The Lake County star. [volume] (Chase, Mich.) 1873-current, 1876-12-07
The Robbers OF LincOln's Grave.

tion an attempt was made to rob th
! grave Of Lincoln. The crime is so in
credible that there has been some diff
} Guilty in making the public understan
, that the atrocious attempt was reall
, made. Then the public attention ha
} been distracted by the excitement sine
the election. But the rascals who at
tempted to obtain possession of the re
mains OF Lincoln have been arrested il
Chicago. They were given away, in tn,
hrst place, by one who assumed to b,
with them, and have been arrested
through his ingenuity. The job of rob
blng the grave was attempted by a party
OF counterfeiters. The whole story il
told in the Chicago Tribune. The motive
of the c0unterfeiters is thus stated:
The simple truth is, the attempt was
made, and it was the result of deliber.
ate plan evolved by several counterfeit.
ers, who had twO-fold purpose. First,
to secure large sum of money from the
Government or the Monument Associa-
tion; and, second, to procure the pardon
of Ben. Boyd, now serving out ten
years sentence in Joliet.
The capture of Boyd, one of the most
expert engravers of counterfeit plates i'm
the country with his tools, and of Nelson
briggs, with the plates for the "Illinois
fives"-Paxton, Traders, Perus, etc.,
was serious blow to the fraternity in
the West. Followed, as it was, seven
months later, by the arrest, in New Jer-
sey, of George White, the engraver of
the Massachusetts fives"-New Bed
fords, Northamptons, and Hampdens-
with all the plates, the Kontakers" of
Chicago and st. Louis, who supply the
smaller dealers from Minnesota to Texas,
could not get any stuff worth having.
The only plate now out is that known as
the Richmond Ondiana) ten, though
notes on the Lafayette Indiana) bank
are being printed from it. But the
former are so well known as to be abso-
lutely no good, and the latter are so badly
printed, owing to the plate being much
worn, that to pass them is sure imprison-
ment, unless the "shover" or his friends
are willing to give up money to buy off
shop-keeper disposed to make trouble.
Ben. Boyd, George White, and Charley
Ulrich-the only three professional"
expert engravers in the country--in the
"stone Jug" counterfeiting was at an
ebb and practically suppressed, so far as
bank notes and greenbacks were con-
cerned. One of the quartette, Ulrich,
however, is out, having recently been
pardoned from the Columbus, Ohio, Peni-
tentiary; but this fact is not generally
known to the fraternity. He had been
in since 1868, having received fourteen
years for cutting $500 plate. Ulrich,
however, would not train with the Boyd |
gang; bigger men, financially, used to
back him, and, if he returns to his old
business, no Western man will be "next |
to the plate"
The counterfeiters in the West could, |
of course, get bogus money, but it prob.
ably got through two or three hands be-
fore it reached them, and each hand |
would get percentage and the profits be
much less.
The men who made their living main
ly by means of Boyd's work have been
down in the mouth ever since his arrest,
and they have used every means in their
power to get him out. After trying in
vain, though large sum was available,
hey realized that money could not OBJ
ain pardon, and hence the fiendish
plan to rob the grave of Lincoln, which,
f successful, was very likely to compel
lis release.
Some one anyhow conceived that if
hey could get Lincoln's body large re-
ward would be paid for its return, and
3oyd would be set free. They knew the
monument cost over 100000, and they
sked the question, "What is the use of
he monument without the corpse p The
'enalty was looked up, and it was dis .
overed to be mere fine and one year
n the county Jail. The chances of de- .
ection were very small. Everything
vas gone over very carefully, and the
onclusion reached that there were no
hances of detection at all. There were
% guards at the monument, and all
here was TO do was to 60 there, shoulder ,
he casket, and carry it of. 1t was to be {
AIKEN to some place where nobody could {
nd it, and they thought, in due course {
f time, the Association, or the Govern {
,ent, or somebody would offer big re-
Yard to get it back, and then it would
q turned up for the money and pardon {
Or Boyd; and the settlement of the case
gainst Hughes was also to be one of the
onditions.