The Birmingham age-herald., 1914-02-22

~ ARLN in the month of January
1854 / was suddenly called to
~ the office of Capt c. G. Warner
who was then general auditor for the
Gould railway system, whose chief spe-
eial agent 1 then was.
'Furlong7 said Captain Warner. i
have just received a long telegraphic
dispatch from one od my travelling an-
ditors in sherman, Tex He states that
large amount of cotton, which had
been shipped from that station. has
undoubtedly been diverted in transit,
as it has not reached its proper destf-
nation I want you to go to Sherman
at once, find the travelling. auditor Mr..
Finby, and make a thorough investi-
CATION
Sherman was a point from which a
very large amount of cotton was
shipped annually. 1t was the outlet
for one of the largest cotton produc-
ing districts Of the For this this
cotton mill owners were represented
by agents here. These agents were
really brokers. 1t was their practice,
as soon as they had purchased cotton,
TO have 1t delivered at once to the rail
way company for shipment, when they
pany's agent a bill of lading, setting
forth the number and weight of each
bale This bill of lading. when signed
by the railway agent, was negotiable
at any bank in the cotton producing
district. The bank would take the
bill of lading. allowing the deposition
80 per cent cash on the face value, and
would hald 10 per cent back until the
exact value of the cotton had been
ascertained.
/ left for Sherman on the first train,
and found Mr.. Finby at that point He
informed me that the company's agent
in charge at Sherman had left there on
that he was going to take run down
the preceding Saturday night saying
that he was going to take run down to
Galveston on personal business and eX-
pected to return on the following Mon
day 1t then being Wednesday, and the
man not having returned Mr.. Finby had
become suspicious and had wired to head
quarters, with the result indicated above
s. l spent several days at Sherman, maxi
ing inquiries about the missing agent
Meanwhile teegraphic messages of in
quiry We're pouring in from New York,
Philadelphia. FAN River and Providence
from persons who had purchased and paid
for large quantities of cotton, the total
value aggregating Sl2l, 600 and they want
ed to know why they had not received it.
If the cotton had ben diverted from its
destination and stolen, the railway COM
pany would be responsible for the loss.
After 10 days investigation at Sher-
man | became convinced that three other
men We're connected in the swindle with
the missing agent These may be known
as No. /, No. . No. ,. and No. A stand
ing for the agent. The swindle had been
,ner.~R ated in this way: The bills of lad
VHtad been signed by the agent in blank
and turned over to confederate in
filled
out each blank for various numbers or
bales of cotton, setting forth the number
of bales and the weight Of each bale IN
the regular way. He then turned the
bills of laden thus prepared by him over
to a second confederate, a cotton buyer,
who placed these bills in various banks
at Sherman, Dallas and other Texas
towns, drawing cash for the face value,
less 10 per cent.
/ succeeded in locating the family and
friends Of the missing agent (No. a, and
also learned that No. l had brother Nv
ing in New Orleans l determined to
go to that city and quietly investigate
this brother. in the hope of discovering
where No / was staying. telegraphed
TO my office in st. Louis for George W.
Herbert, one of my assistants, directing
him TO meet me in New Orleans winch
he did.
The brother of No. was found in
New Orleans without any difficulty and
there was reason to believe that No Is
wife might be staying with the brothef
and his family in the rather pretentlous
mansion which they occupied For some
three weeks the house was assiduousiy
watched Herbert and I taking turns OF
eight hours each. This was one OF the
most difficult tasks that | have ever un-
dertaken. [ was well known TO the New
Orleans police, who would, no DOUBT,
have rendered me valuable aid, but II
had been recognized | would nave. hao
10 explain to them my presence in that
city. and. owing TO the influential position
which the brother Of No. l held, the news
of my presence might have leaked out
and given the man whom / sought the
slarms
MANY amusing incidents occurred dur
ing the vigil. one morning, after the
two men had been on watch Tor seVerai
days, ] hit upon plan to find whether
there were any women. in the house
hoping 10 discover the wife of No.
among them. a few blocks down the
street couple of good-looking young
Italian girls were playing a fine new hand
organ of extremely loud tone / bar
gained for their services and arranged
that they should take up their station
In front of the house which we were
watching and play there as long as thf
police permitted them The music and the
performance of the monkeys brought sew.
eral women from llie house 10 lut We
randa, but the woman who was wanted
was not among them The same perform
zpce, repeated on several mornings, pro
duced a similar result.
The brother of No 1, who was a gen
tleman of leisure. was in the habit o
strolling each morning from his nous
TO the postoffice, where he usually mailed
several letters. He always dropped thes
into the general receptacle, which ha'
an opening in the main corridor at leas
foot in length and three inches wide
and led to a large box in the basemen
below the main floor This box contained
about a wagonload of letters and pack
ages and when a letter had been droppe'
in this mass it was almost Impossible
to find ii again
The brother was a middle-aged man
rather slow in his movements, and Yer.
deliberate in everything that he did. II
would approach the general mail box
placing his cane under his left arm AM
carefully removing the glove from hi
right hand; then he would take the let
tiers, generally three or more in mum
ber, and in an exasperatinly slow AM
deliberate manner would deposit them il
the box, watching them till they had dis
appeared down the chute. This operation
was repeated by him each week da.
during about three weeks, being wit
messed each time by one of us.
l prepared two sletters, DIRECTING
them to myself and my associate
&tamped them and then covered th,