The Wheeling daily intelligencer. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1865-1903, 1881-09-06
CRIMgN PRTSON.
Counterfeitera at work In the Columbus
PenitentIaFy.

CoLUNBus, o., September l,-SoMe slx ol
eight weeks ago Warden Thomas, Of the
PshitGntiaty, undafewcounterieit nlckell
in circulation among the convtcts, and
cqme tay tho conclusion that lhe work oI
making them was carried on inside the
walls. He at once SCI about ierreting out
the matter, and last week succeeded in
dropping on The scheme. WILLIAM Phillips,
an ohtside man employed IN the stables,
was discovered with d small amount Of the
bogus coin in his possession, ard upon he
ing placed ppder a4est said he Got II from
a Gphylpt named Arthur Chambers, gate.
man inside tie PRISON In this way tho
matter was traced back 10 two c0hylCts
employed in the pattern room and Gill's
stove works. One Of them was B, F. Rlst,
sent up from Hamilton county for burglary,
and the other Charles Wilson, serving d
term for grand larceny RON Van Vert
paunty.
These two men worked alone in the pat.
tern department, and were not under the
immediate surveillance Of guard, This
gave them the opportunity Of making the
molds and such ,othor tools as they needed
f0f misunderstanding the counterfeit onih. "
The nluhlS were made otit uf plaster ot
paris, and together with the material out
Of which the coins were made were carried
to their cells, where the work, was done,
They both 'sCcupied cells on the same
floor in the fourth range, Of what II called
the new cell department, and the location
-, l.,,,,, i,ln 49, SlHy,, u, ,,ds9St S,6 lbnIk
work without attracting the al.
tention of the guards The metal
ftOta Which the coins are made
seems 10 be- q kind Of soldering material,
and Eas melted over the lights whiCll the
prisoners Fste allowed 10 burn In their cells
until o o'clock at night, The coins when
made we're given to James Grant, a shtewti
Colored convict, who h employed as a run.
ner and had access TO the department
where .Rist and Wilson worked, and ~
him pissed 10 other convicts who were n
the scheme. THE only men outside the
laisDti swhd ate known to lave had M v
thing 70 do with putting the b9gis coins In
circulation are John Rice and Wm. Phil
lips, both employed In tho stables
The lInsinels was carried on entirely by
COhvicts, and ten Of them are ail to have
been in one way or another connected
with H. II Il thought that lait, "a very
small amount Of the counterfeit toih g6i
into circulation before the scheme was die
covered, This IA not the first time the
Counterfeitlng business has been started II
the penitenIiary Several yearaSgo, duFinl
tie administration OF WaFileh Irnis, 4 vel
PLANNED ard successful convict couhtetieit
Ing scheme wasdisCOvered. In nthatrase, a
in this, the nickel was the coin counterfeit
ell. m b6thtasesthe work waswell done, ant
the spurious coins very good limitations o
tho genuine, A counterfeit Oi anOthe
character was discovered yesterday, !
convict named Simmons was brought II
with iIIs pockets full Of what looked llk
thdfatIBis Of tobacco iag1ed tDthe prison
en-. Upon examination, however, wha
looked like a lO-cent navy plug turned OH
10 be nothing but pine block with q piec
Of leaf tobacco carefully wrapped roun'
The outside. AS the cOnvicts sometime
complain that they do not get enough "a
baccp, this enterprising convict thought !
supply this deficiency and gather In som
oi The counterfeit hlckelS,