Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1900-10-17
AN EX-GOVERNOR AND Ex.cONvlCT.
The Rise and Fall OF Franklin }. Moses, Once
Governor Of this State.

says:
The name of Franklin j. Moses i.
familiar to many of my readers, bu>
it is safe to say that very few O
them know anything of his rccen,
history.
"What has become of Ex-Gover
nor Moses, of your State ?" | asked ;
South Carolinian some weeks ago.
Gle is now serving term fol
forgery in Western prison." was
the prompt answer.
My informant gave no details, and
finally he admitted that he knew
nothing definite. In hazy way he
was unoer the impression that II,
had heard or read Of the arrest, tria
and imprisonment Of Moses in Iii
nois.
"I am not certain about the State
he said, "perhaps it is Michigan OF
Indiana"
Then l asked another South Caro-.
linian the same question.
"Dead long ago." was his answer
"When and where did he die ?"
"Wcll, | have forgotten, but |
think he's dead"
A few days later read news
paper account Of the arrest in Bos,
ton of the unlucky Ex-Governor.
AS the story goes, Moses conducted
a weekly newspaper at Revere, Mass,
until short time ago. Recently he
sold it, but he concealed this fact
and fraudulcntly obtained five dol
lars from Mr. John Hardy, OF Bos-
ton, who believed that he was deal.
ing with the owner Of the paper.
When the Boston man found that
he had been swindlcd he made in
quircs, and learned that Moses was
the former Governor OF South Caro-
lima; that he had left his State with
a rascally record had served Il term
in the Massachusetts prison for
swindling the late Frederick Ames,
Thomas Wentworth lIigginson and
others, Of Boston, and had been i'm
prisoncd for similar offcnse in New
York.
MIR. Hardy lost his temper, and
did not rest until he had his distin-
guished acquaintance locked up.
At this point | lost sight Of the
case, but the chances are that the
prisoner will end his careerin stripes.
There was time when friends
and even strangers came forward to
help, but they will not do it now.
When he was released from prison,
some years ago, a d-hcartcd man
met him in the warden's Office and
took him to his country home, with
The hope of reforming him.
The experiment was failure.
Who is this degenerate
Franklin j. Moses was no carpet
baggcr imported from the North,
and he can hardly be called scala
wag.
lie belongs to a good old South
Carolina family, and his father, the
late Chief Justice Moses, of that
State, was regarded as an honorable
man of exceptional talent.
But Young Moses went wrong
from the first. Early in life he was
welcomed in the best society. Hand
some, magnetic and talented, it was
easy for him to become leader, and
naturally a public career attracted
him.
When he entered politics South
Carolina was so completely under
Republican control that the Demo.
Gratis were hopeless. The best pco-
pie of the State, however, made a
brave struggle against overwhelming
odds, or migrated TO other localities.
1T was dangerous at that time for
a native South Carolnian to 90 over
to the Republicans, but Moses was
ambitious, reckless and unscrlpu.
lous. Bold, brilliant and ovcr-con.
iidcnt, he believed that Republican
rule in the South would last for at
least generation, and his idea was
to join hands with the victors and
seize lions share OF the spoils.
During the reconstruction era his
daring methods and conspicuous tai
ent made him the acknowledged
boss OF the corruptioniSts. In The
Legislature he was Speaker Of the
House, and in n short time he had
the Senate under his control.
Ills word was law to the black
lcgions and their white allies who
rallied around the Republican stan
dard
He was elected Governor.
Early success, however, had ruined
him, and when he took his scat in
the Executive chair he had parted
|, 4 L. A.