Wilmington journal. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1844-1895, 1853-09-30
counferfeitInr.

If we had in the United States an active Statistical
Society," embracing members of sufficient spirit and lei
sure 10 undertake The investigation of difficult ou esone
OF general interest there is one subject which we shod
De disposed to recommend 10 its particular attention.
that namely, OF counterfeitng-the manufacture of
spurious bank notes-whch we take to have become
great business among US, worthy of being consider
ed by philosophers, and considered as well in lis COM
mercla, as in it's moral and legal aspects One can.
not look over monthly Counterfeit Deector without
being struck by the prodgious list of connterfes of
dlneren Kinds IN circulation throughout the country
they fill a score more of triple columned pages
while scarce newspaper is issued which does not
contain history OF the detection of some new band
OF rogues caught fabricating additional stock, or
The arrest OF one more honest souls EMPLOYED in
the business OF fobbing them of The community
he trade probably amounts to millions of dollars
annually; il must be very profitable because it is
plainly, very enclng but the loss is as great
as the proht-or, rather much greater: the commune
ty is swlnded, honest robbed weak are
seduced and ruined and the penitenfary is the only
gamer 1t should he a sufficient illustration of the
enormlty OF the evil that such publications as Coun-
tereIt Detectors are now necessary the u States
as the daily papers trader dealer of any kind
can get along without them and business of all sorts
is harrassed with the eternal trouble of verifying the
genuneness OF large portion of the bills daily pass
ing from hand to hand.
These circumstances, with the numerous instances
OF arrests OF counerfeiters which have been OBJ
llged to chronicle within week or two past, sug-
geSt some natural reflections on the nature and ex-
tent OF the mischief with question, quite as natur-
al as to the possibility of finding remedy
It would he preposterous of course, to suppose
that any plan Of reform which could be adopted
would put end to the manufacture and circula-
ton OF bad money. Knavery is not to b suppressed
so easily. There will always be counterfeiers so
long as there is money. All that can be hoped is
greater or less alienation of the evil and this it
would seem. might be most readily effected by
derng the difficulties of counterfeiting greater than
ihey now are. There is reason to believe that a
large share of the scoundresm is due to the almost
entire absence in this country of any preventive
measures-or, to speak more strictly, is due to the
facilities offered by the system of manufacturing
genuine bills, which has crept into among
banks. These institutions not being the direct suf
tererS less solicitous the sub ect than they
perhaps ought to be- but il is in their power to do
much towards reform. the want of which is likely
to be felt with increasing severity every year.
Grea as the evil now is, there is every probability
that it will become vastly greater before long, un-
less means be speedily taken to arrest it. Mechan
ica deXterity is at present essential to the accom-
plished counterfeter, but the developments of sci
ence promise to render that qualification superfu-
Gus and, by and by, any maladroit jail bird who
chooses to dip into the books will be able to pro-
dnce facsiniIes of notes. without requiring the aid
OF either engraver or penman.
According to the system pursued in this country
the banknOte plates, is well known arc engraved
in private establishments, uncOnnected with the
banks where the bills themselves are printed upon
| t.
establishments, uncOnnected with the banks. ANY
engraver may get up banknote plate who can pro-
cure an order tor one; any paper-maker may manu-
facture banknote paper, who thinks fit to do So
All the trouble assumed by banks in making notes
is to I'LL the dates and signatures. Such arrange
ments of course, leave great deal to the mercy of
chance and offer tempting facilities to persons whose
honesty may not be impregnabe. 1t will be remem-
bered that the foger -s on the ONO State Stock
much excitement fOrtnig ago, were traced to the
Office OF the engravers-men, we believe, of great
responsibility themselves-one of whose workmen
was arrested on the charge of printing the counter
felts from the genuine plates in their possession
of stealing the genuine Impressions which were fill
ed up by forgers. In still more recent Cincinnati
case (and Cincinnati appears to have been particu-
larly unlucky. of late, in such cases,) rogue
arrested whose person found along with a
bundance of counterfeit money, bill and receipt
for large number of sheets OF banknote paper deal
er's.
Thus the first facility is furnished to counterfeit
ply their trade, in the easy accessibility of
banknote paper; and opportunities offered for
stealing or making fraudulent use of genuine bank
note plates to produce bills in which nothing spu
rious but the manuscript filling up. Counterfeit
notes of that kind are exceedingly difficult of deec-
tiOn and it seems wrong to the community to
place the onus of loss from such notes upon it
There is some injustice involved in the case
where it suffers from bills printed from spurious
plates on genuine banknote paper. That is almost
their opinion of bank bills.
1t is greatly to be desired that INKS in the Uni
ted States should adopt some system of preparing
their bills similar to that which has long been in
use in the Bank of England That institution man.
ufacures its own bills. Every step in the process
of manu- facture is conducted within its walls.
The paper is ma e in the Bank, the plates en-
graved in the Bank the notes printed, AS they
are afterwards flied up, in the Bank. Nothing is
left to accident there If fraud is attempted it must
be attempted in the Bank How rare, in cOnse-
quence, countereits upon it They have no
Counterfeit Detectors in England; none are re.
CURED. Tradesmen not called on to waste con-
siderable portion Of their time in scrutnzing bills
to find whether they genuine and poor persons
are not feeced who too ignorant to know good
money from bad There is no unnecessary encour-
agement there offered to rogues to enter the protfa
t bic trade of counerfeiting. 1t is trade surround
ed with difficulties too grave to be overcome except
by combination of practical accomplishments and
facilities often found united in the ndivd-
ual. or even in gang of adventurers Reduce
z American counterfeters to the necessity of manu-
featuring their own paper and engraving their own
5 plates, and we shall find have adopted the most
efectua plan to reduce their numbers and to pro-
: tect the community from their depredations
S Phil North american.
''IF YOU'RE COMING, WHY DON'T YOU COME ALONG
!, SO . Nose" wont to say atoretime and it EN-
bodies good Bit of practical philosophy. Every
new Engine shrieks it-every Railroad Is a re
cord of it-every line of Telegraph exempIifes it
every new medium of advertising illustrates it. TIL,
! saying originated in the 9 Bowery." may be- but i
is destaned to be cosmopolite. 1t began with in
! dviduas; it is going on with nations; it will enc