Eureka daily sentinel. [volume] (Eureka, Nev.) 1871-1887, 1878-08-13

A sketch Of She Most Noted Conn
terfeiter I'm the World.

terfeiteP In the world.
From the Washington Post, July l3.l
Visitors to the Secret Service Office OF
the Treasury Department have invariably
had pointed out to them the picture Of
Tom Ballard. n man who has given the
Secret Service more trouble than all the
rest Of the counterfeiters put together.
His last sentence was for thirty years in
the Albany Penitentiary, and on Tuesday
last he made desperate effort to take his
own life. Ballards career in an extraordi-
nary one. He Ia the eldest Of four broth
ers. Thomas, John. Benjamin and George
Ballard. all counterfeiters, who were born
near Watkins Glen. New York, their father
being an ex-convict. He learned to en-
grave and became one OF the fin st work
men in the country. He executed unnum-
bered counterfeit plates in the West, but
his first appearance 10 this city was on the
night that Joshua d. Minor, the contractor,
WAS arrested. He had been suspected for
some time by the Secret Service officers Of
counterfeiting. and Harry Coles was in
duccd 10 betray him. On the night Of
October 25, 1871, Ballard handed package
to Minor and was arrested. Minor was
also captured the package contained
counterfeits. Ballard confessed to Colonel
Whitney that he was the engraver, and sur
and an iron tank full Of pulp used in imi-
tating the Government fibre paper. He
escaped from the Ludlow-street Jail on
November Is, 1871, with Billy Brown. Of
Cincinnati. and James Quimby, Of Phila-
d.lpha. also noted counterfciters. On
October l3, 1874, Detective Perkins ar
rested him in lonely house on the out
skirts OF Buffalo. Ballard. who had $780,
0C0 in counterfeit money, was severely
wounded before lie surrendered. On the
evening OF January l6. 1875. he escaped
from the Albany Pcnitentiary with four
others. They cut through two floors to
tho roof Of the Jail, and lowered them
selves from the roof with sheets. Ballard
was recaptured two days later, and on the
2lst Of January, 1875, he was sentenced to
thirty years imprisonment. On the fol-
lowing day his wife was found guilty, aud
sentenced to Ave years imprisonment in
the Onondago County Jail.
He wrote on May 18th last letter to the
Chief Of the Secret Service, wherein he
recommended the use Of fibre paper in the
manufacture OF Government notes. Bal
lard was shrcwd, capable I. llow, with but
little education, and his letter does him
credit, for whatever motive il was written.
1t begins: " Seeing Of late that the Gov
ernmcnf has taken steps in the suppress
sion Of crime, it induces me to lay before
you an improvement, trusting that by
some suggestion Of yours many may be
saved from a life Of imprisonment and
misery" The letter then goes on TO speak
of the facility with which the paper money.
printed on the ordinary white paper. was
countcrfeited, and the rapid increase Of the
business. The plan he proposed, which
could only be accomplished by machinery,
was copionsly illustrated by diagrams, very
nicely drawn. The main idea was to run
two eolored lines Of various shapes through
the paper rendering it impossible to imi-
tate il by hand work. Ballard evidently
Thought he would get his liberty, but no
notice was taken OF his letter.