The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1881-09-08
COUN9BRFEITING
IN THE OHIO PENITENTIARY.
A Systematic Manufacture Of Counter
felt Coin UlGaTtlGd,
The Prison Officials Supposed to be
Aware Of the Facts,
And Attempt to Conceal Them to
Avoid Disgrace.
An Unknown Amount of Bogus Money
Made at State Expense,
And Passed Under the Noses of Her Paid
Officials.

Officials.
special Dispatch TO the Cincinnati Enquirer
COLUMBUS, September -Counterieiting on an
extensive scale has been going on at the Peniten.
tiary for months under the noses and eyes OF the
Warden aud guards. The criminals supported by
the State and watched, ,OT supposed to be watched,
by men paid out Of he public funds, have been
prosecuting their work 30 diligently that the city
is flooded with the counterfeit cons. The ener.
gies Of the Warden and his subordinates have
been bent to keeping the facts from the public
and hiding their own disgrace, and for this
reason but few Of the developments have leaked
cut
A slight cleW was obtained by the ELquirer this
morning, and inquiries were made at the United
States Court, but the officials there played their
role so innocently that the matter was dropped
for the time being Late tonight a fresh clew
was obtained, and demand was made by tele.
phone on Captain PlayfOrd the night officer in
charge at the Penitentiary, to know whether any
oounterfeitiHg had come to light True to the
policy Of suppresslng the truth, he answered that
there had been no work OF the kind, and the In
formation to that effect was due to discharged
convicts and guards. A call was made at the
prison, and by a course Of persistent cross,ex
animation one Of the straugest facts ever devel
oped In prison management was reluctantly con.
fessed after all attempts to lie out had failed.
Over two months ago 1t was discovered that
cOnvICts were engaged In counterf lting nickels
number Of bundering efforts were m ade by
the Warden and other officers to discover the
hu thau faflad IN lfph
thing. How long this had been going on before
is unknown, but 1t is pretty well understood that
1t ante dated the discovery two months ago by
long period. The operations were kept up until
last Thursday, at which time convict named
Wilson, an expert cOunterfeiter, one Bates, Of
Cincinnati, and third man were trapped at their
work and placed in cells, Five others are known
10 have been placed under arrest on suspicion Of
being accomplices. They have since been re.
leased
According to the Penitentary officials whether
they are lying, as they were when they said no
one had been caught, or whether the ave had
been let free and only three retained, must be
left to conjecture Warden Thomas gave orders
to the guards to allow none Of the other convioB
to go near the cells Of the Gagged convict counter
feiters, and all other precautions were taken to
prevent the disgrace Of the officials coming to
light. The work shop for making the nickelS
was In Hayden's buckle plating shop, and the
material used was the metal employed in the
plating works. Captain PlayfOrd, Of the night
watch, at first endeavored to impress upon the
Enquirer tn 1t the matter was very triaing one,
and asserted that not more than tw enty of the
counterfeit coins had been made. When told
that this was notorlously unhue, and that i'm.
mense numbers Of the cOunterfeits were IN cir.
Culatlon, he stated that the number might reach
ten thousand.
To request made on Warden Thomas that he
give his side Of the story, that worthy replied
that he would not be interviewed and that he
had nothing to say. guard and chop fore
man are said to be implicated in the or minal
work. II such Is the case neither ave yet been
arrested, but their immunity would be easily &C.
counted for by the desire OF the Warden and
prison authorities to suppress their disgrace.
The counterfeit coins are remarkably ell exc.
outed, and would escape delecu on unless closely
examined.
Especial Dispatch to the Cincinnati Enqulrer.l
COLUMBUS, September 4,-Your correspondent
was accorded an interview by Warden Thomas at
the PenitentiRTy this afternoon. He had evil.
IDENTIFY become aware that secrecy was no longer
possible and that the people Of the great State Of
Ohio would know all about this partnership Of
their Commonwealth In the Counterieitlng bust.
ness, whether he and his minions kept silence or
no. The convict counteIfeiteH In solitary con.
inement for oounterieitlng within the prison
walls, he said, were Charles Wilson, sentenced
for five years from Hamilton county for burglary.
B. F. RIsh, sentenced for four years from Van
Vert county for forgery and John Bates, sem
fenced for three years from Hamilton county for
grand larceny.
The Warden says that but two Of these, Wilson
and Rlsh, admitted having made the counterfeit
coins. Bates was found with three pieces In his
possession, and was locked up with the rest. He
ia suspected Of having had more, and the reason
for placing him In cell was to make him con.
feHH. Warden Thomas says that nine Convicts In
all were locked Iup for completely in the crime
and for having passed the money to persons on
the outside Of the prison, but the three named
above were afterward released.
The Warden next produced nineteen bogus
nickels, which sum was all that he had been able
to capture as the States share OF the counterEeit
ing business Of the Seasonal meagre return
when 1t 10 considered that the State furnishes
food, clothing, lodging and attendance, the
prison contractors the raw material which was
stolen from them, leaving only the skill and
labor TO be supplied by the zebra suited convict
Warden Thomas says no guard or foreman has
been suspected Of being in the ring. Wilson and
Rlsh are pattern makers in Gill's stove shop, and
not In Hayden's, as Playford intImRted, They
had been working In room by themselves.
Their story is that they made their models them.
selves Of plaster OF Paris in the room at Gill's
and cast the coins In their cells at night.
The discovery of the oounterieits was made the
6rst Of last week, when the convict hospital at.
tendant and one Of the convict drivers were
found exchanging twenty cents in silver for that
amount in niCkels, The driver was then searched
and twenty-five cents worth OF counterfeit nick.
els were found on him In addition. Both were
locked up and the work was then traced back to
the men who we're making the counterfeIls.
The credenoe Warden Thomas puts In the
stories Of the COnyots shows that he is possessed
Of guileless and unsuspecung nature. Much of
the decentralization in the prison Is due to the
fact that he allows the crafty criminals TO stuff
him with all manner Of cock and bull SIC rles. It
is pretty well established, and generally believed
by those who have any knowledge Of the inside
workings Of the prison, that the oouuterfeitinR
business has been going on there almost from the
time the new men placed In power by Fosters
administration took charge. The advent OF lot
OF new and unexDerienced man wonld naturallv