The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1896-10-07
Fictitious Document As
cribed to a "New
York Banker"
WALL STREET BUGAB0O
Free Silver Men Engaged In
Circulating Another For
gery-A Search For ~.
Francis Forsythe,"
the Alleged Author.
Especial Correspondence

has been more widely circulated than an
alleged letter said to have been written to
Judge R. G. Boil Of Fort Wayne, Ind. 1t
was originally printed In the Fort Wayne
Journal and has been widely copied by
the free silver press. Notwithstanding it's
obvious spuriousness 1t finds many believ-
ers among the moro ignorant people Itisa
question whether 1t was originally intend
ed as joke or whether 1t was deliberately
written to foster the impression that this
Is a campaign of the rich against The poor.
1t is difficult to conceive how any person
of ordinary intelligence could be deceived
by its absurd sentiments. Whatever may
have been its purpose it has not been with
. out a certain influence, and 1t is for that
reason only that it is dignifled with this
explanation.
Tho letter purports to have been written
by 81. Francis Forsythe, a New York
banker" with an alleged office at ali
Wall street, "Mr. Forsythe" announces
that he is member of "the committee Of
political education of Wall street., what
ever that may be, and his letter is filled
with references to the Clover classes" and
to gentlemen, like Mr.. Aston, Mr.. Rookie
teller and Mr.. Carnegie" He complains
that the Capitalists are forced to loan
money at such rates as they can get. If
they cannot get 10 per cent, they must
take 0, and If not 0, they must take s."
He asserts that ''if workingmen cannot
get a dollar day, they ought to be salts
fled with rs cents or 90 cents. They are
really extravaganza. They buy meat four
or five times in the week. They even in
dulge in pie which is no kind of food for
workingmen and docs them no good They
eat wheat bread whom ryo Is more suit
able" and so on through two columns Of
type.
When this alleged letter was first brought
to the attention of the Republican national
committee II careful inquiry was institute
cd to discover the whereabouts of "Mr.
Forsythe," but without avail. Neither
could his office at "71l Wall street" be To-
Gated, for the good and sufficient reason
that the numbers on that street do not ex-
coed $780, and that al Wall street" would
be about in the middle of the East river.
This explanation was made to several cor
respondents, and eventually found its way
into print. "Mr. Forsythe's" address in
tho more recent publications is now placed
at al Wall street, Notwithstanding the
silver press finds justification for printing
1t in the "high character of the gentleman
to whom it was sent" These papers,
however, carefully avoid commenting on
the manifest absurdty of the publication.
Today further inquiry was made to
discover "Mr. Forsythe's' whereabouts,
but it resulted in II second failure. In
other words, there is no "Wall street COM
mittco of political education" there is no
"711 Wall street." there is no ~. Francis
Forsythe."
The Mortimer building at II Wall street
has been overrun for the past two weeks
with people looking for "Mr Forsythe. ~
Letters by the thousand addressed to him
have been taken there, but nobody knew
him. Firms in tho building, notably Hal
sey and Hudnut, whose names are in the
Bankers and Brokers Directory, have been
flooded with letters from the west and
south where the spuriol. document has
boon published At first the firms in the
building tried to answer tho letters, saying
to each inquirer that j. Francis Forsythe''
was unknown and that diligent inquiry on
the floor of the exchanges had failed to
disclose tho presence Of any such person,
whether banker broker, clerk or bucket
shop operator, within the entire boundaries
of Wall street. The belief was expressed
that he was n ll-o'-the-wisp. Most Of
the letters, which began IL little more than
n week ago 10 come in such quantities
that tho question Of postage made it neccs~
sary for tho firms receiving them to dump
them in the waste paper basket, were from
people who were satisfied that "ForSythc''
was u fraud, yet there were many banking
firms who wished to be put in commune
cation with 'Forsytho" if there was such
person. The letters finally became such
nuisance that they were merely glanced
ut and thrown into the waste paper basket.
In the meantime the janitor of the build
ing had been refusing thousands Of letters
that had come addressed to the mythical
"Forsythc, and they were taken back to
the postofhce, where they were marked in
blue pencil FRAUD and dumped into Il
flour barrel. First one barrel filled upwith
letters; then Il second barrel was procured,
then others, until, us the clerk at the gen
eral delivery window said yesterday, there
were four barrels of letters awaiting -.
Francis Forsythe" and more coming by the
hundreds daily. As the letters arrive they
arc marked Fraud and put with those
that have already accumulated. After 80
days they will be sent to the dead letter Of
flee 1t is more probable, however, that I'LL
the letters will be consigned unopened to
tho big furnace in the basement Of the gem
eral postof1icc, rs the dishonest purpose Of
tho person for whom they arc intended has
already gained worldwide notoriety.
1t is believed that j. Francis Forsytha"
is one of the iakirs who have been so pro-