The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-19 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 coal have been so sucee3sful 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 could over-issue stock to almost any amount. But in the
case of Huntington—whose name has been for the last two
weeks before the public—it is diffieu:t to comprehend how

he, who was unknown in financial circles a year or two

ago, could have succeeded is victimising the note shavers

of Wall-street to the amount of some half a million dols.

The mode by which he did so we will try to explain.
The first trace that we can find of Mr. Huntington's con-

nection with fimocial matters dates back only so far as
1852, when he and two or three other individuals fell into
the hands of the police of the city for the share which they

had in getting up a fraudulent shinplaster concern under
the title of the "Farmers' and Merchants' Bank of George-
town, 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 indorsement on
the bill—of some informality or incompleteness in the proof.
We next find him, shortly thereafter, 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 on a larger scale—that is, he would go

to a broker and find out what he would sell certain notes
for, and then he would go to another broker and ascertain

what he would give for such notes, and then, if he found
he could realise 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 $l5 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 the Metropolitan
Hotel, where he stayed for some time ; but he did not

here indulge in any of the extravagancies into which he
afterwards launched. Ho subsequently went to the New
York Hotel, where it seems he commenced to be more
liberal in his expenditures. We afterwards find him occu-
pying 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 Huntington's
career than the fact that he was so 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 confrater-
nity on forged notes, wherein the signatures did not even
pretend to be imitations.
The supposition is that it is only within the last 1$
months that Huntington commenced to operate on forged
paper. It may not even be so long. He had now an office
at 12, 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 trusted,
the brokers charge a discount of 2 or 3 per cent. per month.
It follows, therefore, that iu times of ordinary commercial
prosperity, when bankruptcies are rare, these shavers make
quite a handsome profit by their operations. Huntington
.vas
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 caution to evade detection. He was in the habit of goings
to the office of a broker of high standing, and purchasing
from him notes of firms, sometimes to the amount of
$60,000 or $BO,OOO in a week. For these he always paid in
certified cheques. He was an easy, dashing-looking fellow—
said the broker—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
about him that I could not understand. I could not
comprehend why he should come and buy our notes, as
wo did not divide the discount with him, and he could
make nothing by them. He afterwards found out the
secret of it. Huntington would buy these notes, duplicate
them, sell the notes again, and use the duplicates as col-
lateral security in raising money. At first, however, he
used only the genuine notes, and as they were always found
to be correct he gradually gained the confidence of those
with whom he had dealings. When he had thus completely
disarmed them of all suspicion, he began to use the dupli-
cates or forged notes. His plan was this--he would go into
a note broker's, say he wanted to borrow 40,000 doll. for
a month or so, for which he would give his own note of
hand and certain other bills of sach and such dates and
amounts as collateral security, and he would leave a
memorandum of these bills. If the broker wanted to
satisfy himself that all was right he would send to the firm
purporting to bo the drawers, and inquire whether they
had out the notes described. They would refer to the bouks,
find that they had issued such notes, and consequently the
broker, not doubting that those offered by Huntington
were the real ones, would advance the money asked upon
them. With the money thus raised Huntington would
make speculations, or would take up other bills be-
coming due, or would use it for his private purposes ;
and thus he went 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 bro-
ker's, ask to look at his paper, ran his eyes over the
amounts, names, and dates of drawers, and would under-
take, from memory alone, to duplicate sach as he thought
beat fitted for his purpose. In this, however, he some-
times made a slip, for we find that Mr. Kane, a broker,
with whore he had extensive dealings, detected him on
two or three occasions in offering notes which he dis-
covered. be forgeries. Why this gentleman (lid not
then han 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 broker, hold-
ing a note which he suspected to be a forgery, went to the
firm purporting to issue it, and although it was but a
clumsy imitation of the genuine note, the party, with-
out 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 perpe-
trated? The only wonder is that they are not much more
numerous.

The manner in which Huntington's operations were
brought to light was no less curious than the operations
themselves, and proved him, after all, to be rather careless
and clumsy for a successful practitioner. Among a parcel
of notes which he gave to Belden and Co., as collateral
security, in the usual manner, was one of Messrs. Phelps,
Dodge, and Co., for over $5,030, which note was then on its
face over due. That fact attracted attention, and on in-
quiry being made it was pronounced a forgery. And even
then Huntington would not have been brought to justice,
but would have been allowed to go on adjinfinitin, wore it
not for the firmness and determination of Mr. Dodge, and
his partner, Mr. Stokes. They sought out officer Bowyer,
and obtained his advice and assistance iu the matter ; and
although efforts were made to shield Huntington from the
consequences of his acti they proved futile. He was arrested
and held to bail in $20,099. The very man on whom he
attempted to pawn the counterfeit (Mr. Belden) became
his surety. Huntington had, previous to his arrest, pro-
cured $24,000 in gold, on his own certified cheque, and this
sum he lodged in Belden's hands ae security, to induce him
to become his bail. But next day other evidences of for-
geries came in, and he was re-arrested. Bolden then pro.
cured the cancellation of his bail, and it is said retains the
$24,000,

Another carious feature in the transaction is, that al.
though the total amount of forgeries already ascertained is
P 46,119 49c., no person can be found to acknowledge that
he has been victimised. It is the opinion •f experienced
brokers that none of the forged paper was put upon the
market (in fact, it was too clumsily imitated for that pur-
pose), but that it is all in the hands of the banks and
brokers with whom he did business. He probably, how-
ever, did nut raise more than $300,000 on it. We under-
stand that a cashier of one of the banks was in the habit
of making Huntington advances out of the drawer on this
forged paper, receiving a large discount for it, and was for-
tunate enough to escape loss, and that on hearing of Hunt-
ington's arrest, he went to the president of the bank, gave
in his resignation, told what he bad been doing, acknow-
ledged that he hail made 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
wake work for the lawyers, and attract a good deal of pub-
lic attention. It will probably be a nice legal point whether
the lodging these notes as collateral security is tantamount
to uttering them. The penalty for each arom) may be
seven years in the State prison, and if convicted on all, he
would require to live as long as old Parr to servo 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 mantelpiece,
took up a match, lit the. cigar which he had in his mouth,
and walked out with the officer in apparent unconcern.
His cell at the Tombs is richly carpeted and furnished. His
wife's carriage drives down daily, and her care provides
him with sumptuous fare. Ile.bad his champagne and his
Havannahs, and don't seem to let the degradation of his
position weigh upon his spirits. As an instance of his ex-
travagance; even now,lit is said that after-dining a day Or.