Excerpt from Looters of the Public Domain I have collaborated throughout with Mr. Puter in the preparation of the book, under very trying conditions, and together we have endeavored to clothe the different narratives with some degree of human interest, commensurate with a strict adherence to the element of fact. Furthermore, out of all the mass of information bearing upon the subject that has been furnished me by the author, I have selected only such portions that appealed to me as having important relationship to the whole fraudulent system, realizing full well the utter impossibility of publishing in one volume even the meagre details of the various transactions in which Mr. Puter has figured, covering a period of at least a quarter of a century. It may be urged by some that the printing of such a book, exposing, as it does, numerous human frailties, can accomplish no genuine benefit to mankind, but I beg to take issue with all such criticism. Several local clergymen, besides many others vitally interested in the problems affecting racial advancement. Have become deeply concerned in this publication, and have urged me repeatedly to probe the ulcer to the bottom, upon the hypothesis that the light of day would furnish ample remedy for any existing social ill. W e have therefore undertaken, without fear or favor or the exhibition of the slightest particle of rancor, to comply with this seemingly spontaneous demand, and present herewith what we know to be the truth, let the blows fall where they may. If they are productive of bleeding hearts, then it is because those organs are of the same quality of weakness that distinguished a failure to resist temptation. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.