(1860 –1934) was an American journalist and head of the United States Secret Service from 1898 to 1911. Wilke was appointed Chief of the Federal Secret Service, succeeding William P. Hazen. Wilkie's task as Chief was to oversee the protection of important national officials, paramount of which was President William McKinley, foreign dignitaries visiting the United States, as well as combating the counterfeiting of currency. Appointed in 1898, he directed counter-espionage during the Spanish-American War, continued to serve as head of the service until 1912.
On August 8, 1890, while working for the Tribune, Wilkie wrote an anonymous article that first described the Indian Rope Trick. Featured on the front page of paper's second section, it was soon picked up by newspapers throughout the United States and United Kingdom, and it was translated into nearly every European language.
Four months later, the Tribune printed a retraction noting the story had been "written for the purpose of presenting a theory in an entertaining form." However, the notice of the hoax garnered little attention and the myth of the Indian Rope Trick perpetuated for years.
When The People's Friend, a British weekly magazine, contacted the Tribune in order to contact individuals mentioned in the story, Wilkie wrote a personal note: "I am led to believe that the little story attracted more attention than I dreamed it could, and that many accepted it as perfectly true. I am sorry that anyone should have been deluded."
The real twist to this story ==>
http://pvrguymale.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-was-fred-s-ellmore.html
On August 8, 1890, while working for the Tribune, Wilkie wrote an anonymous article that first described the Indian Rope Trick. Featured on the front page of paper's second section, it was soon picked up by newspapers throughout the United States and United Kingdom, and it was translated into nearly every European language.
Four months later, the Tribune printed a retraction noting the story had been "written for the purpose of presenting a theory in an entertaining form." However, the notice of the hoax garnered little attention and the myth of the Indian Rope Trick perpetuated for years.
When The People's Friend, a British weekly magazine, contacted the Tribune in order to contact individuals mentioned in the story, Wilkie wrote a personal note: "I am led to believe that the little story attracted more attention than I dreamed it could, and that many accepted it as perfectly true. I am sorry that anyone should have been deluded."
The real twist to this story ==>
http://pvrguymale.blogspot.com/2011/02/who-was-fred-s-ellmore.html
