Dakota farmers' leader. (Canton, S.D.) 1890-19??, 1911-03-10

the slightest information. l had OF
fered him his liberty and $1,000 IL
money as an inducement, but he II
bornly refused. He seemed to have
deluded himself into the idea hat
treachery among a gang of criminals
was much worse than the unlawful
deeds performed by them.
learned from the prisoner that he
had a family. When this was men
toned he s%huddered a little. Coming
to the conclusion that | could learn
nothing from him l was ready TO lock
him up. Before doing this suggested
the idea of taking him to see his wife
and children. Early in the morning
| procured a carriage, and after a
20 minutes drive We stopped In front
of q large tenement house which we
entered, ascending the stairs to the
second floor.
Knocking at a door to our right we
were after some delay admitted by a
woman wearing u calico wrapper, and
we entered the room which was dark
and dismal as a tomb. Two or three
broken chairs, a rickety table and a
mattress spread upon the foor ana
covered with ragged quilts. constl-
tuted the furnishings. Peeping from
beneath the tattered covering / saw
the bright eyes and curly heads OF
two young children.
rs this your home, Mr.. Hartz?" I
inquired.
This is where I stay" he replied.
saw at once that I was up against
a species of affection for which
no ready-made speech of coincidence,
and | was just a little embarrassed.
There was a depth of seriousness In
the affair that | had rarely met with.
] was confronted with the genuine
woe Of humanity and at a loss for
the moment to know just what to do
or say. After celebrating a short
time | came to the conclusion that it
was best to explain all to his wife.
She looked like an intelligent oma
and / proceeded to %acquaint her with
the facts concerning her husbands ar
rest and The punishment that was sure
to follow. l likewise pointed out the
door through which he might escape.
| demanded a clean breast without
reserve. / was to know all the partic-
ulars in regard to the conspiracy, and
he was to act in good faith and to as
sist the detectives in plans to cap
ture the engraver n all others con
nected with the affair; besides, he
was, If 1t became necessary, to go up
on the witness stand n TESTIFY
against his confederates. Counterfeit
ers as a general thing are t~reacherous
fnW1rAc nnn annthar when In a tight
place; it is anything to save them
selves. With John Hartz it was diff
f~erent; he preferred to sacrifice him
self rather han to give away his con-
federates.
When the wife was made acquaint-
ed with the proposition that had been
made to her husband she appealed to
him in language that seemed irresist-
ible.
He hung his head. There was an
expression on his face that was In
d~efnable. A fresh link in misery's
chain had now reached his heart.
The scene was absolutely painful n
| soon saw that he was weakening.
A mans character varies In accord
ance with the position In which ne ls
placed. Criminals are human, ike
our selves, and If we would learn the
dangers lurking in our pathway, we
should know how they nance TO
stumble and fall. Some men are
weaker and more prone to vice than
others. There Is a never-endlng pat
tie between right and wrong. ! never
vet found a man SO bad that there
was not something in his character
upon which to base a hope. | never
vet saw a man that was SO good as to
he free from danger. There IS a
thread of gold running through the
character OF the worst or men; the
diff is to reach II.
The prisoners eyes fell and were
filled with tears. We have no pity lor
the tears shed by criminals. lhey
are deserved, but they are tears just
the same, and sometimes come from a
heart uniustly pierced. His wife now
annroached him and said, where Is
the money to come from TO pay tfe
rant for this miserable o we are
living in? How am l to obtain 1000
and clothing for our children "heh
Won are In the penitentiaryF
Accustomed as l vas to scenes Oh
This kind my heart was deeply touched
and nv hand went almost i~nvoluntarl-
" to my pocket. ] pulled out a roll OF
bills. 1t was the governments money.
poelipg off five twenties, l hahdea
them to the woman. Take this, my
good woman. ! cannot save your nus
hand. but I will give you something
with which to supply your immediate
wants. Buy these children some
clothes"
handed her an additional tWehty:
The counterfeiter and his wife STOOD
looking earnestly into each others
faces. Both seemed well nigh broken
hearted. He stepped towards me as
he said: You are the only decent
man have ever seen in the detective
business and I am going to tell you
all about it
| have seer crime in it's many phases
and have noted the effect OF a lon6
term of imprisonment upon men as
thew received their sentence, but John
Hartz appeared as the most repentant
criminal | had ever net. He mad
been caught red-handed and coul have
been easily convicted, but the result
of his confession and assistance was
many times more important to the
A. l-~- IL 49,