The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-20 00:00:00

A GREAT AMERICAN SWINDLER

Since the immense frauds perpetrated by Charles B.
Huntington on brokers in Wall-street have come to light,
there is no small share of curiosity in the public mind to
learn how it is that he could have been so successful in his
rogueries In that place of sharpers. The frauds committed
by Schuyler two years ago were easily comprehended. He
was the president. of a railroad company, and intrusted
with the issue of its stock, and the simplest mind could
understand how, with implicit confidence reposed in him,
he cool 1 over-issue stock to almost any amount. Hut in the
ease of Huntington—whose neine has been•for the last two
weeks before the public—it is difficult to coinpreitend bow
he, who was unknown in financial circles a year or two
ago, could have succeeded in victimising the note shavers
of Wall-street to the amount of some half a million dollars.
The mode by which he did so we will try to explain.
The first trace that we can find of Mr. Huttington's con-
nection with financial matters dates back only so, tar as
1852, when he and two or three other indiyideals fell into
the hands of the police in the city for the share which
they had in getting up a fraudulent shinplaster concern,
under the title of the, "Farmers' and Merchants' Bank or
Georgetown, D.C." indictments were found against him
and his accomplices on that occasion,, but they were
never brought to trial, on account—as appears from an
endorsement on the bill—of some informality or incom.
pleteness in the proof. We next find him, shortly there-
after, having a little box of an office in Wall street, where
he purported to carry on the business of a bill broker in
small retail style. This business consists in acting as a
sort of agent or go-between for brokers oil a larger
scale—that is, he would go le a broker and find
out what he would sell certain notes fer, and
then he would go to another broker and ascertain what
he would give for such notes, and then, if he found
he could reallie any profit by the transaction, he would
buy from one and sell to the other. At this time he boarded
up town with his wife on a modest scale. He agreed to
pay 15 dollars a week for their board, but even this
moderate sum he did not, it is said, find it convenient to
pay. He left that boarding house, and went to tho Metro-
politan Hotel, where he stayed for some time ; but he did
not here indulge in any of this extray.agancies into which
he afterwards launaheid. He subsequently went to the
New York Hotel, where it seems he commenced to be,
more liberal in his expenditures. We afterwaMs find him
ocenpying part of a house in Fifteenth. street, and recently
owning two or three houses in Twenty-second street.
Nothing is more strange in connection with Huntingdon's
career than the fact that he was eo little known in Wall-
street or in commercial circles. Our reporter conversed
to-day with some of the principal brokers in the street
few of them had dealings with him, and most of them had
never heard of him until the time of his arrest. And yet
he could raise half a million of dollars among that 60,6,_
ternity on forged notes, wherein the signatures did not
even pretend to be imitations. The supposition is that it
is only within the last thirteen months that Huntingdon
commenced to operate on forged paper. It may not even
be so long. He had now an office at 52, Wall street,
and professed to carry on the legitimate business of a
note broker. As most of our readers are in blissful
ignorance of the business of note shaving, we will
briefly describe it. commercial firms, even though they
may have large capital, are constantly compelled to pay
by notes on time instead of cash. The accommodation
given by banks is limited; and when they decline to make
more advances on the notes of a firm, billbrokers are
resorted to. These charge more or less discount on the
bills, depending on the credit of the drawer and the
length of time they may have to run before they mature.
The bills of houses in first-rate standing (technically
known as gilt-edged paper) will be discounted at the rate
of 10 or 12 per cent. per annum, while on others not so
well known or truated, the brokers charge a discount of
2 or 3 per cent. per month. It follows, therefore,
that in times •of ordinary commercial prosperity,
when bankruptcies are rare, these shavers make
quite Et handsome profit by their operations.
Huntington was engaged in this capital business.
The profits of the trade, large as they must have been,
did not satisfy him, or were insufficient to enable him to
gratify his extravagant taste for fine houses, costly furni-
ture, splendid equipages, fast horses, and dashing women,
so he resolved to try his hand on that branch of the profes-
sion which had conducted him to .a cell in the Tombs. He
went to work systematically, and used, at first, a good
deal of eaution'to evade detection. He was in the habit
of going to the officer of a broker of high standing, and
purchasing fr ma him notes of firms, sometimes to the
amount of 00,000 dols or 80,00 ) dols in a week. For these
he always paid in certified cheques. He W.V.: an easy,
dashing looking fellow—said the hroker—had always a
cigar in his mouth, and was perfectly cool and
nonchalant in his manner, so that he might very
well impose on one ; but there was something
abqut hire that I could not understand. I could not com-
prehend why he, should come and buy our notes, as we did
not divide the discount with hlm, and he could make
nothing by them. Re afterwards found out the secret of
it. Huntington would buy these notes, duplicate them, sell
the notes again, and use the duplicates as collateral security
in raising money. At first, however, he us-d only the
genuine notes, and as they were always found to, he correct,
he • gradually gained the confidence of those with whom be
had dealiugs. When he had thus completely disarmed
them of all suspicion, he began to use the duplicates or
forged notes. Eta Ain was—he would go into a note
broker's, say he wanted to , borrow 40,000 dollars for
a month or so, for which he would giro his own note of
hand and certain other bills of such and such dates and
amounts as collateral security, and he world leave a
memorandum of these bills. If the broker wanted to
satisfy himself that all was right, be would send to the firm
purporting to be the drawers, and inquire whether they had
out the notes described. They would refer to the books,
tied that they had such notes, and, consequently, the
broker, not doubting that those offered by Huntington were
the real ones, wmild advance the money asked upon them,
With the money thus raised, Huntingtom would make
speculations, or would take up other bills becoming
due, or would u.7,e i t for his private purposes, and thus he
volt on from week to week, and from month to month.
Escaping so often undetected he began to relax in his
exercise of caution. Instead of .buying up genuine notes
and duplicating them, he would sometimes go into a
broker's, ask to look at his paper, run his eyes over the
emeamts, names, arid ,dates of, drawers, and would under-
take, from memory alone, to duplicate iitich as he `thought
best fitted for his purpose, in this, however, be some-
times made a slip, for we find' that Igr, Kane, a broker,
with whom he had extensive dealings, detected bini On
two or timm 9e9asions in offering notes which hi die-

• t.

covered to be forgeries. Why this gentleman did no
, then band over the culprit into the hands of the law is a
question which he will have some difficulty in answering
to the satisfaction of the public. Another booker, holding
a note wh.ch he suspected to,be a forgery, want to the firm
purporting to issue it, and aithough itt was blt a clumsey
imitation of the genuine note, the party, without looking
at it, and by merely referring to the bill-book, declared it
*to be all right. Is
.it any wonder that with such a loose
way of doing business frauds would be perpetrated.? • The
only wonder is that they are pot much more numerous.
The manner in which Hustingten's operations were
biought to light was no less curious than the operations
themselves, and proved him, after all, to be rather careless
and clumsy fora successful practitioner. Among a parcel
of notes which he gave to Beldoa and Co., as collateral
security, in the usual manner, was one of Messrs. Pnelps,
I Dodge, and. Co.; for over 5,000 dols., which note was then
on its face over due. The fact attracted atten'ion, and on
inquiry being made it was pronounced a forgery. And eves
then Huntingdon would not have been brought to justice,
but would have been allowed to go on ad hortituna, were it
not for the firmness and determination of,Mr. Didgo, arid
'his partner, Mr. Stokes. They sought out officer Bowyer.
and obtained his advice and assistance in, the matter; and
j 'although efforts were made to shield Huntington from the
consequences of his acts, they proved futile. lle was arrested
and held to bail in 20,000 dols. The very man on whom he
attempt to pawn the caunterfeit ('sr. Belden) ;became
his surety. Huntington had, previous to his arrest,
' procured 24,000 dole in gold, on his own certified - cheque,
and Ibis sum he lodged in Beldeo's hands as security, to
inducs him to become his bail. Bet next day other a:Hence
of forgeries came in, and he was re arrested. Belden then
procured the cancellation of his bad, and it is said retains the
24.000 dole. Another ourious feature in the transaction is, that
although the total amount of forgeries already ascertained is
544,119 dole 49c, no person can be found to aoknosrledge
that he has been victimised. It is the opinion of experienced
brokers that none of the forged paper was put upon the
market (in fact, it was clumsily imitated for that purpose).
but that it is all in the hands of the banks, and brokers,
with whom he did business. Ho probably, however, did
not raise mire than 300,000 dollars on it. We understand
that a cashier of one of the banks was in the habit of
making Huntington advances out of the drawer on this
p iper, receiving a largo discoun fir it, and was fortunate
to escape loss, and that on hearing of Huntington's arresk,
be went to the president of the bank, gave in his resignation,
tole what he had boon doing, acknowledged that he had
mule large profits thereby, and said that he thought it his
duty to let them know how easily they might be cheated in this
way. And now Huntington is in the Tombs. His trial will
make work for the lawyers, and attract a good deal of
public attention.- It will probably be a nica legal point
whether the lodging these notes as collateral security is
tattainount to uttering them. The penalty for each offence
may be seven years in the State prison, and if convicted on
all, he would require to live as long as old Parr to serve out
his term. In the meantime he seems to be quite indifferent
to his situation. When officer Bowyer informed him that
he came to arrest him, he coolly walked to the mantlepiece,
took up a match, lit the cigar which he had in his mouth,
and walked out with the °fiber in apparent unconcern.
His cell at the Tonilas is richly carpetted and furnished.
His wife's carriage drives down daily, and her care provides
him with sumptuous fare. He has his champagne and hie
Havannahs, and don't seem to let the degradation of his
position weigh upon his spirits. As an insteuCe of his
extravagance, even now, it is said that after dining a day
or two ago he sent up to Thompson's for fruit, and paid as
high as five dollars for five pears. It will be asked what
has become of the proceeds of these extensive forgeries ?
We have given an inkling of the extravagance of this
man, which sufficiently indicates his character in that
respect, and we have net doubt that within the last
two years he has been able to squander all the money
that be had raised by the means we have described.
lie owned two houses in Twenty-second street, costing,
probably; some $25,000. There were furnished regardless
gardless of expsnsea. In one of them he resided with big
family; in the other, not a block distant, he maintained in
grand style a lady of beauty and accomplisments, who was
not his wedded wife. He was fond of Showy equipages
and tine horses,, and outshone all competitors in that line.
It w,ns usual to see his lady driving two in hand, and
himself driving a similar team, side by side. He kept open
house for all his friends, and gave them the use of his
whole establishment, He rarely dined at home, but gene-
rally at some of the fashionable restaurairs, with some
fashionable ladies. At the watering places his lady out-
shone all others in the splendour of her diamonds. It is
said that on the very day of his arrest she bed Fret to his
office, from Niagara .or t4aratoga, a box containing 30,000
dollars trth of jewellery. Her brother took it in charge
and the odium have not since been ab!e to get at it. We
received the other day a oommunieation stating lila he had,
recently bought, at Tiffany and Co.'s, a piece: ill* jewellery,
price 1,800 dollars, for presentation to a lady. Mr.
Tiffany, however, says that this and similar miler state-
manta are exaggerated. With such lavieh cxpewlitr.res A
these extravagant tastes and habits imply, it need not be
wondered what became of the proceeds of the forgeries.
Huntington, like many other people in New York, 'was
determined to live like a prince—no matte: who should
eventually have to foot the bill. Even now, when the crash
that wits to be expected bas come, and when he can reason-
ably look for no ether fate than that of a felon, he does not
lose his recklessness, his indifference. Ho eats his Roo din-
ners and drinks his costly wines in his little cell in the
Tombs, with apparently as much gusto as when 'he phyed
the part of grand seigneur in Twenty-secondetreet ; anti
even there the calamity that had befallen the honsehold
floes not seem to press heavily upon him. There is the same
" sound of revelry by night" as in times when he was flour-
ishing in Wall street. Rut the reaction cannot fail to came
after the giddy excitement of such a life. It is sad to ,con-
template the end of such a brief career of dissipation. vFhe
wealth which his wife supposed, perhaps, to be inexhaustible.
will not Save him from the degradation of a convietbe, lifee
A young man. of pleasing address and rood manners. he
might have lived a life of usefulness, and honestly become
wealthy, as he desired ; but lie could not resist the
temptation of getting rich in a hurry, and the end will be a,
miserable existence in Sing Sing prison. There is a moral
in Huntington's caroer for all classes of oar citizens•—/Yeuk
York Herald.

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