Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1903-11-27
Captain Carter Who Was Sen.
fenced to Five Years Serves
His Time
A CELEBRATED CASE
How lie Defrauded the Govern
ment and Spent the Money
Like Water

81 INK
L~EAVENWORTH, Kas., Nov. NJ.
d The doors Of the military prisoa 4
Fort Leayenworth will swing ope
tomorrow for ex-Captain Oberline n
t Carter, who has completed his i've
| year sentence for robbing the govern
ment. Deducting the allowance 10
good conduct the actual time serve,
| py Carter has been three years an,
seven months. 1t is probable that h,
] VIII proceed at once to Chicago wher,
ne has relatives who have looked ate
MS business affairs during the i'm
prlsonment. Further than this hill
future movements are undecided
When Carter was brought to thu
penitentiary he talked much OF his
anxiety for the civil trial. Recent.
~ ne has not said much on this NIB
Ject, but has paid more attention 10
q suit pending In the United Sites
circuit court whereby the govern.
ment was ~endeayoring to recover
about $4,000 alleged to be a art
OF the former captains ill-goten
booty. Since his Imprisonment the
government has succeeded In making
Carter turn Owe vast sums OF monS.
but notwithstanding this, he Il r.
iieved to be still wealthy. He Is MI
sessed Of valuable mining propek.
chiefly in Mexico, and it is thouht
likely that he may make that county
his future home.
The case of Carter attracted sfh
widespread attention at the timdf
ms arrest, trial and conviction M
years ago that the facts are still fkh
in the public memory. Fl
Grant sent him to West Point bm
Ohio in 1876. He was GRADUATED at /,
"A, at the head of his class. and ent j
70 the engineer corps by right d lis I
standing. He served first in the eat, i
q he married a m~illiolaire, /
daughter, who died before his howl i
fall. L was In 1890 that Carter. thens
plans o tine improvement or1~,Ai
nah harbor. He had thought IL All
out unaided. and Savannah went mad
almost, with joy when the new was |
brought to the town that Early
had been appropriate to
carry into concrete effect the 1eas
that originated In the mind othe /,
brilliant engineer. Carter return to W
Savannah to take up the work Che iec
harbor. From that very nome II cor
was shown, the swindling begar4e no
conspired with the contractorslo 81,
were doing the work, realizing, n ar,
his accomplices, hundreds Of i bv
sands OF dollars. After the work era,
fairly under way the young lieut.. cem
fairly bloomed as an entertainer yer,
a good fellow. He took parties uraI
friends down the bay in a govern exbi
yacht. on which occasions the G have
payne flowed like water. MeanybuiId
his expenses grew at an amazing Blacl
1t developed at the trial that he ,ibit
In the habit Of signing claims AGAIN
the government that were totun
false. and that the payrolls contat ron
the names of innumerable Labor
that did not exist. Inn,
In 1891 Lieutenan; Carter becasRj
Captain Carter. He was later apporte,
ed military attache to the Amerife
embassy at the court Of 81. Jam ~
lie was occupying that post when on
formed that charges against him hi,
been preferred by Captain q. f. ca
lette, who was sent to Savannah i
carry on the work. The papers mac
such direct accusations that Secr,I,
tary Alger thought the matter shoulb