Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1857-06-18
mo. 33.
Pennsylvania Pension Fraud.

Pennsylvania Pension Fraud.
The mode in which Judge Vondersmith
managed to cheat the national government
Is stated in the Lancaster Island Times at
some length. 1t seems, like all great
men, the plan pursued by the Judge and
his comrade, George Ford, was very SIM
pie. Vondersmith found out by some
means or other, the name of a Revolution
ary officer or soldier. He then created a
widoD for such officer or soldier-proved
the service, the identity and the existence
of the applicant, by the most respectable
names, all of which were forged, as we'll
as the signatures of the attesting magis-
trates When all this was done, it was
very easy to walk into the Prothonotary's
office and get an unsuspecting officer to
atfix the seal of the Court In this way
the papers were forwarded to Washington
in first-rate order. Everything was COM
pletely made out. OF course the m oney
was forwarded, and Dan spent it like a
Prince. In this way he managed to get
SoO,0UO out of the government Golfers, and
had be taken eight or ten thousand more.
nobody would have been the wiser. The
discovery of the fraud was in this way
The pension act of 1882 gave the widows
of the Revolution soldiers pensions from
the approval of their application. Under
this act Mrs. Long obtained a pension.
In 1850 or 81 another act was passed, by
which persons of this description were al
lowed their pensions for the years between
the passage of the act and the time they ap-
piled for it, with interest. This, in the case
of the fictitious Mrs. Long, amounted to
about eight thousand dollars, but as Von-
dersmith was not aware of the passage of
the act, he never called for it. This set the
pension agents at Washington on the trail
of Mrs. Long, out of whom they expected
to make first-rate fee by procuring for
her this large additional sum. AS SHE had
been dead at least tortyy gears, of course they
could not find her. One of them, in this
dilemma, applied to Vondersmith himself,
charged him with the crime, and it is said
got from him considerable sum to keep
it secret. This pledge of secrecy he viola
ted, and the department set an agent at
work to inquire into matters. This led to
the discovery that Ford had been playing
simalar game, and led to the arrest of
both.
ForjPs operation was small one COM
parcl with this. About 1878 Ford had
obtained pension for an old lady in Lam
caster who was really entitled to it, and had
from her power of cfattorney to draw it as
it became DUE This pension was for Sl6O
per annum, payable half yearly. The old
lady died in 1874, but Ford still continued
to draw the $50 every six months, till he
received 81 500. This was the only fraud
ulent transaction in which Ford was known
to be implicated. at the time he began
to cheat the government he was worth at
least $780, 900, and it is very strange that
young man in such good circumstances
with a lucrative practice should engage in
such hazardous undertaking. For such
conduct there can be no excuse but that of
insanity. On the contrary, when Wonder
smith was admitted to the bar he was very
poor, and deficient in the elementary knowl-
edge necessary for his profession. With
him it was starvation, hard labor, or fraud.
No other course was open; he chose the
latter, and for time seemed to prosper be-
yond precedent Upon the discovery Of
the fraud, both were arrested and gave bail
in the sum Of 81 900 each, which was for
feited by both going to Europe. Last sum-
mer Vondersmith returned home and kept
very quiet until his recent arrest. He is
now confined in Moyamensing prison, at
Philadelphia, awaiting trial. What the
result will be if the government proceeds
against him may be easily predicted
There are fifteen indictments on each of
which, ifconvicted, he may be sentenced for
ten years. Ford, for time, acted as clerk
for John Scherff, of Lancaster, the Ameri-
can Consul at Bremen. Afterwards it was
reported that he had gone to South Amer
lea, where person of the same name, a.
bout half year ago, was either murdered
or committed suicide. Some persons rath-
er positively assert that he, too, was in
Lancaster city some time during the last
winter, but of this there is no evidence to
be relied upon.