Knoxville weekly chronicle. [volume] (Knoxville, Tenn.) 1870-1875, 1873-10-22
wHOLEsALE ARREST OF COUNTER
fEIrERS.
warrants Issued for Ninety Persons-Ar-
rests In Knoxville, Carriers Depot. &C.
Interesting Details.

Interesting Details.
The arrests made in this city Yesterday
were, it seems, only one part of an elaborate
plan decided upon by the Government Off
GERS several months since for the suppress
sion of counterfeiting in the Eastern Dis
trict of Tennessee and the Western District
of North Carolina.
Bogus money has been so prevalent in
these districts that numerous complaints
had poured into the Treasury Department
at washington, setting forth the facts, and
asking that measures might be taken to
rid our community of this class of crimi-
nails. Secretary Richardson gave the mat
ter his CO reful consideration and a line of
operations was decided upon, which were
carried out under the immediate supervis-
ion of Col. Whitley, Chief of the u. S. Sc
cret Service, aided by Judge Andrews, u.
;. Attorney for this District, and Can't.
Evans, U. S. Marshal, the result of which
is now being developed.
Similar measures, also under the super
vision of Col. Whitley, were devised for
the Western District of North Carolina,
and warrants were issued for the apprehen-
sion (in both districts together,) of ninety
persons, charging them with dealing in
counterfeit or conspiring to do so.
The labors of the Secret Service men
have extended over q period of three
months time, and have been conducted
with all the shrewdness, ingenuity, and
sharp devices, known to the professional
detectives. 1t is said they have traversed
the country in all sorts of guises have rep
resented themselves as tobacco traders,
delers in Illicit whisky, stock buyers, land
spectators, farm hands, laborers and any
thing that would tend to throw off suspic-
ion as to their real character, and enable
them to gain the confidence of the men
they believed guilty of crime and whom it
was desirable should be brought to Justice.
They boarded and lodged with the coun-
terfeiters; bought their bogus money and
made pllgrlmages away for the ostensble
purpose of passing it, but really to lodge
1t with the United States Attorneys, and
then return for more. In this way
evidence is represented as having been
obtained, as before stated, in about ninety
cases in both districts. Future investiga-
lions will develop the correctness or In
correctness of the statements.
In order to insure the full success of
their plans, it was necessary that the ar
rests should be made simultaneously in
both districts The Department of Justice
was appealed to for aid, and after hearing
of all the facts from Col. Whitley, Attor-
ney General Williams instructed Capt.
Evans, of this district, and Marshal Doug
las, of the North Carolina district, to en-
ploy as many men and horses to assist the
secret service men as the eXigencies of the
case might require. Sunday night, the
10Th was the time fixed for the start in
both localities. Information as to the
raid in North Carolina has not yet come
to hand. In Knoxville, Marshal Evans
organized two distinct expeditions, one to
go i'll the direction of Union and GRAIN
ger counties, and the other to Carter's De-
pot, on the line Of the East Tenn, Virgin
ia and Georgia Railroad. These were
sub-dlvided into smaller squads for the
purpose of making descent upon several
houses at once. News from Union and
Granger counties is not expected until
to-day.
The parties arrested in this city were
James n. Ray, Hugh Harper and George
w. Weaver. AS a matter of course the
excitement was great, and the widest ru-
mors run riot as to large quantities of the
spurious money being found upon the per-
sons of the parties arrested, but on investi-
CATION it was found thatonly one of the par
Ties, u. w. Weaver, was in possession of
any of the "bogus," he having fifty
dollar bill, Legal Tender, of the
series of 1863, and two dollar bill on the
Ninth National Bank of New York. The
parties named gave bond in the sum of
80 900 each, for their appearance before
United States Commissioner H. w. Aiken,
next Tuesday, Judge L. G. Houk and Vim
a. Henderson, ESQ, being security for
James n. Ray; Bell & Bell for Hugh
Harper and Capt, NJ. d. Bearden, Gen. j,
A. Mabry and VIM. A. Henderson for Geo.
w. Weaver.
Ihere were many rumors afloat yester- |
day on the streets as to the facts furnish |
ing foundation for the charges against
these parties, but ii would be Injustice to |
the accused and improper in us to give |
to them until they cease to be |
rumors and have become facts established |
before court Of justice instituted for the |
of such causes |
The principal ceunterfelts circu- |
lated in the districts above mem |
toned were fifty dollar Legal Tender notes, |
ten dollar National Bank notes, PRINCIPAL. |
ly on the Farmers and Mechanicsi Bank.
of Poughkeepaie, n. Y; i've dollar Legal |
Tenders and nifty cent bills, principally Of |
the Lincoln and Stanton heads, also some |
Mexican silver dollars. Many of the coun- |
terfeits mentioned are said to be miserably |
poor, while Others are passably good. In |
our own city among the smaller notes
passed, there have been more of the Stan
ton heal fifty cent notes than any other
class. These notes can be easily deteced
by the lack of the fibre in the paper. AL
though the cOunterfeits contain a printed
imitation of the same, and by a small
green dot in the blank span on the back of
The note. Many of the fifty dollar notes
are also said to be good counterfeits of the
genuine, but most of the five dollar notes
are very poor. The Mexican silver dollars
are represented as excellent counterfeits.
ana easily passed upon the unsuSpectng.