The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1894-09-19


seats. 1t offered abundant opportu-
mites for sly nibblings of crackers
and cheese, and was the clearing
house for the gossip of the village.
When, one day, the postmaster
really did hand Tarsney letter, he was
much surprised and examined 1t
doubtfully. The envelope was ad-
dressed plainly enough, and bore the
New York postmark. Who in the
world could be writing him from New
York?
Tarsney went to one side and opened
the letter with mingled eagerness and
doubt. Perhaps somebody had died
and left him a fortune? Stranger
things had been heard of. When he
had gained partial understanding
of the contents, he hurriedly left the
postoffice, his whole lazy body quiv-
ering with excitement.
Around the corner he paused, un.
decided where to go to examine his
prize in secret. Then he slouched
with unaccustomed energy out of the
village into the woods, turning alb
ruptly from the beaten path as soon
as he was out of sight of any house,
and keeping on till he felt sure he was
in no danger of being seen.
He wormed his way into the midst
of a thicket, and re-examined his
prize. The contents of the envelope
consisted of neat circular, printed
in imitation of the work of type
writer, a strip purporting to be a
clipping from newspaper and a small
slip bearing name and address.
Tarney read the circular carefully.
1t was couched in strain we'll calcu-
lated to fatter the vanity and whet
the greed of the reader. After stat
ing that the writer was desirous of OBJ
tanning a shrewd man to handle his
goods, which were nowhere mentioned
as counterfeit money, but always as
''goods," the circular continued:
"You can make money faster and
easier by dealing in my goods than
you ever dreamed of before in your
life. 1t was never intended that one
man should have millions and another
nothing. The wealth and good things
of this world are too unevenly distrib-
uted.
'Unless you have money enough to
live on comfortably for the rest OF
your life, this is just the business you
should take hold of, as my goods can
be handled with perfect safety and
immense profits, and enable you to
provide yourself with a competence
for your old age and pass your re.
naming years in ease and comfort.
''There is no wrong about it-Uncle
Sam has millions of our money locked
up in the Treasury, uselessly and un-
justly So"
So on went the letter to a consider
able length, in a way sbrewdly calcu-
lated to find the weak point of such q
man as Lyman Tarsney. When he had
finished reading the circular, he WAS
gasping at the magnitude of the posi-
bilities which seemed suddenly to have
opened before him. His hand trem-
bled as he turned hungrily ito the
printed slip that accompanied the cir
cular.
III purported TO be a newspaper
clipping, setting forth that, in spite OF
the utmost vigilance of the officials,
certain engraved plates had been
stolen from the United States Treas
ury. from which notes the
same as the genuine except that they
did not have the sanction of the Gov
ernment-were being printed by the
thousands of dollars worth. The fol-
lowing extract is fair sample of the
sophistry of the article:
''As the case stands these people in
New York have everything theiI own
way, for their shrewd work seems ~
be carried on in perfect safety, and
there is not the slightest chance of de-
tecting them or the people with whom
they do business. 1t seems to be G
positive fact that they are in posses
sion of duplicate Treasury plates ex
aetly the same as those used by the
Government, and the paper is similar
TO that upon which the genuine notes
are printed. 1t is profound mystery
how and from whence they obtain it
The greenbaeks which the New Yorl