about the frauds by confessing his desire for revenge. In San Francisco the detective had heard that the Land Office (not Binger Hermann, but somebody) had warned Hyde or Benson that Schneider was "squealing." Also he had heard that Hyde or Benson sent back word to the Department to "let him squeal." This, if true, would account for Hermann's cool disregard of Schneider's complaint. But when the investigation was begun by Holsinger, and Hyde's "good name" was being "bandied about," that gentleman had given out an interview explaining that a former employee was attempting to blackmail him. Burns' theory, therefore, was that Schneider had "shut up" because Hyde had submitted finally to blackmail.
But Burns could not break Schneider down on this point. He tried again and again, and always in vain, but he did make Schneider talk. Taking along with him as a witness Knox Corbett, the postmaster at Tucson, Burns would begin by asserting something which he knew to be false. Schneider would deny this, with heat and energy, and then he and Burns would enter into an argument.
"Well, anyhow," Burns would say, "this is true." And he would state a fact, some fact that Schneider had told Holsinger, for example, or one that Allen had told Burns. Schneider would admit the fact and the argument would proceed. In this way Burns, with Corbett by, drew from Schneider the whole story which they hope to use on the stand against Benson and Hyde.
Grant Taggart Comes Through
The best service Schneider rendered to Burns, however, was to clear up his view of the system as a whole, and, much enlightened, he hurried back to San Francisco. There he went after Grant I. Taggart. A former chief clerk of the Supreme Court of the State of California, Taggart was a man of force, influence and standing, but he was the forest supervisor for northern California. He must be corrupt. Burns had nothing on him, but his theory was highly perfected by this time, and it looked so much like knowledge to Taggart that he broke down and "came through." He said that it was Benson, not Hyde, that did business with him. This disclosure disturbed somewhat Burns' preconception of the Hyde-Benson methods, but by following out the clew he discovered that Benson and Hyde had two organizations. Each had a separate but a complete group of corrupted officials. They worked together, but, generally speaking, Benson handled the north, Hyde the south.
The Pull that Failed
Meanwhile Burns had been "working upon" the clients, clerks, stenographers, messengers,—all the employees and associates of Hyde and Benson. Nearly all of these "came through "under Burns' treatment, but some of them warned their employers of what was going on. Hyde applied his pull in the Department, but Burns, who had set a watch at Washington also, received from there a copy of the answer that Hyde received, viz., that nobody could pull Burns off; he reported to the Secretary himself direct and no one else could touch him. So Hyde appealed to the Secretary. He sent a telegram of about a thousand words saying that he knew Mr. Hitchcock intended to be fair and honorable; that he (Hitchcock) had sent out special agents twice before and they proved to be gentlemen; they had investigated and found nothing against Hyde; but this man Burns was no gentleman; he was questioning and alarming his clients, clerks, messengers, and interfering generally with his business. Wherefore Mr. Hyde besought the Secretary to recall Burns.
The Secretary mailed the telegram to Burns, and the detective found written across the face of it an indorsement to the effect that: "You are evidently a very bad man." Burns felt then that he had the faith which Mr. Hitchcock, "stiff-necked and obstinate," as I have called him, could give to a man when he believed in him—^a faith which "makes a man make good."
Burns obtained from Hyde and Benson's employees and clients further light on their business methods. Hyde's stenographer told him Hyde customarily enclosed money in letters addressed to the registers and receivers of the local land offices, and to other petty Federal officials. The amounts were small, mere tips, but she said she knew of but one official that had ever returned such a gift. The stenographer and others told how Hyde and Benson got names for dummies: they would advertise for clerks and use the signatures of persons who applied
