cure < r his strange malady, remained loyi - to him during his incarceratioi * ? ' 1 snaring Wltri Ilim me uiaia Ui ixvxu 3 down the disgrace after his releas For three years after the expiri tion of his prison term he refraine ^ from practicing his dangerous fa - ulty. He made money and ever; 3 thing seemed to be running smoothl - when temptation again assailed hir He was caught and in October, 190 y was sentenced in New York city 1 > serve five years in Sing Sing prisoi Then his wife determined that thei was no help for him, and refused 1 associate with him further, b And now for the third time he in the toils, this time by his ow e wish. As he says: "Perhaps it's tl n best way." While he remains as 1 a is, he is far too dangerous to tl community to be at large, r Meanwhile physicians and alienis s are striving to determine whether 1 s should not be incarcerated in son institution other than the State pri r, on, for it may be that his is on 3, some strange form of mania whic e proper treatment would cure. IN TIME OF PEACE. g it Germany's Railroads Always Ready 1 for War Move. H d In these days, when we hear of g s. mobilization from all quarters, it is w y interesting to note the continual pre- * .y paredness of Germany in all matters ? )f pertaining to railway transit. She ? 1, holds with the maxim that "He who | e strikes first strikes twice." At all times, even when there is no S a talk of war in the air, there is locked g up in every German stationmaster's 2 d desk a set of war time tables?a sep- S >- arate time table for every country g with which a war is possible, includ- j? k ing France, Britian and Russia, while ? S even Austria-Hungary is not exempt, g R- Whenever war is declared, every sta- 2 tionmaster picks out the particular j | S time table required, and at once all j & 3- the trains run automatically on "war gj time," and.for war purposes. Each g - time table is revised once a year, in g T order to fit in with any alteration 3 v thot mar harp hppn ma dp in the ^ d plans of campaign. Each man liable i e to serve in the reserve is in posses- ?j it sion at all times of a warrant for g travel, and when war breaks out does | not require to wait for instructions, ? but must report himself at once to his | s particular territorial depot, or at ? r_ latest by 10 o'clock on the morning] ^ 0 following the declaration of war. 1 Otherwise he is liable for a heavy | penalty. ? e All carriages are marked with the | , number of soldiers they cap carry. ? trucks with the size and weight of ? ,s cannon that can be loaded on them, II and the number of horses that can be & ^ taken on each vehicle. ? Of course, all the railways belong ? _ to the State, and this simplifies mat- | ters; but in time of war everything . p gives way before the army.?London j Tit-Bits. Program for State Teachers' Associa3. tion in Columbia. ) ^ R. C. Burts, president of the State Teachers' Association of South CaroUna, announces that the plans and program for the meeting to be held in Columbia March 13 and 14 are completed. Below is given an outline of the program, which promises 0 to be one of the most interesting and Lg helpful that has ever been held. Teachers from the entire State will e be present and indications are that there will be a record breaking ats_ tendance. " d On the opening evening the principal address will be made by former Superintendent of Education O. B. 4-V?/\ noef f^nr v^orc kj, *\1 . | Still Another Load We received the first of this week another load of Horses and Mules direct v from the markets of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee, and are as pretty a lot as we have ever had the pleasure of j handling. While in town attending 1 court come in and look them over; it will cost y.ou nothing. I M J I C1WA A VRailroad Avenue I 1 J* JlUUnlV, Bamberg,...S. C. | 1 ^ 1 ^=o=oeno=N | V NOMINATING BLANK ^ I POPULAR VOTE CONTEST ' 1 1913 J I hereby nominate or suggest the name of I ! Address j ;' As a lady worthy to become a candidate in your jj Popular Voting Contest. I present this name with fl I the distinct understanding and agreement that the 1? a editor shall not divulge my name. This does not 1 j a ji ODiigate me in auy w