Durango semi-weekly herald., 1903-11-30
OBERL|N
CARTER
FREE MAN

LEAVENWORTH Kans.. Nov. 27.-
The doors OF the military prison at
Fort Lcavenworth will swing open to-
morrow for ex-Captain Oberlin NJ.
Carter. who has completed his five-
year sentence for robbing the govern
ment. Deducting the allowance for
good conduct the actual time served
by Carter has been three years and
seven months, II Is probable that he
VIII proceed at once to Chicago where
he has relatives who have looked af.
ter his business affairs during his i'm
prisonment. Further than this his fu.
ture movements are undecided.
When Carter was brought to the
penitentiary he talked much OF his an
Niety Tor a cival trial. Recently he
mas not said much on this subject. but
has paid more attention to suit
pending In the United States circuit
court whereby the government was
endeavoring to recover about S732 900
alleged to be part Of the former cap
tain's ill-gotten booty. Since his I'm
prisonment the government has sue
ceeded In making Carter turn over
vast sums of money. but notwithstand-
ing this he ~ believed to be still
wealthy. He is possessed OF valuable
mining property. chiefly In Mexico,
and it is thought likely that he may
make that country his future home.
The case OF Carter attracted such
widespread attention at the time of his
arrest, trial and conviction four years
ago that the facts are still fresh in
the public memory.
Grant sent him to West Point from
Ohio in 1876. He was graduated at
81, at the head OF his class. and went
TO the engineers corps by right OF his
standing He served first In the east.
where he married mlllionaire's
laughter. who died before his down
fall. 1t was In 1890 that Carter, then
lieutenant, presented to congress- his
plans for the Improvement of Sayan-
nah harbor. He had thought 1t all out
nnaided. and Savannah went mad, al
most, with Joy when the news was
brought to The town that nearly 49,
100000 had been appropriated 20 carry
into concrete effect the ideas that or
iginated In the mind of the brilliant
nah to take up the work on the har-
Dor From that moment, IL was
shown. the swindling began. He con
spircd with the contractors who were
loing the work, realizing, with his ac-
,omplices, hundreds of thousands OF
dollars. After the work was fairly un-
der way the young lieutenant fairly
bloomed MS an entertainer and good
fellow. He took parties of his friends
lown the bay in a government yacht,
IN which occasions the champagne
flowed like water Meanwhile his ex-
penses grew at an amazing rate. II
developed at the trial that he was In
the habit of signing claims against the
government that were totally false.
and that the payrolls contained the
names of innumerable laborers that
lid not exist.
In 1891 Lieutenant Carter became
Captain Carter. He was later appoint
ed military attache To the American
embassy at the court OF St James. He
was occupying that post when inform
ed that charges against him had been
preferred by Captain C. e. Gillette,
"ho Nho Sthl W savannah 10 carry
IN the work. The papers made such
direct accusations that Secretary AL
ger thought the matter should be thor
oughly gone into. and therefore sent
4 commission to investigate. Its re
port led To the court-martial.
The court-martial was presided over
by Gen. Elwell S. Otis The court la
bored four months, and Carter was
convicted. After long and patient ex-
animation of the record by distinguish
I'd jurlsts, President Mckinley approv-
ed the sentence. On September 30.
1899. Carter was dismissed from the
army. and the government advertised
in the newspapers that he had ceased
to be IAN officer and gentleman"
The next day he was arrested and his
Imprisonment began. Afterward
at liberty to marry again.
Messers. Greene and Gaynor, promi-
nent New York contractors, were in
dicted for completely with Carter in
the Savannah harbor frauds They
fed to Canada TO escape arrest. and
are believed to be still in hiding there.
Carter Is said TO be bitter against
Greene and Gaynor and 1t Is believed
he would Willingly appear against
them If they were brought to trial.
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