The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1877-03-15
ANOTHER BLESSING,

The coun.erteiters are in full bla,t-a
blast that will descend only on the poor.
In large establishments little silver com.
paratively is handled, and that by men
who are good judges, and not pressed
for time like corner grocery on Il Sat-
urday evening. Those latter and their
customers are sure to be the main suff;r.
ers, Here's what hard money daily
says about 1t:
.sThere i, immediate need of strict po-
lice vigilance to stop the circulation OF
counterfeit coin, which is becoming al
most as plentiful as the genuine article.
The poorer dealers, unfortunately. are
the chief victims of this counterfeit Cir
cula,ion, and the ctrs which are not
supplied with conductors would be Sc
we're sufferers it the base coinage includ-
ed five cent pieces. So far, however,
coins of fifty cent denomination are the
smallest that have engaged the skill OF
the counterfeiters, and their circulation
has been in the 10 ain confined to the side
street among the small grocers, where a
very small number OF base coins would
swallow up the entire profits OF a days
business. The necessity ot sharp police
men being assigned to duty in those To-
calities is an imperative one, and should
not be deferred until the counter. cit coin
shall have found It's way into the tills OF
class of small merchants who are not
experts in the detection of bad money,
and who should have all the police pro-
lection necessary TO prevent them from
being regularly robbed by tn ;ir more
skillful neighbors."
This is one more evil besetting US by
the stupid or dishonest action of the mer
exercising the powers OF government ii
the city OF Washington. Everybody ha'
become SO iamiliary with the currency
stamps, that ii Il counterfeit presented
itself it was detected at once. Indeed
there were v.ry few, we think none q
all, OF She twenty live or ten cent stamp
counterteited. The fifty cent counterfeit.
had a sharpness about the no 50 nd sin
lister expression ot taco generally thai
became known to everybody. the for
ger OF these found s''Jccup .tion gone,
and just then Washington wisdom step:
in and offersa new field to his enterprise
The printer does not suit him any longer
but the moulder does suit him tar better
and So he sets TO work-to work for the
..poor dealers" and their poorer custo.
mers the "side Streets 1t is tie We J
poor that sutf r most by this vi,lainy
Again we say, that the transaction of The
rich, even i'll buying the necessaries o
life, are large. and what silver they han
be generally comes from shrewd. relia
bic sources. But the writer quote,
above is mistaken in supposing that tiv
cent nickle counterieits are not coming
INTO existence. Indeed, those are IN ,r.
easily manu- actured than are the coun
terteits OF silver. There is no brlgh
silver color 10 be impaired to than
They don't test by ringing. The write
has seen several higly creditable speci
mems that had been cast in an iron fouu
dry, and no secret M lde about it.. Tn
maker or moulder was, or seemed, IN
aware that he was committing 4 anger
Gus crime. He was informed octhe FAC
and the result was, that five cent bogu
was seen no more. This hard none
speculation is a bad business. 1t is NJ
at ALA good bargain to pay sixty {
seventy millions \ year for the privilee
OF going back to barter, blunder. bal
barism, and bankruptcy.