The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-08-12
THE LAST THIEF.
CAPTURE OF KHMPTON. THE LAST
MEMBER 0F SOUTH CAROLaNA'S
AWHNDLENE RADICAL RING.
New York World.

New York World.1
The following dispatch came to Pinkerton's
Detective Agency in this city late yesterday
afternoon:
WEsTFIEhD, Mass, Aug. tt have arrested
FL. Ii. kimptOn
A. CAMPBELL, State Detective.
How Kimpton was tempted from his re-
treat in Canada into the reach Of Gov. Hamp
toms requisition does not yet appear. His
arrest comes very near winding UP the list OF
new proceedings against the heaviest crimi-
nais of the South Carolina ring. He was
formerly financial agent for the State OF
South Carolina under the rule Of Gov. Scott
and when Niles G.. Parker was Treasurer,
and is held in Westfield to await the arrival
of an officer from Columbia with the neces
sary papers to take him to that city on an in
dictment for bribery and misrepresentation OF
State moneys.
It is said that Kimpton grew wealthy out
Of his operations with South Carolina's money
and bonds. He lived in this city with his
family, and is said to have 8 residence at
Fort Ticonderoga He is about forty, years
him with having bribed the members Of the
Legislature to vote for bills drawn in the in
terest of the ring "gobble' Of the Greenvile
and Columbia Railroad. Kimpton, Scott
Parker, the self confessed peculator, and D..
Fl. Chamberlain, were the financial board ap-
from 1868 to 1871. The board appointed Kimp-
ton financial agent Of the State resident in
New York, and the Legislative committees
charge upon these four direct agency In all
the plunder of the State from 1868 to 1873.
Some 1922, 600, 600 of bonds were printed under
the direction of the board. 1t is charged
against Kimpton that he put the bonds on the
market in New York at certain prices, entered
them on his books at certain lower prices, and
contributed the difference to the corruption
fund OF the ring. The specific bribery case
for which he is indicted is as follows, accord
ing to the Cochran investigating committee S
report:
The State owned stock in the Greenville
and Columbia Railroad. A commission Gre
ated by the Legislature "to sell all unproduc-
tive property belonging to the State, aosten-
the State-House grounds, sOld q, ,698 shares OF
this stock, which cost 800 asbhare, or S433,9 $50,
at So rs q share, or S59,669 SO, The act Great
ing the commission was passed by bribery,
Kfmpton having furnished the money. The
sale was made the day after it's passage and
without advertisement. The ring bought the
stock. The money was sent to kimpton and
swallowed up with the rest and he furnished
more to bribe the Legislature to pass Repre-
sentative Tim Hurley's bill pretending to au-
thorize q consolidation of the Greenville and
State held lien of 81 100000 on the Green
vile and Columbia first mortgage bonds. A
section of the new act postponed the lien to
the second mortgage. By this second act
therefore, the State gave higher market
value, to that extent, to the bonds the ring
had just stolen from it. So big was the steal
that Senator Patterson paid S25, 900 for Speak
er Moses favor, and when Moses delayed the
bill in the House captured him by q promise
of $4,000 more.
The new ring stock company was composed