Page:Memoirs of the United States Secret Service.djvu/159

142 had put him up to it. Felker was then indicted for this serious and wicked complication, and a tedious trial followed. The Jury were "burst," however, through some unaccounted-for, but fairly suspected reason, and a disagreement caused Felker's discharge—fortunately for his skin.

The celebrated Nathan murder case arrested Felker's notice, and excited his natural cupidity. A large reward was offered for the discovery of the guilty parties in that instance, and Felker "went in to win" in that affair. He found a different style of men to deal with in New York, however. They knew him, and he made very little headway towards pocketing the reward proposed—though he made loud pretensions as to his ability to produce the guilty perpetrators of that crime. But he refused to part with the information he declared he possessed, unless the whole of the reward were paid him. This excuse was a very shallow one, and the authorities declined to treat with him. He went his way, leaving them as ignorant as he unquestionably was himself in regard to the probabilities in that important, but as yet never explained brutal murder.

We have cited the above case to show that dishonest, scheming, unworthy men, occasionally contrive to work themselves temporarily into the confidence of the officers of the Service. But the instance quoted is altogether an unusual one. Felker's career was simply infamous; and through, his subtle cunning (not his talents by any means,) he managed to bring down odium upon the business for a time.

As the Secret Service department is now organized and conducted, there is absolutely no opportunity for a recurrence of the abuses we have referred to. The first intimation of the prostitution of a subordinate's office in this direction, under Col. Whitley's administration, would be the