APRIL 10. 1924.
GASTON B. MEANS
THE SUPERWISE
Ite^n-Eyod Secret Agent of Fiction is
'Chrapcd with Every Crime in the
Calendar'" he says, but Convicted
Of N one** Murder, Bootlegging
and International Spying Among
Tho.se Specifications.
Liodsav Denison in New York World.
If Gaston B. Means in his days of
rooking catalpa cigars behind the
woodshed and reading Nick Carter
novels, had been juvenile prophet
enough to foresee what the first quar
ter of the twentieth century was going
to be like, he probably would
have set himself to just the career
into which he was drawn by a force
apparently as irresistible as gravity.
We have hiin in Washington now,
looking eery inch the keen-eved secret
agent of fiction. He fairly ozes
melodramatic ioy from his pores as:
be thumbs over the memorandum
> books which show how closely he was
associated with men whose names are
bung up for scandal hunters to dec
orate with unpleasant trimmings.!
Study his picture ? it is a good picture?and
get the calm, cold, mien j
the gayly adventurous mouth and the
glittering eye of the fearless one w ho I
cannot he deceived. How did he escape
the movies? Nobody knows;
maybe the magnates were afraid he
would sell Hollywood for them while
tbey were at a party.
Means is not bashful about his reputation
good or bad. "I've been accused
of o\ery crime in the world,' he
paid on the stand yesterday. In Theodore
Roosevelt's time he discovered
that the B in Gaston B. Means stood
for the famous Bulloch family of
Georgia and announced that he was a
cousin of Theodore Roosevelt.. There
were :? lot of other things going on
just then, including a world war and
the seed felt on barren ground. T. lined
her invited him to lnuch nor called
him a liar. But Means kept on his
way; nothing ventured nothing gained.
It was not much later that he was
tried for the murder of Mrs. Maud A.
Robertson King of no. 1155 Park avenue.
at the Means home in Concord
N. C. The husband of Mrs. King
had died, leaving her a large fortune
of from *'10.000 to $4,00(1,000 Means
discovered a second will of Mr. King
lenvinc llie whole $4,000,000 to the
widow. Means devoted himself to the
tn-k 1" moving it valid. Mrs. King
became ?he guest of Means and his
wife in North Carolina. In August,
101 7 when the will seemed about to
be made (rood, Mrs. King was shot
back of the ear. First Means said
she committeed suicide. Then he said
sh< had handled a weapon carelessly
'while shooting at a mark." He was
actpi t
The vill of Mrs. King left everything
u? iter sister. Mrs. Mary C.
Melvi It was filtnl in Chicago. Pro^
bate -Fudge Horner in spite of the
best efforts of Means .-aid the will
was an unpudent forgery. There was
a lot of litigation. Charges were
brought against Means in New York
county Means sued District Attor
nev Swan and Assistant District Attorney
John T. pooling- for maligning
him The suit was dropped out
of court, quietly later. Meantime it
was found that the estate of Mrs.
King, who had seemed to live quietly
bad dwindled from $610,000 to $60.00<1.
The Boy-Ed Case.
The nice round sum of $1,000.00(1
always appealed to Means. In the
Overman investigation after the war,
of German propaganda. Means testiIfied
with careless grace that Capt,
Boy Ed active head of German intelligence
in the United States befort
the war, once left one million foi
W?-ans in a package behind a grave
stone in Trinity church yard." Ht
said it lightly and passed on to dis
j cuss his intimacy with the J. P. Morgan
firm and the errands he did ab
oiJt the same time under the direct
ion of Martin Egan of the Morgai
house, and John Rathom *he battlinj
British editor of Providence, K. I
Means said he had in charge matter:
in the British interest involving mil
lions of dollars at the same time hi
was working with Bov-Ed.
Why not? A job is a job. When
in timev of world crisis, there is ;
scarcity of superwise and superdarim
secret workers, who was Gaston E
If cans that he should shirk responsi
?bility of meeting the supply of sue
workers by doubling in brass and ser
ving each and all sides with all th
loyalty to be expected of a transcer
dental-mystery-action man?
The same characteristic upheave
bis undoubtedly honest efforts to hel
the committee and his own pendin
case (charging him with acceptin
money with which to bribe Mr. Dai
gherty, Col. Bill Heywood, Major Jn
5 (. Holley Clarke and others) by tellin
bow close he was to government, vi:
ible and invisible, in the period co^
ered by the multifarious irivestig;
lions now murdering Washingtc
sleep. He was asked by Senate
Wheeler if he were the go-betwee
after Jess Smith ? whose game ha
*
I . I
| vrown too bi>r for his Main street ca- j j
I parity?shot himself. Wheeler doubt- I
less intended the question to hurt the j *
feelings of Gaston. It did. But not
; as the man of the sunburnt mountain
'nns thought it would hurt. I ?
'NTo!" cried the outraged Means
i '*Go-betwen? No! Money carrier!"
That's what he was ? the moneyCarrier!
The stern-faced, smiliiifr.il
man, trusted and feared by million- ,
j aire wolves of the commonwealth who j
! trusted him implicitly with millions ;
millions and w-e-1-1 t-h-e-y m-i-g-h-t j
Asked No Quarter!
441 ask no quarter and ! give none (
Attaboy. Let anybody appear before
! the jury which may try him in the (
Federal court in New York if he does <
J not puli new political and miraculous .
; rabbits out of the tail hat of his be- ,
nevolcnt looking, friend patron and ]
. boyish-spirited admirer. Col. Torn
1 B. Felder and say he ever tried to j
conceal his intimate association with
I the attorney general and all the ofti-1 ^
"irds at Washington who might use j |
i their power of place to save the mis- |
j taken philanthropists of the Glass ?
Coffin Trust from Federal persecution l
for fraud in selling stock in a coffin , .
factory which couldn't make a coffin
much over five feet long that wouldnt t
crack in two of its own weight.
What if certain miscreants, know (
ing thai Means was ever at the shoulder
and ear of Daugherty and others .
I of the potent, did try to hold up the
I glass coffin merchants by using the
name of Means? What other name 1
could they so well use as that of the I
"Money Carrier?" Sure the yellow
dogs! A guy can't get a little prom- 1
inence in this world nowadays but
what somebody tries to exploit him
and collect money in his name. Some
of us?one of us, anyway?has handled
a lot of money; in fact, seldom
has handled less than a million but .
never except on his own statements t
and when these statements can never ,
no corroborated. Does anybody won- ,
dor that William J. Burns, the in- ,
stantaneous. and dauntless f verifier (
of 57 varieties of confessions which
solved the Wall Street explosion mys
tery in 57 different ways, trusted
Means as he trusted himself?
Tin* Evening World sent me down
to see Col. Tom Felder once with a
telegram about one of the devious
and sinful things which Means douhi
less wrongfully was accused of doing.
1 cannot now remember what it was.
There have been so many. 1 took with
me the original telegraph dispatch
and sent it in to Col. Felder as m\
introduction.
When they let me in to see the
Colonel his face was all crinkled up
with chuckles and open laughter, lie
had the telegram before him. lie
laughed and laughed. In ten minutes
he hail me at. the door, showing me
out and I was laughing too. lie had
been telling me stories about Gaston
Means which had nothing to do with
the telegram, but the stories were so
good 1 had overlooked that detail. As
1 rernemln r ,t the last he said wa.c
"I surely hope, Mr. Dennison sir,
they are not going to do anything to
j thai ho}. It would be a shame Mr.
Dcnison sir. It would take the joy
out of life. I'm going to call you up
one. of these days .meet you and tell
vou some real honest-to-goodness stories
about him ? inconfidence, of
course sir. as this is."
The Colonel had been a busy man
j since. 1 realize that. These persons
accused of bootlegging just will take
their cases to him, he can't help him.
But 1 do hope that when his own case
about the fragile glass coffin industry
' to which he pleaded not guilty yesterday,
is over he will send for me
and release some of those confidneces.
Lacking them it is necessary to go
back to the records of the printed
word. Here is the history of Gastoh
Bullock Means as printed during his
public appearandes and gained
through himself and his varying coun
sel and not heretofore mentioned.
r It begins in lL'lo when Means said
" | one Swaitz, who saw the war coming:
" j engaged him to make investigations,
1 for Germany in 1914. Swartz intro>
! duced Means to Boy Ed. The Ger- 1
i man intelligence man wanted Means |
s | to buy supplies. Means dabbled in the j
" : business and then retired. It seemed
e j to him to violate the high responsibil-1
! ities of American citizenship as to j
* i neutrality. So he went to work for!
a William J. Burns who was then only
^ i the head of the Burns agency a pri'
vate enterprise.
In this job Means learned that
^ Burns, though he was one of the only
~ honest men in the world, if not the
e only honest detective as well as the
greatest, was accepting commissions
from Germany Burns, means said.
's he knew was 100 per cent American
p and honest; he said it again yesterg
day. What could the aspiring admirg
er of Burns do? He went right to
i- work, on Burns order for Germany,
o Editor Ruraley sent him to Fore River
g tofind out if British submarine.' were
s- being built there. Means didn't find
any submarines. Then Boy-Ed put
a- him on special work?$100 a day
?n guarantees, success or failure?but
w $1,000 a week for success,
n Some InveitigatioDt
id Burns went into the deportment of
THE WATAUGA DEMOCRAT?
iustice as chief of investigations p
Vleans went with him. There's a cer- n
ain safety in using a man like means j?
>D special confidential missions. He
na\ tel. the truth all day long?as k
ie may have been telling it yesterday tl
md may be telling it today?bat look n
it the other things he has told. tt
Hi told the Senate committee that b
le got Secretary Mellon as a dealer c
r? '-.niioi* npnnit^ t>> illipit of I
itjuor But as far back as 1919 h? ti
old the United States army 'hat h.- c
lad secret German documents ina 1*
-nit case in a monastery in North tl
Carolina. A Cap' Lloyd of military v
ntelligence was sent down to North e
'arolina with him to tret the bag. a
apt. Lloyd saw the ha;. He saw that 8
t was full of papers. But by advice. it
?f Means he stayed in North Carolina . P
ooking for another smaller bag while!
VI- an.- brought the fir.-1 bag to Wash- ?
ngton. And when the bag carried by [ I
VI- ans was delivered .t was empty. 1
iV.dl what did they expect, when Cap
Moyd let Means take it all the way
lack to Washington without anybody \
o help guard it?
Then again Means sued the South astern
Express Company for ".7.000
he had s"iit from the south in a bag
o Roy D. Keehan, an attorney rcpre- i
renting himself and Mrs. Melvin in J
Ticago in 1921. M< an- a'd that tr t
bag contained only -vooden blocks j
.vi on it was delivered t?? keehan. b
\
There's one thing about Means,
Ho is not a fish public -ervant. As
he said yesterday, he doesn't mind
lying if the public interest demands it
>r admitting thai lie if the public ir.Lerest
demands a change of front.
When Means was called for trio, in :
Mew York. Col. Folder reported him
>ick. At about that time there were a
loud cries for Means in the c
veterans' bureau investigation scan- <
ial in which he had a hand. Means
^aid he went to M-. < rim. vhe chief [
investigator, and Mi*, t rim ..old him
he wasn't wanted yet. So, says he. (
in went to his home and tayeu there HI
?"'sick.
There is another indictment against c
Means besides the funny glass coffin 1
i.ragedy case. Ii ha- t ? do with a c
number of person.-. who .-ay they part ; ;i
i*d with tents and hmdreds of ihous- /
;u.?is <>f dollars to get ?vh*<key moved ! .1
hither and yon ami rolen. ed at profit- 1
ible intervals, and that Means was the <
I...V IttllA UNkC ???..! ...r , ?
the Volstead act for them. No iai .he !
fovcr'imi'nt had lu-.n able to jn'ovc i i
that whiskey did move a- stated hut ; L
that the people who thought tl. v em-' i
Charity's
AbOZM! ui circle?
Lx-Lrou. Henry J. AUen
iielaw?
A Juiurc Uaaer Jot his peu
Call Results Wortl
$80,000,000 Cost
Of Work
!
ARB AMERICAN re*Hef rae.
xrren, which In the past 8 y?
haw cost thte country nv
than M million dollars In the N<
TMs qpamstton in answered afflr
fcdwiy. ma far as the Levant is c
twwd. by a group of prom in
Americans who during: the p
year have made a ctoee study
the Near Eastern situation i
completed a first hand survey
what the dollars contributed
American charity in relief and
eonstrootkm in that part of
world haw accomplished.
More than one million tlvee h
been saved, according: to th** rr
coMemtiiu estimates. But
/ERY THURSDAY?BOONE. N C.
toyed Means no profit out of the -lu
loving-. Merits said he '-vas "being: 1'?
i>bbed tor I'xpo^ing the i i?:g "* ea
"Who <ji(! Means ? ver expose?** used
a -.ie. And :u ler-~ a p r ?u? 1 ?;;
John Holloy Clarke had :o ad- ?m
m lzuk cne smooini -'^ ami Kwn- ess
and intelligence of Meaus had sei
rought about the indictment and nv
onviction and imprisonment of the e?
a Montague brothers, the aristocra- w;
tc Calumet club members who re- ih?
ently finished a jail term for boot- er
?gging. The trouble seems to be I)<
hat Gar-ion Mean and maybe I am tic
iolating that confidence of the learn
d Col. Folder when I say this? VI;
lways tells the truth as his over- cil
Town had boy dreamer soul sees no
and once in a while he sees m- B;
leasantiy straight. ch
JARLY HISTORY "
OF WATAUGA CO j
trief Hiatcry of Watauga County
From Ear iy Days Compiled by Col. "f
Fred A. Olds.
I 1 n
TL . ounty was created by the \ lUI
lev ra! .v-.-embly by an act ratified "U
an;;::ry L'7, IX1 ! . which directed n'
!iat it be "compnycd of parts of
ishe, \Vilk'*>. Caldwell and Yancey,
eginnir.g at the state line, (where in
C ?fh < : ?( !.na and uPemiessee join) <>n
ti I. *mue \Y '.-unV plantation and 1(1
uj i? a northerly direction two ar
v. n the -tale lint. then run- j er
. ur a ;a a -?y iin a direct i ^
in* *> t- 11? leave Thomas Wilsoe P?
h< coii.ily of As he) to the top of w'
he ! .* Bald Moi (a n; to the Deep ?i
5 .1' Blue idge. to Elk ('reek fh
it the Widow Hampton's to the top
>f W hiu Top Mountain; to the top
>f tin* Bine Ridge nearest to the ?
Yadkin spring, along the extreme l*:
weight of the Blue Ridge to the top a>f
Grandmother Mountain," etc.. * '
Charles li. Doughton and Reuben d*
rtast were named to survey this line.
The Assembly ordered that the first
ounty court of Watauga should be '
leld at the house of Jordan Council,
>; e third Monday in May 1840. It bi
i named Charles 11. Douf?hton of
Vshe. ;:.nu'.s Gwyn, Jr. of Wilkes
11 m 1 hi- Me Kirov of Yancey, com
ni . iuners 10 locate the county . al
hi hvlv ei i ;icviiien Hartley's j*
uul .. point half a mile west ol Wilis
Millie's and between John i*en- j(,
lell's and Howard's Knob, the land t??
>e not less than 50 acres, the locat- tr
nir to be done between May 10 and
Millions Wc
Abroad, h
X \ T
KEY TO MAP Sea
Area evocuated or in process r?
of evacuation L_
Near East Relief Stations
(\ aad Orphanages
^ Refugee Relief
PSkeleton organization for
\ medical ana refugee assistance
| Main railway lines
:
y. This map shows the areas of op
? \ spent in relief work m the past eight
k p turns from Turkey 'is well as the dire
* Smyrna disaster.
feature of relief activities which!
has attracted the widest attention; Q
is the care of the Levant's vast
army of orphans. Sixty thousand
I of these waifs of war and famine o
are now being sheltered, fed and ii
trained ai Near Kast Relief or-1 n
phanages. In these youngsters. 3
and others that the same organ
; ization Is caring for in homes and 11
refugee camps. American visitors; 5
i see the material for leadership \
1 which will eventually bring peace r
and progress out ot the present t
discord, turmoil. and suffering of 1
the Near East. j t
Henry J. Allen, former Governor t
of Kansas, spent several months, ^
and visited six different near east- t
em countries in a thorough stud/ {t
of relief work. | 1
"The principal constructive work 1
>re In that part of the world is being 1
done by Americans." he declares. 1
"The seed which we are sowing ?
will eventually bring forth the only
9n- fruit for the salvation of a com- 1
cot plicated situation. We are the one *
*at voice that Is speaking for a square 4
of Ideal. We must carry on what wj]i
md | have begun foe we have not re^ch- t
of; ed the point where we can lessen
by; our effort. To cease now would
re-j be to sign deliberately a death
the warrant for those who not merely,
(are dependent upon i?. but who1
ave are the real hope of the future in
tost a sorely troubWd part of the i
tlio , wo: Id."
10 Jonathan Hort<>?,. Jordan
niiu'il anil Noah Mrist were appoint 9
to lav off and se'.' the town lots.
The county was named for an lv
rifw. the propei spelling of tm uj
mi of the latter being "Waiag;" iL
nj? ankhou ?.) Th? eouuty
lit Boone, was named for America's cl
1 greatest pioneer and e:.pior- h<
Baiiie! Boone v. hose hunting camp cl
. for 10 years where Boone now is ttl
r- being a monument to him ^
ee?ed by a descendant and the ^
lughters of the American Revolu,T:
tt
The first county court was held in i
ay 1849 in a barn on Jordan Coun
farm a mile from where Boone ^
w is, and it was opened by E. C. ft
irtlett, sheriff of Ashe. The first ft
rk of the county court was George ft
ngham, register of deeds. Rev Jos- ?
k Harrison; sheriff Michael Cook. ft
first clerk of the superior court ft
is E. C. Harriett, who was appoint- ft
by Judge Anderson Mitchell. The ft
st jury was drawn by James \V ft
?rt'.-n, who has altemled all se.-siori; ft
the courts of the county up to $
and the superior courts since, j ft
18 ~>0 the f .rst court house was j ^
. it in Doone 01 oncK, ana it was j Is
rnod in 1873 by reason of careless-j ;
all the records being destroy <
. The second court house was built
7 1 and in 11M.M was converted t
ta hank and More when the pn ^
??!'( was completed. The will and _
ed hooks begin in Is74. (In 1858
i attempt was made to get the gen
al assembly to make Brushy Fork
e county seat and a campaign was
it ?<n in which Marcus Holsclaw
ho favored the removal, was elected
r one vote. He got the lull through
e House of Commons, but it never
>t to the senate.
7 he county has furnished a Super
court judge. Lconidas L. Greene,
s first representative in the general
sombly was Jonathan Ilorton.
1854.) It has had the following
degates in state constitutional conditions:
J. \V. Cputicill, (18(311:
eorge VV. Bradley (1865); Harvey
gham (18751. In Congress it has
i?i a member. Edntond 8. Biacki
rn.
k'ui?ii rwpuirtuwn is
Washington.?The Indian population
' the 1'nited States. according to the
test tabulation of the bureau of loan
afl'airti. Ik 344,7103. an Increase dnrig
the past year of 1.144. Oklahoma
mtinuH* to lead among the at a tea
1th a total of 110.280. Arizona being I
vond with 4.'l,0l.*?. 4
;11 Spent
4oted Touri
Black See Vj, >
OJ~<
S I A OCAlVJttA
tA ??
- O?
JS'T'sy aIA
1 | V" 1 *
RT ?
^ A RAO I A '
eration of the Sear East Relief, zchere n
years. Arrows indicate the nmte of eia
ction of flight of Turkeys Greek and A
George M. Reynolds, chairman orpb
f the Board of Directors of Lhe folio
lontinental and Commercial Bank
ham
f Chicago, the largest financial rnan
nstltution west of New York, cent
nakes a similar statement. He lishi
ays:- yout
"The greatest work, however, is Ai
hat which is being accomplished i relit
vith the children. Americans no- ther
vhere are doing any work that, in last!
ny judgement, can compare with payi
hat in the Near East Relief or- , aroi
ihanagea. These youngsters will be ' ista.
he future leaders among the men > od 1
ind women of that part of the inet
world. Give those boys and girls rest
hree or four years of experlenoo akcu
mder American teachers in or- etpic
jhanage schools. where they are con
>eing as carefully and diligently wor
aught as children la cmx schools atio
it home, and they wBl soon be- A
some self-supporting. lean
"Such work is the only hope In hav
tn otherwise hopeless situation. If Noa
order and progress and prosperity 1 npe<
are to be brought oot of the dts- Pen
cord and hate and ignoranoe of Cor
the present, the work of the Near Dr.
East Relief must go on. I ap- Yor
praised the work not with the or? nut
of the maudlin sentimentalist but of 1
from the point of view of an Am- Ric
eric&n business man. I fed it Ooi
worth while."' Yoi
The work that relief agents are Jr .
doing in Beirut to establish older* Chi
PAGE THREE
1, Walks Mile Every
Week to Sunday School
Ku? wville, Md-?Eclwaru \V. Homer,,
inet\-one ytrain old. the "oldest boy**!
lii> | :.i-e, has a remarkable recordlit'
;<J not mla* one Sur.da> school
ass ?.-i year, notwithstanding that
i lives more than a mile from thej
tur*.h and must walk th* distant? ?**
1 kinds of weather.
He has been presented with a bads?
I bon;?r by Frank Hig^ins, superin'intent
of the Sunday school.
Mr. Horner attributes bi> longevity!
? the fact that he never iuarrie<L
Gifts for U. S. Men
Who Are Overseas |
Washington.?Over 50 Christ ft
luus bugs JUled with good cheer ?
icd useful gifts tor the Amerl- x
run soldiers and sailors over- ft
seas were dispatched from the ir
district chupter ?<f the A; tier lean ft
Lied Cross recently after iun ?
teers under the direction of Mrs i
Charles Lynch. chairman ??f ihe 7
comfort section, had arrange*! J'
the < < atents. v;
Kach hag contained the name >;
and address of the person who 2
had filled it. and pinned to each t
erne was a Christinas card from {
the district chapter. z
M
4 1 %
,fc%;0
Never
1)UT an en.! t * once with
1 Dt Bell'. -Tar Honey.
Loosens hai . kcd phlegm,
soothes inflari .restores
normal breat: M nic oi the
same medicine ?tr nvn doctor
prescribes, conn ncd with the
good old srjn.ibv ? pine-tar
honey. You'll like Its taste, tenv
Keep Dr. Bell's on hand for all
the family;
All druggists. Be sure :<> get
the genuine.
DR. BELL'S Pine-Tar Honey
sts Find
RUSSIA
^kriiut&Aa \ \
MukoaMuayA 1 _
/"r v.
~ \_?uuvuiVA4Ca i;
, N ! A 0?*T ?kAAAT i
^ PCRSIA
KEY TO MAP
d..\A-sij.i/ifciiy, V?i?rj??og,
Carpentry. Tmvmthtoy. A0 "*"OM
Tjdon/ig. Wrjvuiq ?
. Ltces. Emttro-Jenes
i
i Pottery.
^yrrrtVf***,
- Toys
Hospital Ternas**
SiHpbtttUpy.
I Commercial Trpuuog
i Apprentice Work V Hw
Booking V*-?>
Prmvng ^
*ur<* titan $ft\(W>.000 iio.s
riMtim oj 20.000 ( Arko-fton O'
rmt-nmn populations since the
ans brought out of Turkey
win*: the Smyrna disaster so
uroil the imagination of Willi.
Danforth, a prominent
ufacturer of St. I.ouis. that he
ributed $5,000 towards vstabng
industries that would gnve
hful artisans 'mployment.
fn^nran raetuoas or uisirinu mg
f to adult refugees by making:
n perform nom? labor bringing
n? good to the community and
ing them In food has also
ised interest among the tourAll
of them were impress
>y the constructive arcomplishits
of the relief dollar. The
dts obtained by American phyuis
and nurses in stamping out
lemtes under almost impossible
Afrtlous is another aspect of the
k which has aroused the admiro
of those who have seen it.
mong other prominent Amorib.
besides those mentioned, who
e endorsed the work of the
.r East Relief after personal inrtion
are Senator Kwig. of i'tah.
at or I<add of North T>ak ota,
.gressman Frear of Wisconsin.
John Finley. editor of the New
'k Times Alloe Kegan Rice, the
bor. Oliver 7. Sands, president
;he American National Bank, of
hmond. Va.. Prank P. Graves,
niuissioner of Education of New
rk. and Btehop .Tames Cannon.
of the Metbodis: Episcopal
urcb South.