The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1872-10-05
Il REMARKABLE IMPOSTURE.
Political Wire-Pulling as a Fine Art
A Blne-Eyed Stranger ms aPolitieai
KniRht-Errant-His Messages, HIS
Mistakes and Ills Misfortunes.

A Blne-Eyed stranger as aPoltticat
Knieht-Errant-His Messages, HIS
Mistakes and Ills Misfortunes
The executive committee and other leaders
OF the Noses party in Columbia have just sue
ceeded In exposing and circumventlng one Oh
the shrewdest and best conceived pohucal
plots that has ever been known In the history
OF wire-pulling in this or any other State. IL
will be remembered that, at the meeting OF
the Mackey County Convention In this city,
last Tuesday evening, there appeared upon
the platform, among the speakers OF the eve
ming, q stranger, who gave his name and rank
"a CAPTAIN a.. G. Carter, of the United States
secret service, and who stated to the meeting
that he was commissioned by General
| Grant to come 10 South Carolina to ne
potIate with General F. J. Moses for the sue
cess of the Union Republican ticket, and that
be could safely pledge to that ticket the hearty
support of the national administration. These
| remarks, of course, excited no little entausl-
| asm among the dusky delegates then ana
| there assembled in the interest of the Moses
and Mackey ticket, and they we're faithfully
| reported among the proceedings OF the con-
| yention In TIE NEWS of the following morn
| ing. There were some circumstances, how
| ever in the manner and conduct OF the auburn
| haired stranger which led to a suspicion
! that all things were not what they seemed,
and when the gallant captain, taxing
THE NEWS into his Utmost confidence,
ON the same evening and the following oay,
| exhibited his plausiDly executed creaent'als
| and unbosomed himself OF all his plans ana
instructions, The NEWS respectfully declin-
ed the Invitation to involve itself In the con-
sn,racy. and accepted the confidence OF the
blue-eyed stranger with whole bushels OF
metaphorlcal salt. On the evening afoer dis
speecb In the convention captain Carter"
nroceeded to Columbia In the company Tor
the custody of a prominent Charleston politi-
clan to have an Interview with General Moses.
The denouement'o OF the visit, 80 far as 1t has
transpired, is related by the Columbia Union.
After quoting the account in TIE NEWS Of
"Captaln Carriers" exploits in this city the
Union says:
Yesterday morning Carter and his accom-
nlicea %prrIVediin the city, aud the frst named
Immediately sought out General Moses ana
| presented his credentials. A skllful use OF tne
| wires, inquirlng OF the important personages
| represented by signatures upon these papers
| disclosed the fact that they were forgerles,
ali the Way from a letter from General Grant
to the end O. them, and Carriers movements
were watched. He very soon found tnat ne
was In limbo, and TO make q long story snort,
was placed In arrest.
At about eleven o'clock a warrant for torg-
ery was taken out before Trial Justice Ricn.
mond, and as a prolonged conference was oe-
ing held when we went to press, In which IL 10
understood Carter would make a clean breast
of the whole affair, and the parties implicated
in II. It was Impossible to gain any further de.
iails. They will be given with copies OF the
forged letters, and the substance OF the con-
fession.
The documents with which .Captaln Carter"
was supplied were,' first letter written ION
note paper, bearing the printed heading "Ex-
ecutive Mansion, Washington, D. c., 1872"
and purportlng to be signed by President
Grant, and which read as follows:
Executive MANSION, WASHINGTON. D. c.,
4EE lSeptember2 81, 1872. +,
Captain 3. O. Carrier, Commanding Secret
Serpice, Washington, D: O.
MN lCpOkb ~ Lhto INV
day. September 18th, 1872. at 10 o'clock A. NJ,
for special duty In South Caroline.
You will turn over your command tem-
fporarlly to Lieutenant Foster of the eecret ser
vice. and. you will receive from this Office full
written and verbal Instructions rom me
Very respectfully. your ooedleDt servant,
u. 8. GRANT, President U. 8. A.
This document was enclosed 10 a white let
ter envelope, bearing the printed words,
sExecutive ManEion, Official Business" and
was directed or the outside In the same man
ner and In the same handwriting .asthe sd:
dress above given.
The most Important acknowledgement, of
which tas captain was the bearer, wssa sealed
letter c~ontainedtna treasury department. en-.
~velope, addreased1o GeneralsF. ]. Moses, and
marked sC%onddential, w. A.. Richardson, As
slstant Secretary Treasury This letter
proved to be as follows:
TREASURY DEPARTMENT,
WASHINGTON. D. c., september 70, 1872.
General r. j. Noses. Jr.:;
SIR-Secretary Boutwell, directs me to say
thai he will be In South Carolina on the 7th OF
Ootobar totake part In the Presidential cam
;naipn. SAWYER endeavored to damage your
iinteresls, but I think he has materially tailed,
as the President said TO me yesterday, "the
Moses party is the only n for. US In South
Carolina
Captain Garter, who will hand you this, you
will find q sharp, shrewd, c~lear-slghted man,
and one in whom you can place Implicit con.
.fdence. Hoping you will have all the good
luck Imaginable, I remain, my dear sir, yours,
very truly, ": a. ARD
Assistant Secretary Treasury.
There was one other letter purporting to be
signed by General Porter, the private secre.
tary Of the President, and which was of SINH
lar tenor to the above, and, of course, an
equally audacious forgery.
The whole extent and design Of the con-
.splracy is not yet developed, but is In q very
fair way Of being ascer:alned. 1t Is supposed,
of course, that 1t was a plan of some of the
politicians who are lnlmical to Moses In the
present campaign, and the object is surmised
to have been to obtain confidential informa-
ton from tho leaders OF the Regular Republl-
cans to be used In advancing the schemes Of
the Boilers. Captain Carter insists that he
has been acting in good faith, and that 1t 1t be
a political conspiracy he has been an uncon-
scious instrument in The hands of other par.
ties who are as yet behind the curtain. He
appears on the whole to prefer.t the reputation
of lacking s%hrewdness to that of'being def
ctent In honesty, and If that be his desire 1t