Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-12-18
TALx ABOUT BANK NOTES.
The Discovery of Tom Ballard, the
Celebrated Counterfeiter, Now In AL
bany Jail.
From the Ne,o YORK. Tslearan..

bany Jail.
Fran the Neto York telegram.
WASHINGTON. Dec. I4.--An old Secret
Service officer said to-day: "The new
distinctive paper for the manufacture OF
bank and national notes will prove a fail
ure in my estimation. None OF it has yet
been issued from the Bureau Of Engraving
and Printing, for the good reason that
Secretary Manning has ordered that all Of
the ola nbre paper shall be used
up before the new is put out.
somehow the Secretary has become
possessed Of the idea that the nearer
we get 10 the paper used by the Bank OF
England the more secure we VIII be
against cOunterfeiting. Now that is pre-
posterous right on its face. The condi-
tion of our paper currency cannot be com
pared with that Of England, and for the
reason that every note that goes into the
Bank Of England, no matter what its con-
di'ion may be. is destroyed at once and a
new one issued in its place. II note is
deposited in our treasury, and it looks to
be in far condition, it is put in circua-
ton again, AS a matter of consequence
the notes of the Bank of England are al
ways IN good condition, while ours are in
far worse state.
SECURITY AGAINST CONTEMPLATING,
THE reason given for the change is
that the water mark affords a greater Sc
curitv against cOunterfeiting than the
fibre paper. The officers Of the Secret
Service are after a gang who have been
flooding New York and Boston with coun-
terfeit 60 notes on the Bank of Englan
and good counterfeits they are. TOO. Only
an expert can detect the difference be-
tween them and the genuine, and yet it is
proposed to adopt the water mark as a
protection against counterfeiting. | am
in favor of the fibre paper, because l be-
lieYe 1t is the best thing yet invented to
protect the purity of our circulating
notes. The facts bear me out in that
assertion. The fibre paper has
been successfully initiated by one man
only, Notwithstanding the long number Of
years it has been In circulation. A little
over nine years ago Tom Ballard, who is
probably the most expert counterfeiter OF
this generation, made paper which it
was impossible to distinguish from the
genuine fibre used by the government.
This was never successfully accomplished
before and never has been done since.
Fortunately, we caught Ballard and con-
Yicted him. 1t was also equally fOrtu-
nate thai the judge and Jury were not
moved by sentiment in disposing of his
for term of thirty years.
BALLARD's SECRET.
''No one but Ballard knows how he
made that successful imitation, and al
though we have made every legitimate en-
deaVOr that ingenuity could suggest to
get the secret from him, we have signally
failed. Ballard has invented a new pa
per tor bank and national notes since he
has been in prison. He has made an APP
plicatiOn II the President Offering to give
his secret to the government in case he is
set free. No notice has been taken OF his
application, and probably none will be,
because if he should be liberated it would
set tree the most dangerous counterfeiter
of this or any other country and we should
have no end OF trouble with him.
The fibre paper has been initiated but
once and that by cOunterfeiter who will
be an aged and decrepid old man should
he live long enough to serve out his term.
The water mark paper is being constantly
initiated, even in country where the
currency is kept in much better condi-
ton than ours. Another point is, that
after the notes become sOiled the water
mark will he completely effaced. and then
we shall have the vast majority of our
notes floating through the channels OF
trade without any distinctive device
whatever. so far as the paper is con-
cerned. | have been giving you not only
my opinions, put the opinions of many
Others belonging to the secret service, and
who look at the matter from a practical
standpOint0