Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1911-10-03

sonal note, / suppose?" said Clay, as
though there could be no doubt Of 1t.
WELL" answered the other suave-
| ly, at Is the invariable rule of the bank
to require that a note be indorsed."
who can 1 get to do that?" asked
Clay.
ANY one who Is known here"
will Danl Webster do?"
"Oh, yes" replied the cashier; "Mr,
Webster will do very WELL"
.Thereupon the impoverished states
man set out in search Of his co-orator.
He found him at home in rather a de-
jected state Of mind, but Clay was too
anxious to get his $3.50 to be perturbed
by the others feelings. so he went
straight to the root of the matter.
"Dan1," he said, I'm trying to bor-
J row $3.50 and they tell me at the bank
that they will give 1t to me on my
personal note If you will indorse It,"
Webster frightened up Immediately
and interrupted him before he could
say another word.
That's just the thing!" he cried.
I've got to have $3.50 myself. If you'll
make it $500 I'll sign It."
This Clay was perfectly willing to
do. AS soon as Clay had indorsed the
paper he returned to the bank and
drew $500, which he divided with his
friend. That note has never been paid,
and is still preserved at the Riggs No
tional Bank as an example Of the folly
of trusting human beings, and as a
proof Of the cleverness with which
certain heroes can impose on bank.
AS a purloiner Of other peoples
money. Benjamin Franklin was as well
intentioned as Clay and Webster, but
he was not nearly so shrewd. He was
q little too fat and puffy to enable him
to make his getaway. The government
caught him at 1t and fired him.
Franklin was 81 years old at the time.
and that may in some measure account
for his lack Of skill.
The facts of the grand old mans
delinquency are very scanty, which Is
most unfortunate. II would be inter-
esting to see the methods he employed
and find out, II possible, at what point
he made his mistake. All we know
Is that while he was postmaster at
Boston he got all his pin money by
robbing the mails when the head of
the department found II out Franklin
was promptly turned out. He escaped
to Philadelphia and nothing more was
done about the affair. His descend
ants were shocked when 1t became
known. They had been so proud Of
having as an ancestor the only man
who had signed all four Of the most
important documents in the history or
the United States-the Declaration Of
Independence, the treaty alliance with
France, the peace pact with Great
Britain and the constitution-and who
had also tanned the lightning and in
vented the Franklin stove.
Samuel Adams had much the same
scheme as the one which Franklin
bungled so woefully. But he was more
successful in way. He was caught, to
be sure, but he didn't have to return
the money. At one time he had a job as
tax collector for Boston. During his
tenure Of Office he salted down cool
$4,000 for use in the future when the
wolf might come around bowling, The
only inartistic bit of work he did was
to leave letter lying around which +.
incriminated him. (This letter, by the
way, Is still in existence) When the
authorities found that Samuel Adams
lost his position, he refused to give up
his money, and his sureties had to pay
II for him.
John Hancock was the best brigand
of all the patriots. AS a defaulter he
could have given pointers to many a
modern bank clerk who thought him.
self clever. He was real knight OF
the Jimmy and the dark lantern. He
never did anything by halves. When
he signed the Declaration OF lnde-
pendence he wrote his name 20 large
that, as he said, King George didn't
have to put his glasses on TO read II.
The same thoroughness Is to be OBJ
served in the way in which he looted
Harvard college.
In 1774 the trustees of that institu-
ton elected him treasurer. In 80 do
ing they considered their patriotism
rather more than their prudence. The
amount of money paid over to him
was upward Of $4,000. A considera-
BILE portion Of this clung to Hancock's
fingers and finally found It's way into
his pockets. For twenty years the
corporation begged and entreated him
to give 1t back They threatened to
prosecute him; they put his bond In
suit just as Adams's was, but 1t was
of no avail. He turned deaf ear to
all their entreaties. and 1t was only af-
ter his death in 1893 that his heirs
made restitution. The settlement was
made in 1895, but the college had lost
1926 interest.-Pittsburg Leader.