Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1879-12-26
A Daring Cnnnierieil,r.

A Daring COunterieii.r.
\ dispatch from St. Louis announced
the arres. III that city. 10y United States
Secret Service Agent Tyrell. assisted by
Deputies Saest and Wheeler, Of Fred
erick Biebusch, the most notorious
counterfeiter in the Western States.
The history of this man Biebusch is a
romance of crime, which has few paral-
lels in the criminal records Of the cOun-
try. For twenty-six years he dehed the
United States authorities, and carried
on his nefarious business without pun
ishment. During that period he was
arrested no less than fifty times, on evi.
dence which the government supposed
to be amply sufficient to convict him,
but on every occasion he escaped the
penalty Of his crimes, and laughed at
the efforts of justice to overhaul him.
He became known as the Great South
western Koniacker," title of which
he was very proud, because, as he said
he had gained 1t without giving the
government police the slightest legal
proof that he was entitled to it. He
is broad shouldered, powerful man,
wearing heavy crop of chin whiskers.
rather good.looking, and about fifty. six
years OF age. For over thirty years he
has steadily followed the traffic of the
"queersman in the West and South.
west, and his vast operations, alike ex.
tensive, bold, and profitable, were ex'
tended over all that section of the coun.
try, from Illinois to Texas, with mosi
wondrous good fortune, and without
apparent check, for twentysi success
i've years. ''
Frederick Biebusch was born in Prns,
STA in 1923. He came to this country
in le44, when, twenty one years of d8e,
and Immediately went West. Henba-
gan his. counterfeiting business before
he had been in the United States q year
He established his personal head4uar
ters IN st. Louis, and had his secre,
agents scattered all,over the West and
Southwest. From the beginning of his
erratc, career. he was, Swallowed by the
local authorities, national and State,
and his arrests were so numerous as to
become mOnotonous to the readers OF
newspapers. But he always contrived
to escape from the clutches of the law
unharmed and uncontrolled, and on
each occasion OF such escape he began
again his illegal vocation with renewed
ZEAL In his counterfeiting operations
he dealt; personally only at Wholesale
and his cautious custom was to negoti
ate his transfers only in heavy sums
In the transactions he received the goot
money individually, but he never gave
the counterfeit money personally to hi
customers. This was passed through
the hands of women, children kids,
as the profession calls them), or tn
established go. betweens in, the trade
He was continually watcbfal of thes'
people, for he never reposed much con
tide1ce ihIfthem.i THE extent of hi
operations, and the vast profits whicl
resulted from them, enabled him to &C
cumulate large sum Of ready money
upon which he was always ready t.
draw when an emergency arose, AM
which he always used freely to proven
his arraignment before the courts, whel
arrested. or to prevent convictio
when his arraignmept could not b
avoided. He is very cautious man
trusting few, and those few the me
whom he believes to be thoroughly i
his power. Like the owl, he preferred
the night to the day, whenever he ha
= occasion to be abroad professionally
and so shrewd was he in all his transaC
tons, that, although the United State
detectives and the local officers of S
Louis were morally certain Of the natur
Of his business, they have only bee
able to convict him twice during til
thirty-fye years of his operations in I'll
West. j. 49,. -:
When Biebusch first came to tn
country the State banks we're in exis
ence, and he fourished wonderfully
negotiating counterfeit notes OF ito.
institutions. At this time he did q
counterfeiting on his own account, bl
he established an agency in ST. Lou
Tor the purpose of distributing IL
counterfeit notes issued by Driee
Piper, Lew, Sleight and others. HUI
dreds Of thousands Of dollars vel
scattered all over the West and Soutl
west through the agency of Biebusci
He charged large commission f
- standing between the counterfeiters an
the small dealers. and in this way accl
minated quite fortune. Then, with
substantial capital tor begin with, /
went into the business OF cohnterfeitin
himself. He associated him self wit
the notorious Pete Mccartney, know
"a police circles rs the King Of Wes
;. IN Counterfeiters," and became Gr
ms hight hand man, finally, his sup'
rior and director He has receive
r. from NcCartney,t at one time, frol
100000 to 100000 in counterfeit note
/; 4iSposing-t Of them, for circulation i
sfo~a; Missouri, 1llinois,, Kansas, an
the Territories. Mccartney at; :thl
time attended to the engraving an
q af,k fr< 1t