The women's society in a little Western town decided to show how powerful they were by engaging Mrs. Pinkhurst, a noted foreign reformer, to deliver a lecture in their town hall, for which they promised to pay $500. At the last moment Mrs. Pinkhurst sent word that she would be unable to fulfill the engagement, but the telegram was lost by a careless messenger boy, and the women did not know that their star attraction had been side-tracked. The telegram was found by a tramp, who had read about Mrs. Pinkhurst in the papers, and knew of the $500. He decided to substitute himself as the great reformer, secured the necessary disguise, and made a very impressive speech. The $500 was just in his grasp when officers arrested him. It appears that Mrs. Pinkhurst was still abroad and that she had been impersonated by a clever bank embezzler. This man dropped the impersonation just in time, and the unfortunate tramp picked it up at the wrong moment.
—Moving Picture World synopsis