, 1864-12-15
| REMARKABLE STORY OF
CRIME.
The Case Of Ernst Guldenfass, the
Prussian F0rgcr.

The Case Of Ernst Guldenfass, the
Prussian Forger.
Forced Loans, Flight, Luxury, Dctec-
uon' Arrest, ,,ra.',atd,, ana Rrobaole Ex-
LFToE1 the New York Evening Post, Dec. 81
The action for the cxtradition of Ernst
Guldenfuss, alias Girard, who Was arrested
last week near Troy, in this State, on aeharSe
Of having committed extensive forgeries In
Prussia, was brought to-day betore United
States Commissioner White, in tafs city.
schmidt, md the representative in this conn-
try Of the Institutions in Germany which have
sustained losses by the forgerics, were pres
cnt.
WHO IS GuLpENFuss?
Ernst 5ulden:uss was broker OF agent at
halle on ahe Saale, Prussia, ! Of the firm Of
Rudolf, Rumme1 d Co., grain merchants, Of
account in the grain and bone tsade. He had
some business connections in other cities in
Germany, but particularly in Leips;c, Saxony.
For several years he had been in the cont
Dental employment Of the house Of a. W.
Barnttson d Son, Of Halle, bankers and
OF business nien and business ntElirs in soyer-
81 Of the German States. He was q person Of
good address and fair attainments; exhibited
a mild aud genial disposition, and made ma
ny friends; and though he lived expcnsivcly,
nobody doubted bis integrity. The men
with whom he dealt gavo him their conf
dence; his reputation wus good wherever be
WAS known and he was supposed to be In oil
respects trustworthy and exemplary citizen.
ou1nEAFCss' PLAN.
It appears that Gu1dcnft1ss became embar
rasscd In business In Germany, and formed
the plan Of obtaining what money he could
and making his way to this country His
scheme was in some respects singular one.
It was, In brief, that he would borrow large
sum without the consent Of tho persons WHO
should lend it; that he would let them know
the facts when he had obtained the money
and was beyond their reach and that finally,
afier aEnassing fortune in the New World,
he would return to Germany nnd repay the
uttermost fArthing. He kept strict account
OF his transactions, which be furnished to his
creditors. The facts, Us they arc represented
in the papers In the case, are as follows:
FORGERY.
Gnldenfuss secures the sum Of 40, 900 thalers
by system Of forgery which he carried into
effect with consnmmate skill, not particular
in regard to the signatures, but in the nego-
tiation and sole of the spurious paper. He
dreXIAany fa1se bills on various houses in
*S1ssia, Saxony, and other German States
fifteen OF the number Pnrporting to be made
By d fnancier named F. Krictsch, and payable
to the order OF Kfietsch, by 4. ". Barnitson
& Son; Others purporting to be drawn by a.
Bretchnietzen, ut Wulfsgrucn, and made pay
able by Schirmcr 81 Schicck, Of 1eipsc; still
others were drawn upon Conrad II Doening,
1t Reicleubach, Saxony.
Trenty.one Of these bills, all signed with
and amounting to sixteen thousand fire hun-
dred and ten tlla1crs, were negotiated at the
house OF Barnitson & Son, Other houses re-
ceivcd some Of the forged paper; but tho in
stitution which took the sum next in amount,
and nearly equal to that delivered to Barnit-
Institution Of the Kingdom Of Sayony."
One Of the singular facts connected with
these forgeries is, that though every signature
and every endorsement Of the names Of the
nlen represented to be principals were sDn-
rious, yet oil OF nearly all Of the dates con-
tanned the extra endorsement or signature.
Ernst Guldenfnss y and it was because Of
the confidence reposed in Guldenluss
signature was known to be genuine, and WAS
considered TO guarantee not only tho genuine
ness Of the other signatures, some Of which
were not known-that the cheat Was success
{ill.
4 LETTER FROM oELpENFuss.
That Gnldenfuss did not, however, consider
the forgerics as swindlins soPcrations, but only
as kind Of 'fosccd k,an," which iil-fortune
rendered imperative, if not excusable, there
IL evidence. He wrote, Just previous to his
departure from Germany, q aremarl1ub1e letter,
Of which the following is literal translation:
HALLE, ON THE SAAIE, lat juno, 1901.
To The General German Credit Institution, Lelp~
Unfortunately, h5 bad pecaniary circumstances,
! am placed Into tue necessity to be compelled to
lcayc my rather1and; and more particularly pre-
tended 70 make A tour.weck1y bathing tour, IN
@ sa.peoo TSs
billie Of exchange recently discounted by you, OF
which make an extract below, are altosetherfab-
trouble Tor hope toay % 70 Be IN s saisty Thctc @
fore redeem the paper, and better keep still about
the whole occurrence. s.-'
turn to my fatherland, and in a better position,
shall refund you the whole principal with interest
YOU will uotla hands on tie couple Of movahles
beg yoa very much ia. 60 torbearing]y 70 work on
Tic court would likely riere for my child and
hs holy to nc. Farewell, then and 10 merciiai.
With the greatest RESPECT. ..-
5snsvsr CexnKxyuss.
At the close was list Of the forgoEies. A.
". Barnitson j. Son received letter Of siml-
lar purpozt.
About the end Of May Gu1dcnf1ss fed from
Halle, but haying given out that he had gone
on his !" "four-weekIy bathing tour the event
did not attract attention. It appears that he
failed to yet on the steamer in which he in
tended to escape to this country. and did not
start until the 5tl. Of June. He sailed on that
day from Bremen in the steamer Hansa. Pre-
vious to his departure he exchanged at Bre-
men fifteen thousand Prussian tAalcrs for
American gold and also obtained genuine
III Of exchange, on Philip spoFers, of this
His companion on the yoyugc rae a young ac-
tress named Niemnnn, who came as his wlIe.
There 1g no positive evidence that le has a
wife In Germany, as has been reported. That
statement came from men who knew Guldaa- I
some circumstances which have lately come
to light, but it is not proved.
IN AMERICA.
On board Of the steamer Gu1denfuss made
the acquaintance ofa young German who had
resided In this country, and with whom he
became intimate; and on their arrival here,
Gnldenfuss went to Hoboken, where, after
the manner Of a large proportion Of his couu-
trymcn Of means and pleasure, he joined the
German Club. nc was introduced into soclc-
~; and through the friend whom he met on
the steamer, became acquainted with some OF
our best known German merchants. tn whose
homes in Hoboken he Was welcome and
honored guest. His wift's engaging manners
and lively conversation enhanced the pleasure
I
mi expenditures the period Of his stay In Ho
boken was from first 10 last highly agreeable.
ar1DENruss GOES TO TROY.
About the last Of August or the first of
September Guldenfuss and the woman went
to Troy. The object of this movement was
to secure q permanent home. ltappears that
he had realized sixty-tiVc thousand dollars
sum did not necessarily represent his entire
fortune. In T1oy he was known By the namo
Of Glrnrd, sometimes rs Ernst Girard, but fte-
Qucn1ly By that Of Louis. It Is curious cir
cumstance that while on the steamer, and lf-
ter his arrival in this country, he used his own
name, aud it was not until his retirement that
he assumed new one.
TIE ESTATE oP aCLDENFC5s.
Tie facts concerning his sojourn in Troy,
and the selection of farm thirteen miles
fiom that city, and two miles from Pittstown,
are already known to the public. The farm
consisted Of one hundred and nine acres. The
decd was taken In the name OF Louisa G1Fard;
and during the tino the estate was occupied
by Grnrd and his wife, most elaborate prcpa-
rations were made for it's adornment. In two
months 4 house WAS built for the 1lse Of tho
gardner, or ovcrsecr Of the lands !; Girard and
his family remaining in IN old farm homestead
to await the building Of a mansion suited to
his tastes ind apparent position. The plans
for this dwelling were drawn, and the work
upon the foundation was begun before his ar-
rest.
IN the meantime purchases Of personal
property to the amount Of several thousands
Of dollars we're made. Glrard also bought
number Of horses, wagons, cows, sheep and
1ambs; md stocked his farm handsomely, and
prepared IN various ways for q lille Of elegant
leisure. The arrangements for the decoration
Of his house show that hc possessed a refined
md educate1 taste. The plans Of the build
md other evidences concerning it have fallen
into the hands Of the officers Of the law.
THE DISCOVERY AND ARREST.
The remainder Of the story Of Guldenfuss
alias Girard may be briefly told. He WIS
traced to this country, and the Government