Springfield globe-republic. (Springfield, Ohio) 1884-1887, 1885-03-08
Splitting Ten-Dollar Greenback in
Halres-Method Of Tracing the
Lines of the Engraving on
the Plate-Caught


| lLoui>NLle foSt
United States Detective W. G.. Bauer re-
turned from Memphis, announcing the con-
vlction of the celebrated counterfeiter Mar
TIN Ogie. re 'orter found Detective Bauer
IN his room suyroun led by piles Of counter
felt tills and looking over the tools with
which the counterfeiter accomplished his
work To the reporter he explained the pro-
| ceis ises, which certainly display a wonderful
amount Of ingenuity and delicate workman
ship
Osle had procured genuine SO bill and
split this in halves, this being in Itself re-
markable operation. The two sheets thus
made were SO thin that they we're transpar-
eDt He made plato of copper and brass,
little larger than the bill, and spread one
OF the sheets on the top of it With a steel
tracing pencil of his own manufacture he
engraved through the sheet its exact coun-
terpart 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 work.
manship looks very simple, but it is the first
time It has been done by counterfeiter as
II Is almost impossible to split the bill.
The method always before used is as fol-
lows: The workman took, say, a $40 bill,
AID spread over it piece OF transparent
gelatiI-e paper, and traced the figures of the
former on the latter. The metal plate was
next put IN Use, and was coated with a solu.
ton Of sheliac. On this the gelatine paper
was pasted, and when torn off it left on the
sheiiac the outline of its figures. By follow.
ing these IN the solution they were also
traced IN delicate lines on the plate. The
sheliac then being wa he'd off the latter they
could be cut to the right depth, and the
counter:eiter was ready for his work Osle's
methods obyiated these three or four methods
AMI rendering the engraving on the plate
lar more accurate, the correctness of
the lines was necessarily lost through so
many transfers. This man thus accom-
piIsheI piece of work alone and unaided,
with tools of his own manufacture, when
tie national government paid over $100, ,OOO
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
the genuine bill split in two sheets,
ami perfectly transparent He hal on q |
table several packages of bills Of Ogle's man |
amounting in all to $50, 900, in tens |
and twenties They We're all on the Third |
National Bank of Cincinnati, but the new
plates were intended for the Queen City |
bank
"Ogle," said Detective Bauer, "is the first
man who has issued any spurious money |
during the last six years, and he has shown
an almost unexampled skin and astuteness.
His brother, who has been returned to the
Pennsylvania peniteutiary, knew nothing
tbout this workmanship. but was merely
kind of head servant to Martin. The latter
lid all his work on O fatboat. and scattered
he money chiefly at river points. He
turned over to me IN all S1SO, 900 of about
the best counterieiting l ever saw.