The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1897-09-16


! ted States ssnator. II was alleged. even
then. thai Tiiliard had been employed
by the Quay people to undertake to
trap Van valkenburg. and. In connec-
ton with the disappearance Of the slate
operator referred to. II began to be
whispered about In Northampton coun-
ty that this same Tilliard had been seen
up here. in consultation with the man
who had since disappeared
This coincidence. whether real or I'm
aginary. recalled TO the mind OF a well
known banker of Pen Argyll a conver-
sation which he had with the missing
slate operator shortly before his dis
appearance. which. in the absence of
later facts. had really made him think
the slate mans mind was wandering.
but. in the light Of later Information.
seemed to indicate that politics might
have played no small part in the dis
appearance Of his former friend and
fellow citizen.
QUAY AND REEDER.
The story told by this banker, who is
also to be witness in this connection,
was that the slate operator had invited
him to private conference, and that
in this conference he used the following
language: Il have . dirty little politi-
cal Job on hand which Quay and Reeder
have asked me to do" The banker
said he then showed him a letter, pur-
| porting to have been written by Mr..
Quay to General Reeder outlining q
plot to manufacture certain evidence
against Mr.. Wanamaker, using Repre-
sentative Weiss as tool In that con-
/ nection.
The banker also said that the slate
man displayed letters and kilograms
from General Reeder inviting him to a
conference and asking him to assist in
plot in which he should pose as
Wanamaker man, as his doing so
would arouse no suspicion, he said. be-
cause he had been postmaster at Ban
gor under Mr.. Wanamaker's admins
tration, and had assisted Frank Will
Ing Leach when he was Mr.. Quay's
lieutenant several times in the county.
DETAILS OF THE PLOT.
Further details of the plot. as the
F, slate man Is said to have related them
to his banker friend, were that in re-
sponse to telegram from General
! Reeder. he had visited Easton. where
after considerable sparring an arrange
ment was perfected between General
Reeder. Norris Luckenbach OF Bethle-
hem. Webster c. Weiss and himself
whereby he. the slate man, was to go
to the Wanamaker people and repre-
sent that for consideration Mr.. Weiss
would vote for Mr.. Wanamaker A
written agreement to that effect was to
be executed by Mr.. Weiss and delivered
to Senator Quay, who. with the docu-
ment In his possession. would person
ally demand of Mr.. Wanamaker that
he withdraw from the contest.
The banker also said that he was told
that while the money had not been Sc
cured from the Wanamaker people.
that that in no degree interfered with
the scheme. for the money had been
supplied by others. and that there was
at that time man in Bangor with
81. 900 to carry out the proposition; that
he, the slate man. had been ordered to
deposit this money in a Bethlehem
bank; but. II the Pen Argyll banker de-
sired the deposit, he could have It, This
offer was respectfully but firmly re-
fused.
When the above story came to the
ears Of the friends Of Wanamaker's
candidacy they were naturally partic-
uarly anxious to confirm It. Present.
ly they discovered that the missing
slate man had told the same story to a
member Of the borough council of Ban
gor, and also his own brother-in-law.
who was then and Is now justice of
the peace in the same town. This man
claims that the slate operator had COM
municated to him every move he made
in the alleged plot.
MADE COPIES OF LETTERS.
The brothern-law. after the slate
operator had disappeared knowing Of
the kilograms and letters which had
passed between him and General Reed
er. and judging them to be of a char
acter as would ruin the future political
aspirations Of the sender were they di-
vulged, Is said to have gathered them
all up. placed them in a sealed envelope
and personally returned them to Ger
eral Reeder. but, being a shrewd poll
tician, and knowing that with those
letters in his possession. he had the
leader of the Republican party at his
mercy, before returning the letters. in
the presence of two witnesses. he made
copies of the same, and carefully re-
tanned them.
Further confirmation OF the brother
in-law's statements concerning the
slate operators correspondence was Sc
cured from his former chief clerk and
stenographer, and then it was decided
that 1t further search should be made
for the missing man himself. 1t was
thought by the friends of Mr.. Wana-
maker that the man had disappeared
through fear of arrest for his connec-
tion with the alleged plot, but they de-
termined to find him II possible and
get him to tell his story In court
Being a slate man, and having been
engaged in that business all his life,
and all his hopes and ambitions being
in that direction, those who were look
ing for him naturally supposed that he
would go into slate country. This
theory was corroborated by the fact
that the information was received that
he had bought a ticket for Denver. The
claw wac fpl1nwnI ont and eCary