IMES were pretty live
ly about Washington
during1 President
G r a n t’s administra
tion. The great, the
near great and the
shabby genteel politi
cians were to be
daily met with. Each
had an axe to grind. It was a busy
lay for adventurers and sharpers,
fcvery device that human ingenuity
could Invent was in vogue for money
making purposes. Men of respectabil
ity when at home often turned crooks
pfter sojourning at the nation’s capi
tol for a time. The war had left its
demoralizing influence upon many
and the opportunities for acquiring
wealth were numerous and varied.
For a long time before General Grant
took his seat in the president’s chair,
there had been a looseness in the ad
ministration of government affairs
resulting in organized frauds that
would not be tolerated in this day.
The Credit Mobiler conspiracy, the
whisky ring and many other monu
mental steals were being carried on
in high-up official and private circles.
The big fellows set the pace and the
smaller crooks loitering about the city
felt quite safe in taking a hand in
what wras going on. Some of the de
vices resorted to by the lesser fellows
were quite ridiculous. I will disinter
one of these schemes for the purpose
exhibiting the folly of some of the
Confidential Circular No. 10.
Executive Mansion, Washington,
April 5th, 1873.
“The annexed conversations are sub
mitted to the friends of the president
in confidence. Our friends can ad
dress Rev. J. Hale Barney, who is
temporarily secretary in that behalf.
Any one having conscientious convic
tions against contributing need only
silently decline. The president has
acted in good faith and confidently
relies upon an active and cheerful as
sistance. Suppose nothing had been
done and the state of affairs existing
in Louisiana had more extensively
prevailed, what would have been the
result? Read carefully the president’s
views and act as your Judgment dic
tates, remembering this subject is
confidential and known only to three
persons besides the president and
that whatever is sent should be in
currency in the enclosed envelope.
“Very respectfully,
"O. E. Babcock,
“Secretary.”
With the above circular was also
enclosed the following letter for re
turn after being filled out:
“Rev. J. Hale Barney,
“Ex-Secretary, Etc.
“Washington, D. C.
“Sir: Please find enclosed ten dol
lars in currency which you can apply
jlotters of that day.
Shortly after President Grant’s in
auguration in the spring of 1873 he
sent a messenger with a note re
questing me to call at once at the
White House. On entering his office
I found him at his desk. He pointed
to a nearby chair and bade me He
seated. Reaching into a drawer of his
desk he took out two long black
cigars, and handing me one of them
he bit off the end of the other and
put it between his teeth. Straighten
ing back in his chair, the big black
cigar was pointed upward at an angle
of about forty-five degrees. As the
smoke curled lazily above his head 1
Isaw that there was something in his
manner indicating that his usually
placid temper wras riled. Picking up
a package of letters from his desk he
turned towards me and said: “Here,
Colonel, is a matter that needs your
careful attention. During the last
few days I have been receiving these
letters. I want you to make an in
vestigation at once. The persons en
gaged in this work must be .punished.
It is an outrage. It is probable that
there is more than one person in the
scheme.”
President Grant spoke with great
earnestness, and I saw that he was
not a little disturbed and that his idea
was to let no guilty man escape. The
circulars he handed me w’ere printed
in letter form and had been sent
through the mails to many postmasters
throughout the south and west. The
circulars read as follows. I give them
verbatim.
Executive Mansion, Washington,
Oct. 12th, 1872.
Memorandum of conversation between
the president and his secretary.
Secretary—I wish to refer this tele
gram of Senator Morton’s to the
President.
To the President:
A conspiracy has been formed to
overrun southern Illinois, Indiana and
Ohio and to keep the colored vote
from the polls in the southern states.
Several thousand nonresidents will
Vote in Indiana. Men and money are
“eeded. I send a man to you who has
“een in their council.
10. P. Morton.
President—Yes, I have thought that
witwl aH °Ver' and had a lonS talk
m the man the senator sent. What
°es Mr. Cook say about money? You
£°\tbat we have none’ and that the
fnr tu Ge s rneans are all necessary
the regular business.
youerary-Mr- Cook will furnish
#ou any amount you require.
President-Very well, I will take
C^r:r?lbllity- Have Captain
»nd jrtad°rn men to go west
The mere fait 1/Unds and organize,
will deter f 1 ,°f a good organization
SIptW to 7 688 b°dleS from at
Polls. 8 defraud the people at the
Additional conversation, March 24th.
determined" how Presldent> have you
Mr. CoTLi y°U wU1 reimburse
October? 6 m°5?y furnished last
^SSST5,* }*£. ^ "•»>
are so iarffate,ly> and as our
be arranged and Z f ° t0 clerks to
the® you >, efed brfore we
Ole subject 7 b&Ve a11 ’otters on
^ ou^iSrS ? him- Call
tribute over tJ f °W no °ne to
®reTeat Publicity an/° lar8’ and- <*>
*he remittance to a d trouble, direct
J* dollar note r “ade by a single
J^afts, or express^8!61'6'1 letters,
5? t0 Publicity88 MrZ neces8arily
*111 make an V, Z' Secretary, you
ji"' -iiyr*— ,is‘ «'
Matter refer which we can
In any way you think necessary for
the good of the cause.
“Yours truly.”
With thiB letter was an envelope
addressed as follows:
"Rev. J. Hale Barney,
"Executive Secretary, Etc..
“2126 Sixth St., N. W.
"Washington, D. C.”
It is scarcely necessary to say that
the foregoing circulars had been con
cocted for the purpose of obtaining
contributions from the appointees of
the president. The Rev. J. Hale Bar
ney was discovered In the person of
one Colonel Pardel, who had reck
lessly assumed the role of a clerical
gentleman for the purpose of making
money. The circulars turned over to
me was a source of great annoyance
to the president, General Babcock and
Senator Morton. Although the scheme
was a foolish one, it was one of the
boldest swindles of a pecuniary and
political character that ever came up
in Washington. It involved no less
than three kinds of crime—using
the mails for fraudulent purposes,
forgery and obtaining money under
false pretenses. The president was
quite ind.gnant. It was not alone a
reflection upon him personally, but
upon his administration.
Many of the postmasters in the
south and west receiving these circu
lars remitted the amount called for
V t
at once. Others were surprised and
doubtful as to their genuineness and
forwarded them to the president with
a letter of inquiry. Taken altogether
it was a most remarkable affair
planned and carried out in a reckless
manner. The report of the detectives
sent to capture the schemer furnishes
a chapter of racy reading.
It was discovered that a lady who
rented furnished rooms at No. 426
Sixth street had sometime prior to
the discovery of the forgeries received
a letter from a man signing himself
Rev. J. Hale Barney. He said he
was a Methodist minister and that he
would be absent from the city much
of the time attending to the duties of
his circuit, but he wanted to hire a
good lower front room in her house
for office purposes and a place to
sleep and the delivery of his corre
spondence. He explained further that
he had been appointed executive sec
retary of the Christian Brotherhood.
The lady thought it was a rare op
portunity to secure an occupant of
distinction. She had great confidence
in Methodist ministers as she leaned
that way herself, and she answered
favorably. In a few days a large
trunk was forwarded by express. It
had an aperture in its top through
which letters could be dropped. There
wy also forwarded two large cards
upon which was printed “Rev. J. Hale
Barney, Executive Secretary of the
Christian Brotherhood,” one to be
hung upon the door, the other in the
window of the room. Money was
sent to pay a month’s rent in ad
vance.
The madame was delighted to rent
her rooms to such a nice man. She
had always maintained a highly re
spectable place and intended to keep
it so. The trunk was put into one
corner of the room hired, and all
mail addressed to the reverend myth
was dropped through the hole in the
top of the trunk pending the arrival
of his reverence.
The old lady was wholly unsuspi
easily secured a key to fit it. He
had several circulars printed in fac
simile of the original to be used as
decoys. These wfere postmarked afid
given the appearance of having been
sent by postmasters in the south.
Some of them contained marked
money. Excuses were made in oth
ers; money would be sent in course
of time. Some of these letters were
signed, "A Friend of the Cause,” "A
Sympathizer,” “Depend Upon Me,”
etc. A letter carrier was made use
of and the detective was kept posted
in regard to the delivery of the let
ters.
When the “nice man” occupying
the room back of the parlor was ab
sent the letters contained in the trunk
were examined by the detective. A
short time after the return of the
“nice man” he was se*n to slip into
the parlor through the rear door. The
detective again examined the trunk.
The letters were gone. Shortly after
wards the “nice man” occupying the
room back of the parlor was arrested
while in the act of dropping letters
into the postoffice.
These letters were discovered to be
circulars addressed to postmasters
and others. The “nice man” arrested
was searched and the marked money
placed in the letters by the detective
was found in his pocket. It was- now
certain that Rev. J. Hale Barney and
the individual arrested were one and
tho same. The silent young man up
stairs was suspected and arrested. His
room was searched and a large num
ber of printed circulars and envelopes
addressed to postmasters were found.
The plot, although silly in its con
ception, was catchy because of its
boldness. The “nice man” caught
was a person of considerable prom
inence. He had served as a colonel
of a regiment during the Civil war
and was a gallant fighter.
The young fellow upstairs was a
printer and had done the work on the
circulars. Both of the schemers were
tut 'A/ce rt/fY Ms Mas S£S?
The Detect/veExemhed /y?E£6T£D AS HE HES T°E&!ZrNlnnM
THE locu ME/UHO A i£TT£P ™our Poo*.
clous. A Methodist minister was
above reproach with her. The back
room adjoining the one engaged by
the reverend was already occupied
by a quiet and unobstruslve gentle
man who paid his rent regularly and
went and came at his pleasure. He,
too, was above suspicion. There was
also a very nice young man occupy
ing a room upstairs. He was always
busy writing and attending to his own
business. Many letters postmarked
at different towns of the west and
south addressed to Rev. J. Hale Bar
ney were being delivered dally. These
were put in the trunk.
The detective detailed to unearth
the fraud rigged himself out in a suit
of genteel black clothes and presented
himself at 426 Sixth street. Here he
was kindly received by the nice old
lady. She was polite, but a little
suspicious at first. It did not, how
ever, taka the smooth-tongued de
tective long to calm her fears and se
cure a room. He was not particular
about the price. He had heard that
her house was a quiet place. He was
a law student and did not like to be
disturbed while engaged in his stud
ies.
At the first opportunity the de
tective slipped into the front room
and examined the lock on the trunk
with the aperture in its top. It was
an ordinary affair and the officer
1 convicted and sentenced to do time
In the penitentiary. This was only
one of the many bold schemes prac
tised In our capital city by persona
maintaining the outward appearance
of eminent respectability.
(Copyright. 1910, by W. G. Chapman.)
How to Keep Young.
The fact that one has lived 00 or
even for 80 years, is no reason why
he should feel old.
When Longfellow was well along in
years, his head as white as snow, but
his cheeks as red as a rose, an ardent
admirer asked him one day how it
was that he was able to keep so vigor
ous and to write so beautifully.
Pointing to a blossoming apple tree
near by the poet replied: "That ap
ple tree is very old, but I never saw
prettier blossoms upon it than those
which it now bears. The tree grows
a little new wood each year, and I
suppose that it is out of that new
wood that those blossoms come. Like
the apple tree, I try to grow a little
new wood each year."
And what Longfellow did we all
Wught to do.
We cannot stop the flight of time;
we cannot head off the one event that
happeneth to all; but we can keep on
“growing new wood" and in that way
keep on blossoming until the end.—
Magazine of Mysteries.
I
PRACTICAL BARN FOR COWS
One With Sheep Fold for Breeding
Ewes Found Very Comfortable
and Convenient.
I herewith present the plans of my
cow barn, with sheep fold for breed
ing ewes, both of which I have found
very comfortable and convenient. For
all practical purposes I would ask for
nothing better. The dimension of
building Is 28 by 52 • feet with room
above for 20 tons of hay and a wool
room where I can store away 500
fleeces, writes Edwin E. Sedwick in
the Farmers' Review. The corner
posts are 12 inches at butt, 8 to 10 at
top and 16 feet high. They are white
oak and were obtained from my own
timber. Such poleB could not be
bought for less thhn $1 each. All the
wooffwork, except shingles and siding,
were obtained from the farm timber
lot and are mostly oak, elm, and bass
wood. The logs were cut and hauled
%
•f
Plan of Cow Barn.
1, 2, 3—Box stalls, 7x12 feet.
4—Feed room, 7x12.
6— Sheep fold for breeding owes, 20x28,
With wool room above.
7— Mangers.
8— Feed boxes.
9, 10, 11, 12. 13-Stalls, 0.5x12.
and sawed In widths and thickness to
suit different parts. For girders I
used oak and elm, 2 by C; also same
for sleepers for upper and lower
floors. The girders are four feet apart
and floor joists two feet, which makes
a firm and substantial floor. We cut
logs six feet long and sawed planks
two inches thick for stall floors with a
two-inch drop floor back of cows
lengthwise of the barn. This makes
it a very easy matter to clean out
stable. We bed only the high six-foot
floor and the cow lies on this, all
droppings going to the lower floor be
hind. We used 2 by 4s for rafters,
placing them two feet apart and used
one-half pitch for roof. The shreath
ing was picked up about the place, old
boards being worked in and used to
good advantage; 4 by 4s 14 feet long
were used for bearing under rafters.
These were set at an angle, thus mak
ing more hay room. All braces are
made from 2 by 4s and 2 by 6s, odds
and ends being used to advantage.
The feed alley is floored with inch
boards running lengthwise, as is also
the loft above and floor to wool room.
The front of manger next to alley is
made of elm boards one inch thick,
w uiiu utc jmi i iiual iu w»va to iwauu
from short pieces set up and down
the manger, being two feet two inches
high. The feed boxes are very solid,
all being made of two-inch elm and
are tight enough to hold fine ground
feed. The outside doors are all dou
ble, one above the other, so the upper
may be left open to admit air and sun
and still keep the animals in, even if
loose in a stall.
Small windows are on each side
to let in light with larger windows
in sheep fold and hay loft. The
three box stalls are made so they
may be closed with a door, as shown
in the cut. These may be used for
cows at calving time and when used
for two cows in milking these doors
are hooked back to partition. This,
we have found, a very convenient
arrangement. There is a door in loft
floor to throw down hay, also a
small door to pitch hay or straw
from a wagon into the mow, with a
large door !n the end to admit fork
and carrier. We have a good modern
hay fork and track in this barn.
Success in Dairying.
It matters not how well our dairy
cattle are fed or how intelligently
they are fed, if the environment does
not correspond our efforts are in vain.
Cows should have clean, warm stables
and should occupy them at all times
when the weather is unfavorable out
side. They should have good pas
tures, plenty of pure water and shade.
With good cattle and proper sur
roundings we have a reasonable as
surance of success.
Tho Milking 8horthom.
they will produce good beef animal*
and at the same time make good dairy
cows. Or, they can be bred and fed
for the dairy to the opposite extreme
and make good beef as well.
Of course such breeding will, In
time, ruin the constitution of the
stock, and destroy their qualities both
for the beef and the dairy. The ten*
deucy of the Shorthorn to fatten too
easily is one of the objections to thin
breed; but properly fed, as they are
In England, they still retain a strong
place in tho dairy.
HANDY BARN FLOOR SCRAPER
Implement Can Easily Be Made Out
of Hardwood Board Cut Desired
Length, With Handle.
The accompanying Illustration
shows a very handy floor scraper
which can easily be made by taking a
hardwood board the desired length
and boring holes In It at the proper
spacing to lit the tines of an old fork,
writes Monroe Conklin, Jr., in the
Farm and Home. The hoard is then
driven on the tines, which are broken
off at the face of the board. The holes
should be a very little smaller In <11*
arneter than the tines in order that
tho hoard will bind when driven on
them. They should also be bored at a
/
■
Study rations for each cow.
Milk comes by Invitation, not forest.
The dairy cow is what man makes
her.
Feed all the corn fodder .that the
cows will clean up.
In the care of a cow the greatest
expense Is In the feed bill.
Silage and alfalfa hay will make a
balanced ration and cheap.
Fewer cows are injured not by high
feeding than by unbalanced feeding.
A clean cow and a clean stable go
with clean milk, good butter and clean
cash.
The man who falls In love with cat
tle will soon find that they pay him
a profit.
Good grain rations this winter &n4
spring mean more grass next year and
year after.
Ensilage fed to milch cows Is one
of the most economical feeds that can
be adopted.
A large farm is all right, but it
needs a smart farmer with plenty of
capital to make It pay.
Don’t get so proud of that one extra
good cow that you forget to weed out
the extra poor ones In the herd.
If your cows lie on a cement floor
without a board covering or deep bed
ding look out for udder trouble.
Poultry raising can be convenient
ly and profitably combined with dairy
ing, fruit growing or gardening.
Pasturage will give a large amount
of roughage at a low cost, but a pas
ture, no matter how good, will not
enable a cow to do her best unless,
supplemented with a grain food.