Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1877-10-06
A Remarkable Co..terf.,t

A Rem ,fkable Counterfeit
HOW THE kxPhkrs HAVE BEAN ps
{ CflVID BY THE Sl,fC0 BOGUS BILL, AN 1
TIE DETECTIVES B>FFLED IN THEI
iFFOkTs To DISCOVER THE MAKER.
/ Iron NE Sprr'9J1etd Id.) journal. Sept. Fl.
/ When The famous Drugs gang III C lunter
letters were convicted IN the United s ates
court here, and sent to the peniientiary fol
/ number of ears, and when The * pert en-
/ eraver, The famous Ben Boyd, Was also sent
up, Inc hope Was INDUCED that SD far a very
dangerous counterfeits were concerned there
/ Wa g. end TO the BUSH ess But it turns out
mat There are still more dangerous Counter
1e'ts In circulation; or rather we should per
| taps say a count erfeo, for il is q counterfeit
| OF q single issue-the 1859 issue of 81 ,O0O
/ greenbacks. Seven OF these bills have
| already been captured by the secret servIc
detectives, but Is yet no trace of the opera
tors who make them has been discovered.
TLis almost perfect counterfeit has oern
| Chicago and st. Louis. Only last week Que
was received AT the Treasury department OF
| the United States from the Sub Treasury at
Chicago. This bill passed through the Offic.
| OF the Redemption NJ Washington, and was
within an ace of being cancel-d As a good
bill. The counterfeit has a remarkable his
tory. 1t is admitted to be made by a man of
higher talent as an eBgraver than any man
in The government employ; tor without the
perfected processes of the government to aid
him, he has yet turned out SO good a bill AS
10 deceive nearly all the experts not specially
warned. It's discovery dates only four
months back. How much longer 10 mas be IN
very careful in his movements, putting out
only bill AT a time, and that in such a way
a To- BIZ file detection.
Oftne seven bills C iptured eacl has a his
tory. IL appears from the statement of the
Treasury department that one was passed in
Springfield first; but of IL hereafter. The first
three were discovered through s.. Louis
courtesan. Some months a 20 she had "a visi-
tor who had upon his person three of the
bills, and she robbed him daring the nj ght,
but supposed that she had only 800 bills
10 ont a fTara nf
negroes each with bill TO get Them changed.
Two went to the custom house and 10 the
sub treasury also. The negroes were smarter
than the woman, and seeing the large de-
domination of the bills did not dare 10 offer
them without question. so they at ii ISL
asked f they were good. Tue st Louis sub
treasurer pronounced the bills good, but de
Clined To change Them, aS they did not come
from people he knew. The third negro went
TO = savings bank and deposited his dill upDn
private account IL was acc spted, ana he
was given a cerlifi ate of deposit.
In the meantime. however, "A secret service
agent heard If these inquiries n the custom
house aud sub ire iSury, and became con
WINGED that the bills were counterfeit. He ar.
rested the three negroes ant secured all their
bills. An expert then subjected them tO a
rigid test ScGu my, comp 'TIng them Wi n y
x nuiHe, and the three CT ptursd bills Were re-
ported counterfeit. The woman did hot know
The name OF the man she robbed, and cDul
only describe him The detectives have been
huuiiug for him ever sine. ph4t he never APP
peared 10 make any complaint against the
woman for roboing him SHOWS that ne must
have a gully Knowledge o. the class of the
money stolen from him. IL WAS shortly after
this that one of the bill, male it's appe4ra nee
la Springfield. aud was taken by one OF the
banks from q customer. FaiS is not the -i,O2O
bill which formed the basis of the suit At the
last term of the circuit court between the
Ritgley and the State National Banks, but
another. II appears from the Washington re-
por; that the man who offered the : 900 bill
OF this Issue at the Spring i-ld bank was able
10 show, after the discovery that the bill was
bogus. that he had received 1t from bank In
LeXiL SiOn, Ky. The Kentucky bank could
lot tell where IL got IT, ana so had To suffer
the loss. Toe fifth bill was received from
chicago. and two from the sub-tre&sury at
New York.
The Treasury has low In its possession the
only seven bills that have been discovered.
What battles detection is the way they are
put in circulation. In nearly n cases Ilny
have been traced down IL is found that IN y
have been passed by unknown cattle dealers.
who have passed on 10 other places. The
nature of their business naturally forbade
suspicion against them on account OF tue
large denomination OF the bills. The plan of
the operator appears TO be to put out only one
bill at a time. His social standing IN ust be
coed, as he has always been able to secure
their entrance into respectable channels of
circulation out of the way OF suspicion. Ii
is also shown that the man IS very close
observer o. the movements or the Treasury
Recently warning circular was sent ont,
de- Crlbing tue weak points of the bill. Oae
thing about the counterfeit, it was stated
was that the fourth at the eud of Chitten-
den'S signature was larger than in the origl
nal. and that IL had the appearance of a ser
pEnt's heac. Shortly alter this circular the
Chicago bill was captured, when 1T was dis
covered that The flourish had been pl kei
out, So a. 10 conform To the original. IL l.
said by Treasury authorities that this man
has fortune In his hands. He IS a new man
10 the service. His work Is definitely better
than that OF Tom Ballard, now in the Albany
penitentiary, who produced "A $500 note that
was received at the New York sub-treasIry
Evidently he works without associates, and
is at present battling every effort To Oh Ala
any clue TO him, from his respectable associ
atiOns. The bill is now regar led as one of
the most difficult TO work up ever under
taken by the Government service. Detective
Tyrrell, during his recent visit here. was
unable TO discover a trace OF any second III
having been passed in Springfield.