Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1896-10-10
Fictitious Document As
cribed to a New
York Banker"
WALL STREET BUGABOO
Free Silver Hen Engaged In
Circulating Another For
gery-A Search For 81.
Francis Forsythe,"
the Alleged Author.

NEW YORK, Oct. 7.-Of all the fakes"
that this campaign has produced none
has been more widely circulated than an
alleged letter suid to have been written to
Judge r.. c. Bell Of Fort Wayne, Ind. 1t
was originally printed in the Fort Wayne
Journal and has been widely copied by
the free silver press. Notwithstanding its
obvious spuriousness lie finds many believ-
ers among the more ignorant people. LISA
question whether it was originally intend
cd as Joke or whether it was deliberately
written to foster the impression that this
is 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 it's purpose it has not been with
out certain influence, and it is for that
reason only that it is dignified with this
explanation.
The letter purports to have been written
by 81 Francis Forsythe a New York
BANKER with an alleged office at VII
Wall street. . Mr. Forsythe" announces
that he is a member of the committee OF
political education of Wall street, !" what
eyer that may be, and his letter Is filled
with references to the lower 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. Ii
they cannot get 10 per cent, they must
take 0, and if not 8, they must take s. !"
He asserts that If workingmen cannot
get dollar q day, they ought to be salts
fled with as cents or 90 ccits. They are
really extravaganza They buy meat four
or five times in the week. They even in
dulgc in pie, which is no kind of food for
workingmen and does them no good. They
cat wheat bread when rye 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, a careful inquiry was institute
ed to discover the whereabouts OF Mr..
Forsythe" but without avail. Neither
could his office at "711 Wall street. be To-
Gated, for the good and sufficient reason
that the numbers on that street do not ex-
coed 1870, and that "711 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
| INFO print "Asr. Forsythe's" address III
! the more recent publications Is now placed
/ III wall SlftNJ. ANOVN liISJGilQltl4 bl3t
| obviously false character Of The letter tbs
silver press finds a justification for printing
| it in the s'high character Of the gentleman
| TO whom it was sent These papers
however, carefully avoid commenting on
the manifest absurdity OF the publication
Today a further inquiry was made tc
discover "Mr. Forsythe's' wheryabouts,
but it resulted In a second failure. In
,,,,, ssx
mittee of political education," there is nc
"711 Wall street." there is no -. Francis
F0rsythe.' -
! The Mortimer building ut Ii Wall street
has been ovcrrun for tile 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 the building. notably Hal
sey and Hudnnt. whose names are in the
Bankers and Brokers' Directory, have been
flooded with letters from the west and
south where tho spurious document has
been published At first tho firms in the
| building tried to answer thu letters, saying
! to each Inquirer that j. Francis Forsythe'
was unknown and that diligent inquiry or
the floor of the exchanges had failed Tc
disclose the presence of any such person
whether banker, broker, clerk or bucket
shop operator, within thoentire boundaries
of Wall street. The belief was expressed
that hr was n will-o'-tlrs-wisp. Most ui
| the letters which began a little mmr than
q week ago to come in such quantities
that the question of postage made it neces
sary fox the firms receiving them to dump
them in thewasto paper basket, were from
| people whoTwere satisfied that " Forsythe
was q fraud yet there were many banking
firms RHO wished to be put in communal
cation with q Forsythev If there was such
person. The letters finally became such
nuisance that they weEs merely glanced
at and thrown into the waste paper basket.
! In the meantime the jamitor of the build
| ing had beer refusing thousands of letters
that haal come addressed to the mythical
"Forsythe, :" and they Were taken back te
I the POSSIBILITIES, where thcy were marked in
| blue pencil Fraud and dumped into a
! flour barrel First one barrel filed up with
letters; then q second barrei was procured,
| then others, until as the clerk at the gen
eral delivery window said yesterday, there
were four harrels of letters awaiting j.
Francis lforsythe" and mons coming BY the
hundreds daily As the letters arrive they
are marked 8 Fraud" and put with those
that have already accumulated. After 80
days they Will bc sent to the dead letter of
fee 1t is Enore probable, however, that all
the letters viii De consigned unopened Ia
the big furnace IN the basement of the gen
eral postoffice, as the dishonest purpose OF
the person for whom they are 5ntended has
already gained worldwide notoriety.
1t is believed that ~. Francis Forsythc'
is one of the fakirs who have been so pro-
litlc during the present campaign in set
ting newspaper forgeries alloat A notable
case was tho forged letter showing how
greatly America would be benefited by
free coinage which the silver papers cred
tied to the London Financial News, and
which was repudiated by that paper, but
which the silver press still presents to its
readers as fact.