New Ulm review. (New Ulm, Brown County, Minn.) 1892-1961, 1892-06-22
F0RGERS 60 THRGUGH TOWN.
Two Ticket-of- Leave Men who Committed
the Greatest Of Modern Forgeries.

/ George and Austin Bidwell, probably
| the most noted forgers in the world, pas
Ised through here last week on there way
to st Paul. George Bidwell in 1879
planned a scheme whereby he and his
brother defrauded the Bank of England
of s5,oOO,oOo
It was supposed that the Bank Of Eng
land, the central figure of the CONNER
cial center of the world, was operated
upon business methods SO perfect that
there could be no leak, but this Yankee,
for such George Bidwell is, easily dis
covered weakness in the system and
took advantages Of it, securing the lar
gest sum of money ever obtained by
criminal methods; and more than that,
the deed was planned and consummated
in less than ninety days. When the
swindle came to light the commercial
world was astonished at its simplicity
and that no one had before hit upon it.
Briefly stated, Bidwell made the dis
covery that the bank practiced sending
hundreds of thousands of dollars by
mail upon bills exchange from men they
never saw and knew nothing about, the
letters being simply addressed at the gen
eral delivery postoffice at Birmingham.
Then he proceeded to address forged bills
Of exchange to the bank, every one of
which was honored and discounted with
out an effort being made to verify the
signature. The first batch of bills which
George. Bidwell, at Birmingham, address
sed to the bank, as an experiment, aggre-
gated nearly $4,000. They were dis
counted without question. And from
this time on, with his brother and two
others, he worked the scheme fearlessly.
When the leakage in the bank was at
length discovered, Allen Pinkerton, over
in America, was employed to unravel
the mystery. The old sleuth sustained
his reputation of being the greatest de-
tectiye in the world, and at length G..
Bidwell, Austin Bidwell and the other
men, by name Edward Moves and George
Mcdonald, were smoked out, convicted
and sentenced to English prison for life.
Four years ago, after fifteen years Of con-
inement, Queen Victoria gave George
Bidwcll a ticket of leave and he was or
dered to leave the realm, and last Febru-
>ary Austin Bidwell, after nineteen years
| Of confinement was released on similar
terms. Moves and Mcdonald are still in
prison, and it is to secure their release
that the Bidwells are travelling about
raising money. George BiGwell has writ
ten book giving a history of his life
and the entire swindle; and this he is sell
ling. The two are also giving free lee
lures wherever people show disposition
to come out and here them. They pro-
fess to be poor, and assert every dollar
| they receive which is not needed for
the actual necessities is being used to the
end of securing liberty for the men back
in English prisons.
In his talks Bidwell seeks to present
a great moral lesson, showing how an
honest man may, by yielding to the in
sfuences ola combination Of circumstances
be converted into a rogue; also showing
that ill-gotten gain brings only misery.
The two seem to have game! the conf
dence Of the American public, for they
carry about utograph letters Of the first
men Of the nation, including bank presi-
dents and other money monarchs. which
express the utmost confidence in the sin
cerity of the men.
The men make some startling asser-
tions of cruelty to conyicts practiced in
the English prisons. They state that
George Bidwell was kept insolitary con
finement fourteen years OF the fifteen
his cell being small and almost as dark
as a dungeon. Some Of the statements
of cruelty compare with records Of cru.
city in the dark ages.
In 1871 the Bidwells found themselves
in London. The discovery of the week
ness in the business methods Of the Ban
Of England, George Bidwell states, was
]. the result of accident. Austin had pur.
a suit of.clothes from tailor. He hae
a bill Of exchange, but no money, ane
asked the tailor to take him to his banker
50 that he might get his bill discounted
To his surprise the tailor took HIM to the
Bank Of England. The bill was genuine
but whether or not so the bank made nc
|inyestig cation as to the genuiness Of the
i signature. a fact which Austin noted ii