Iowa voter. [volume] (Knoxville, Iowa) 1867-1874, 1869-06-17
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Are You a COunterfeifer!

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What use do you make, reader. o
counterfeit fifty-cent revenue stamT
which you find in your pocket-book
and do not know where it came
from?
Have you not some time rolled W
snch a bit Of fractional currency, sus
pecting it to be counterfeit, and will
ing to ''get rid Of it''-by chance OF
accident, as it were-and 80 kept
square with your conscience?
We have seen men-men whom
we would have trusted with our
pocket books--return counterfeit
fifty-cent piece to their pockets after
they were convinced that it was
spurious. What does such an action
mean-provided the man is ignorant,
rs is generally the case, as to where
he got the counterfeit? 1t means that
he is not ready to bear the lossof fifty
cents like an honest man. The action
is a dishonest action. Tie has no
right to put a counterfeit wherethere
is any possibility of passing 1t into
circulation again. The only honora-
bic proceeding is to burn it or tear 1t
up the very moment its worthless
ness becomes evident. DO not hest
tate second. If you have not this
habit fixed upon you, cultivate 1T!
Without it you are in league with
counterfeiters. You are one Of the
"gang"-you are not an honest man.
Let this rule apply to a ten-cent
sstanp' and to a ten-dollar green
back equally and rigidly. There are
only two questions to be asked. l.
this a counterfeit? Yes. Do know
who gave it to me? No. Burn it
tear it up--do not return il to your
pocket, a. you value your honesty!
There is law i'm Michigan-and
in some other States we suppose
compelling every bank to stamp the
word counterfeit" in large black
letters, across every spurious bill pre-
sented at their counter, for whatever
purpose. il may nc presented, under
whatever circumstances, and upon
whatever bank i'm the United States
II may be counterfeit. We once saw
an apparently respectable man pre-
sent twenty-dollar bill to the teller
OF the Michigan Insurance Bank, in
Detroit. He merely wished to know
If it was a counterfeit. The teller
made no answer, but simply brought
town a powerful stamp upon its face,
and handed it back, with the word
counterfeit" staring its astonished
proprietor in the face. We never
saw darker cloud pass overa human
countenance. Oath followed oath,
in an Intellectual effort to express the
mans indignation. Every oath
stamped 'counterfeiter" upon that
mans character i'm letters as large
and plain as those upon the bill. Not
that he would have acted as direct
accomplish of professional counter
feiters; but he was not prepared to
do what common honesty demanded
destroy the spurious bank-notc,
and meet his own loss honorably.
or course, says every reader, he
Intended to pass the bill-and that
would be dishonest.
And what Is your practice, reader?
DO you destroy every little piece of
revenue currency as soon as you dis
cover its worthlessness? Or do you
put 1t in the roll in your vest-pocket,
and let it take its chances with its
companions when you are paying
car-fares, or for lunches and cigars?
If you do not destroy it, you are
absolutely dishonest. This conpro.
missing with conscience is more con.
temptible than unflinching robbery.
IN. y. EUeniny Matt.
n. a.