St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1885-04-18
CoUNTERFEITING.
The Methods Resorted to by an Expert to
Initiate the Greenback of the Republic.

The Methods Resorted to by an Expert "a
Initiate the Greenback of the Republic.
United States Detective w. G. Bauer
recently returned from Memphis. an
nouncing the conviction OF the cele-
brated counterfeiter Martin Ogle. A
reporter this afternoon found Detective
Bauer in his room surrounded by piles
of counterfeit bills, and looking over
the tools with which the counterfeiter
accomplished his work. To reporter
he explained the processes. which GER
tainly display wonderful. amount of
ingenuity and delicate workmanship.
Ogle had procured a genuine ten-dol-
lar bill and split this in halves, this
being in itself remarkable operation.
The two sheets thus made were so thin
that they were transparent. He made a
plate of copper and brass, a little larger
than the bill, and spread one of the
sheets on top of it. With steel ira
cling pencil of his own manufacture he
engraved through the sheet its exact
counterpart on the plate. The other
half was engraved on different plate
in similar manner. and then he was
ready for printing his spurious money.
This method of workmanship looks very
simple. but it is the first time it has
been done by a counterfeiter, as it is al
most impossible to split the bill.
The method always before used is as
follows: The workman took, say ten
dollar bill, and spread over it piece of
transparent gelatine paper, and traced
the figures of the former on the latter.
The metal Plate was next put in use,
and was coated with solution of shell
lac. On this the gelatine paper was
pasted. and, when torn off. it left on
the shellac the outline of its figures.
BY following these in the solution they
We're also traced in delicate lines on the
plate. The shellac then being washed
off the latter they could be cut to the
right depth. and the counterfeiter was
ready for his work. Ogle's method OBJ
waited these three or four methods, and
rendered the engraving on the plate far
more accurate, as the correctness of the
lines was necessarily lost through so
many transfers.
This man thus accomplished piece
Vi NOTh diOut duu uudlucu. Will tOOlS
of his own manufacture, when the Ma
tional Government paid over 800, 900 for
a steam machine to do the same thing.
Detective Bauer showed Ogle's tools,
which were fitted to rough wooden
handles, but possessed points as sharp
as steel. He also displayed the genuine
bill split in two sheets, and perfectly
transparent. He had on table several
packages of bills of Ogle' S manufacture,
amounting in all to $4,000. in tens
and twenties. They were all on the
Third National Bank of Cincinnati, but
the new plates were intended for tho
Queen City Bank.
"Ogle," said Detective Bauer. lis the
first man who has issued any spurious
money during the last six years. and he
has shown an almost unexampled skill
and astuteness. His brother, who has
been returned to the Pennsylvania peni-
tentiary. knew nothing about this work
manship. but was merely kind of head
servant to Martin. The latter did all
his work on fatboat, and scattered
the money chiefly at river points. He
turned over to me in all S1SO,000 of
about the best counterfeiting l ever
saw.'-L0uisciHe Post.