The People's vindicator. [volume] (Natchitoches, La.) 1874-1883, 1880-11-20
OF GENERAL INTEREST.
Confession Of Ens-nver Smith.

WASHINGTON, y. C., October u.
The text of the confession If Charles II
Smith, the engraver who was under the tyrn,i.
ny OF Brockway, and who engraved the plate
upon which the bonds in the possession OF
Doyle were printed has been received a: the
Treasury 1t was taken at New IOrk-curiOns.
H. enough, in the third pers0n-n the pres.
cnce of Mr.. Casilcar, OF the Bureau OF GHGrav-
in and Printing, ana Of Mr. Charles Coon,
A. i>,ant Chief of the Loan Division. The fol.
lowing is the text:
smith states that he engraved all of the
work on the 30 note, namely: al! of the
square lettering, all of the scrip, vigncttc and
imi,at 4 Eithe-wOrk, counters, borders and
coupons. with his tinted plate printed in green
On he face of the note, and the back of the
plJtc printed in green on the back OF the note;
also, the seal printed in red Oh the face OF the
note. He also said that he engray cd the plates
in or about the year 1866 or 1867.
"iIc states that he etched one-half OF the
green counter on the back of the coupon after
which the whole counter was made by electro
tipping. The imitation Of cycod was traced,
and cut with grayer. lie also states that he
engray ed the $1,000 old lcgal.tendcr, originally
engraved by the American Bank-NOte Com
pany of New York. lie engraved the face
plate, back plate and tint plate; also the seal
that is printed on the face of the note-ali of
which is counterfeit. He also engraved the
head of Hamilton on the $50 legaltender note,
first series, originally engraved by the Nation
al Bank-Note Company Of New York.
lie states that he engraved the 500 M
tional-currency plate in skeleton; the face
plate. with vignette and lettering; counters,
LOO andC.
lie also engraved the title of National
banks to print upon skeleton face plate-viz.:
National Revere Bank, Boston; Merchants
National Bank, New Bedford, Mass; Pitts
burgh National Bank, Pittsburgh; Second Ma
tional Bank, WilkeSbarre, Pa; Pittsburgh
National Bank OF Commerce; and National
Exchange Bank of Baltimorc-all Of which he
engraved for BrOckway, with the tint plate
and back plate printed in green; also the red
seal printed on the face of the note. Tie also
states that he engraved 5000 bond plate
with coupons, acts Of July II ana August ),
1861, with vgnettes and bordering, count
ers, square lettering and scrip, and
the imitation kthe-work border. The
and furnished the section of bed
pccc 10 BrUckway He also states that the
original counterfeit vigncttc. with sections of
initiated tablcwork and lettering, furnished
by him to Brockway, were manipulated in
such Il manner that the result when finished
formed series of electrotypc plates from
which the counterfeit plates were prnted.with
the caption of the skeleton and titles engraved
for the National-currency note, which were
engraved on copper by him for Brocllway.'
CHARLES II. SMITH.
This was subscribed and sworn to before a
United States Commissioner in New York City,
October u, 1850.
The boston "Ladles' Deposit'' Ssvlndle.
TnE Eos.on newspapers furnish number
Of interesting details Of the Ladies Deposit"
swindle il; Boston, and OF the so-called Presi.
dent. Mrs. Sarah L. Howe, that have not been
published in the Times specials. She ana her
agents have repeatedly dccia ed thai their
'binh Was no experiment; that it had been
in operation tor forty years in Alexandria,
Va, where it had been founded by capital
furnished from time to time by benevolent
Quakcrs anxious to aid vrtuous and unprO-
tected women. The object OF the Deposit was
never to accumulate money. but to benefit
humanity, especially its feminine portion.
Consequently, it was as willing to pay ninety
six per cent. per annum ~ half Y
quarter Ut tnat rate. At least three
fourths OF the depostOrs are asserted
to live out Of Boston, and never
to have drawn their interest when it had
fallen due, which has materially helped the
"bank" to pay oil city creditors. Toe fact
has been revealed that a large number of Bos-
ton business Men have, singularly enough,
raised every dollar they could by selling Sc
curties, household furniture and personal
property in order to put it in the Deposit.
While they had no faith in its management or
ultimate sOvency, they were willing to incur
the risk reasoning that, If the establishment
should onlylast one year, they would nearly
double their capita, and then draw out the
whole amount. The opinion that most of the
deposits have been from the middle and lower
classes Is entirely erroneous. Many of
the first families in that city are de-
clared to have intrusted Mrs. Howe with
the care of their funds to the extent of
from $1,000 to $1,000 each, and to have
sustained, as Well as the business men, very
heavy losses. The house in East BroOkline
street, where the bank was situated, was most
extensively, though tawdrily, furnished. So
many costly articles were bought and carried
there last spring, ut the time of its remoya,
from humber quarters, that the whole neigh.
borhood wondered at such luxury. There are.
doubtless, various branches Of the Deposit,
and not few of the depositors are reported to
be residents Of this city. Mrs. Howe's record,
which has been industriously traced. shows to
extreme disadvantage. Her age is given at
sixty, and she is described as short, fat, very
ugly, and so iliterate as to be unable to write
On English sentence, or to speak without max.
ing shameful blunders. How such a woman
could have been 50 successful swindler deaee
conjecture.-N. Y. Times.