The Beaver herald. [volume] (Beaver, O.T. [Okla.]) 1895-1923, 1911-03-02

III NAANB ~ hOuuN ANutu W
WM perience that men Of
WW massive mentaiities and
#M lofty ideas are freque1t.
WW ~ lacking In intuitive
aWZ<A faculties. In their efforts
~ WW8 10 reach something AT
~ JM4 the top they fail 10 see
M ~ the undermining hand at
%AAND the base.
7N The little secluded
u ID town OF Groton. Mas.
was the home Of Hon.
Geo. 8. Boutwell,. President Grants
FIRST secretary Of the treasury. an
educated man Of sentiment and
elegance and Puritanlcal in his
ways. He was possessed Of a
fair knowledge OF politics and
finance and was systematic and
successfnl I'm the management Of the
treasury department while I'm Wash.
ington be mixed little with the poll.
tlcians tie was shy In his manner
and abstenfious In his living Ills
faYoriie diet was bread and milk. He
used neither tobacco nor intoxicants.
Like other great men with whom !
came In contact he was uDsuspicious
and almost wholly without cunning.
He favored reform rather than pun.
tshment for rogues. As an evidence Of
his obllquity Of vision and lack OF
penetration when called upon 10 face
the sharpcrs ever lowering about the
national capital. will relate a couple
of incidents.
On q day when I was buslly en-.
gagged In my once In the treasury de
partment n messenger hurried In and
informed me that the secretary want
cd "a see me at once. Entering n side
room next 10 Mr.. BOutwell's main Of.
nee, was by him introduced 10 two
fiashily dressed gentlemen who said
they had come all the way from Phila-
delphia 60 see the secretary and In
form him OF an astounding counterfeit
conspiracy that might shake the ma
ton TO its foundation. The gentle
men we're city detectives and rather
sporty appearing chaps In their bear.
fng there was an air OF self-suiiiciency
and a know-ail-aboutit that vas quite
impressive 10 the mind Of a green
one"
Their story In substance was that
while engaged In exploiting the das.
fardIy deeds Of criminals they had
made q chance discovery that was Of
tremendous Importance TO the United
States government For a price they
were anxious 10 assist IN capturing
Che rogues. They we're deeply en-.
tangle6 in several mysterious cases az
homo. but had torn themselves away
from their duty long enough 20 slip
alyiy over 20 the nations capital for
the purpose Of acquainting the secre-
tary with dangerous counterfelting
scheme.
The startling story told by the
sIeuihs bore the appearance Of trnth.
Tho secretary was deeply impressed
and appeared worried and greatly dis
turbed as he handed me the face and
back OF fivedolIar treasury note
printed on separate pieces OF paper.
lie instructed me to investigate at
once. Ny eyeslght at this time was
remarkably good. could easily trace
the nne eccentric lines upon a note
without the use OF a magnifyinE glass.
After carefully examining the speci.
mems handed me and comparing them
with good note of the same de-
nomination. was unable to discover
the slightest difference. and ! told the
secretary that ! thought they we're
genuine. n this was so. In what man
ner could they have been obtAined9 ?
II would require oo,luslon on the part
Of a number OF persons In the printing
bureau 10 secure them. as the face
and back OF these notes were printed
at different tiIses by different per.
sons and besides the work was being
done under the watehfui eyes OF trust.
I'd oDicialA. " the face and back Of
thes9 notes we're counterfeit they
ysTe very dangerous. as they seemed
h persect facsimile OF the genuine. The
two detectives carried with them an
air ~ great mystery They pfofessed
20 be unablo 20 explain anything, but
they were Of the opinion that the
counterfeiters had somehow obtained
dupiieates of the government plates
upon which lie notes were printed.
Mr. Boutwell, was deeply interested.
To him q was en- AFFAIR 0f great mys-
terry TO more fully impress the sec.
Fctnry with the Importance Of the case
the Philadelphia sleutbs came out
boldly and declared tEat any amount
Of that kind Of money could be bought
81 nffy cents ON the dollar This was
n>cIincher. ! now saw that was up
hgaipat puKzllne case. was El.
IenrfA although not fully convinced.
Az reehrd to the character of che
pflnla u made little difference 10 me
] was sure Il was some hind Of trick,
but an invcsiigniion was necessary.
It wenld not do TO allow The impres-
sl0ns 10 he examined By the chief al
iio printing bu1Vnu. ne Il was poo
elhi4 there was something crooked
nn,6nk biz omplpYes ls was decided
ihai / should b 10 Philndelphla On
Iha lnlIowInk day. There I WA 10 be
h.tl hf shs kwe detectives and intro.
aaeed 10 btolsef who vas a gobe-
tWo4n / MAS IA ria myself oui n ghs
It1 ate1t nnt play the part of q
.8I|It noA Ifbn 'ekns I elsoee % 10