to it which I must explain. I had, by being in
the army, injured my private affairs very con
siderably, and meant to leave it, if a proper op
portunity to enter into business should happen
had scrcral conversations on the subjti t with
oeneral Arnold, who promised hm all the as
sistance in his power; , WQS to far infatr in
the profits of the business I WOi to i nter into.
At that time, previous to our going into I'hila
dclfhui, I had several particular conversations
with him, and thought that the period in which
I might leave the army with honor and enter into
business (had conic). I received at that time, or
about that time, I think st erol days bejore'the
enemy evacuated the city, the paper mentioned
in colonel Fitzgerald's deposition that WOM not
signed, as well as the other. Upon our coming
into town we had a variety of military businesi
to do. I did not purchase anv goods, neither did
ave the army. That paper was entin y neg
lected, neither did I think anything concerning it
until I heard of colonel Fitzgerald's deposition,
General Arnold has told me since, which is since
I came from Carolina some time in August last,
that the reason for his not supporting me in
business was, supposing that I had left the army,
it was incompatible with his excellency's instruc
tions and the resolution of Congress."
The Undisputed Facts in the Case
THIS testimony, seemingly straightforward in form,
is rather damning to the characters of both the men
involved. Arnold, upon taking command of Phila
delphia, ordered the stores and shops to be closed and
no goods sold. lie stopped business outright. It was
a most unpopular order, because it prevented the mer
chants profiting by the new order of things, the return
of the Americans.
The very first day the closing law is in force, Ar
nold writes an order to Franks to make large pur
chases of European and Fast Indian goods "to any
amount" and to keep the transaction secret from his
most intimate acquaintance. That is, Benedict Arnold
and the Jewish major on his staff, have an under
standing that under cover of the military closing, they
will loot the city of its most profitable goods at the
enforced low selling prices for the obvious purpose
of selling at higher prices when the military order was
rescinded.
These are the undisputed facts. Colonel Fitzgerald
saw the papers and knew the unsigned one to be in
Arnold's handwriting, even as the ligtied one was.
They were both addressed to the Jewish Major Franks.
In his testimony, Major Franks admits the existence
of the unsigned order as Colonel Fitzgerald saw it, and
admits also its character.
Even Benedict Arnold admitted the order, but he
endeavored to show that having exhibited General
Washington's orders to him (Arnold) to command
Philadelphia, that fact would be a sufficient counter
mand to the order given to Franks to load up on valu
able goods.
"General Arnold to Major Franks. Did you
not suppose my showing you the instructions from
general Washington to me. previous to your go
ing into the city, a sufficient countermand of
the order I had given you to purchase goods?
"Major Franks. I did not form any supposi
tion on the subject."
Guilty of Intention if Not of Act
THIS admission that he wrote the order, and the tact
that no large purchases of goods could be shown,
constituted Arnold's defense. It requires no keen legal
mind to show its weakness. If the order was counter
manded several days before they entered the city, what
ai it doing in Miss Brackenberry's hoUM in Phila
delphia on the first morning of Arnold s command and
the first morning of the operation of hit "rder to close
the stores? And why did Franks come in search of
it? Discarded orders are not thus carried around and
preserved.
Probably no purchases were made. Probably the
order was not carried out. When Colonel Fitzgerald
walked into the room early in the morning and saw
the papers, and when soon thereafter Major Franks
walked into the room and saw both Colonel Fitzgerald
and tht papers, there was nothing else to do than to
call the plan off. It had become know. Colonel Fitz
gerald waited in the room to see what became of the
Pipers. He saw the Jew Franks come and get them.
He saw him go out with them. He knew wha! those
Papers di:ected the Jew to do. and he knew that the
directing hand was Benedict Arnold's. Doubtless with
this clue he kept his eyes open in Philadelphia during
tn' operation of the closing order. And doubtless
Franks lost no time in transmitting to C.ncral Arnold
fact that he found Colonel Fitzgerald m the room
werc the papers had been left. The inadvertent visit
&GjE, l ite ral,. i5 Um key-fact in that phase of
fnrM,! ",:,jt'wilsh ma'or' becl talkative in his ef-
l l' t,H', S"Ua' "' "Tllt're " circumstance
which muM expUin !,, ays. And th -m
1 ,? "' "" ruth " A"1. h' rep
; ' m "" arm " "jurm hi,
' ", ."'''". v,-ry eriou.ly, a.,d that he was con
jenvUtm, retiring fro the army and goi, ,,
It is worth noting at thi, point that numerous op
portun s were g,ve Franks to retire, both before
Md after the Arnold treuon, but he developed into a
' c'am"ri r after official job.. In Spit, 0f his
:;;;:,:,;::eth, -ot h
Evidence of Arnold's Intimacy With Jew
AND then Frank, revealed the whole secret of his re-
1 lationi with Arnold They were in close association
Pofitng matters. "1 had several conversations
on the subject with general Arnold ... he was to
participate in the profits of the business I was to enter
into. Arnold was to remain a general in the army
his aide was to get out of the army and work with
him privately, sharing the profits.
But what had all this to do with the orders to
close the stores at Philadelphia? What had this to do
with the papers found by Colonel Fitzgerald? For
after all, this was the "circumstance" which Major
h ranks had set out to explain. At last he reaches it:
"At that time, previous to our going into Philadelphia,
I had several particular conversations with him
I received at that tune, or about that tune, the paper
mentioned in Colonel Fitzgerald's deposition which was
not signed, as well as the other."
The paper authorized him to get the most merchant
able goods out of the closed stores. It followed upon
"several particular conversations'" about the business
of which Arnold was to "participate in the profits." But,
apparently, the deal did not go through. Colonel Fitz
gerald's untimely appearance, and the carelessness of
someone in leaving the papers about, were most un
favorable to the Arnold-Franks project.
There can be no question of the intimacy of the
relations between the Jew and Arnold and the use that
both made of their relationship. There can be no
question, cither, that these relationships must have been
the result of continuous acquaintance and testing.
Merely to show that a Jew once crossed the path of
Benedict Arnold and was implicated with him in a
discreditable scheme that probably did not fully ma
ture, means nothing. But that this Jew was involved
in Arnold's fortunes from the time the two first met
in Canada until the day that Arnold betrayed his coun
try, may mean something. And that is the case. From
the time of their first meeting, their lines run along to
gether Franks always being relied upon by Arnold
as the credible witness who extricates him from his
scrapes, and Franks usually doing it with a sort of
clumsy success, as in the instance just cited.
They Both Desire the Sea at Same Time
THE reader may refer now to the reference made
above to Franks' record of himself in which he men
tions having joined Count D'Fstaigne. the French ad
miral, at Sandy Hook. This was just a month after
Arnold took command at Philadelphia, just a month
after the events on which the above charge was based.
Evidently Franks got out of town for a little while.
He would notice the coolness of his fellow officers
among whom reports of Colonel Fitzgerald's discovery
must have circulated. There would be no prejudice
against him because he was a Jew. it would be solely
due to the suspicions concerning him. Indeed, readers
of the ordinary history will never learn that Arnold
had Jews aroiu id him. There were David Franks,
moneyed man anal merchant in the city, and David
Solesbury Franks on Arnold's staff both outstanding
figures, yet wholly passed over by the historians, with
one or two exceptions, and even these have never
caught the Jewish clue. In that day there was no
prejudice aeainst Jews as Jews, even a there is none
now.
Franks then, easily gains letters which permit him
to join the French fleet of D'Estaigne, within a month
after the Philadelphia business. And strange to re
late, at pre cisely the same time, Benedict Arnold con
ceived the notion that he too should ffO bttO the navy,
and a month after his appointment to Philadelphia he
writes to General Washington suggesting nothing less
than that he be given command of the American Navy !
at precisely the time Major Franks takes to tne
water.
befog obliged entirely to neglect my private
affairs since 1 have been in the service," Arnold writes
to General Washington, "has induced me to wish to
retire from public business, unless an otter, which my
friends have mentioned, should be made to me of the
command of the navy I must beg leave to request
your sentiments respecting a command in the navy"
So far as the historians have been able to discover
no one ever proposed such a thing as making Arnold the
admiral of the American Navy. But, then, the his
torians did not know David S. Franks. He, a lands
man, had gone for a few weeks with the French ships
Perhaps he was the friend who "mentioned" the mat
ter. At any rate, when Franks came off the ihipi
again, it was to serve as witness once more for Benedict
Arnold.
The charges against Arnold were such as these
Permuting an enemy ship to land, and buying a share
in her cargo; imposing menial service on soldiers (a
charge brought about by an action of Major Franks)
issuing passes unlawfully the case in point being that
of a Jewess, named Levy; the use of army wagons for
his private affairs, and so forth.
This is Major Franks' testimony concerning Ar
nold's permitting "The Charming Nancy" to land at a
tinted States port, contrary to law:
"(J. (by the court) Do you know whether gen
eral Arnold purchased any part of the Charming Nancy
or her cargo?
"A. I do not know of my own knowledge, but I
have heard general Arnold say he did, and I have also
heard Mr. Seagrove say he did.
"Q. Was it previous or subsequent to general Ar
nold's granting the pass?
"A. It was subsequent."
Trading in Contraband Under Washington s Nose
LJKRE is a complete admission of all the facts, but
1 the defense consisted in laboriously showing, by
means of quite leading questions addressed to Franks,
that the owners of "The Charming Nancy" were indeed
good Americans though residing and doing business in
enemy territory. Franks was rather useful in this part
of the business, and the court, overlooking the other
elements, simply found that the permission which Ar
nold gave to "The Charming Nancy" was illegal. The
fact that a major general of the United States Army
speculated in the cargo of the ship which had come
into port in violation of law and on his military per
mission, was not considered at all. Neither was the
fact, stated in the charge, that he gave this permission
while he was in camp with General Washington at
Valley Forge, whom he did not consult in any way.
But here again the fact is established that Major
Franks was privy to the whole matter, and was the
chief witness for Arnold's defense.
Tf it had occurred but once, as at Montreal, that
Arnold had been charged with irregularities involving
profitable goods ; or if it had occurred but once, as at
Philadelphia, that Major Franks happened to be the
chief available witness, no serious notice could be
taken of it.
But time and again Arnold is caught in shady acts
involving profitable goods, and time and again the
Jewish Major Franks is his accomplice and chief wit
ness. And this partnership in shady transactions, ex
tending from the time Arnold first met Franks till the
time Arnold betrayed his country, is significant, at
least as a contribution to history, and possibly as a side
light on the gradual degeneration of Benedict Arnold.
The First Snuffer on Arnold
ARNOLD could no longer wholly escape. But still
the good fortune that seemed patiently to accompany
him. as if waiting for his better nature to recover from
some dark spell, remained with him : the court could
not exonerate him entirely, but neither could they pun
ish him as he deserved : and so it was given as a
verdict that General Arnold should be reprimanded by
General Washington, his best friend.
Washington's reprimand is one of the finest utter
ances in human record. It would have saved a man
in whom a shred of moral determination remained :
"Our profession is the chastest of all ; even
the shadow of a fault tarnishes the luster of our
finest achievements. The least inadvertence may
rob us of the public favor, so hard to be acquired.
I reprimand you for having forgotten that in pro
portion as you have rendered yourself formidable
to our enemies, you should have been guarded
and temperate in your deportment toward your
fellow-citizens. Exhibit anew those noble quali
ties which have placed you on the list of our
most valued commanders. I will myself furnish
you, as far as it may be in my power, with op
portunities of regaining the esteem of your
country."
It was a bad day for Benedict Arnold when he got
into touch with the Jewish syndicate of army-contractors.
There was hope for him even yet, if he
would cat off the evil spell. But time pressed ; events
were culminating: the alien, having gripped him. was
about to make the best of the baleful opportunity. The
closing chapter was about to be written in glory or
in shame.
. , i I "ia -H 2S6 paf. respectively, tent to any iddrett upon reeeipt of 25 oenft for each volume.
Volume. One nd Two of "The International Jew, 236 end 256 PMe