Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1888-06-07
COUNTERFEIT MONEY.
The Vast Amount of Queer Goods in the
Government Treasury.


'There is money enough there to
make You and me rich for the rest OF
our lives" said Secret Service official
to the correspondent The converse
ton took place in one of the rooms OF
the Secret-Service Division in the
Treasury Department. and "there"
was q vault from which messengers
were carrying little canvas bags and
packages done up in manila paper and
sealed with red wax. but am
afraid" the official continued, THAT it
wouldn't do US much good. There are
4 couple of million dollars there. but.
every cen: Of il is bogus"
The queer" was being taken out Of
the Secret-Service vaults to be exam
ined by 4 committee which has been APP
pointed by the Secretary of the Treas
ury for that purpose previous to being
destroyed. 1t is eleven years ago since
the last counterfeit money in the Treas
ury was destroyed. and these S2.0oO.COO
represent the work of the counterfeit
ing frater nifty since that time. When
ever ashover OF the queer is captured
with any bogus stuff on him the money
is sent TO Washington. where it lies in
a vault until enough has been accumu-
lated. when it is destroyed. Each cap
ture is kept separate from the others.
and the bogus coin is treated just the
same as if it were United States money,
! just issued from the mint. The care
which is exercised is shown in the
manner in which the packages are
marked. Here is sample:
No. 104 B. One thousand and forty
eight.
"A. One hundred and twenty dollars
| (S120), twenty-five cent coin"
The number and letter A refers to n
record and complete inventory which
is kept of every cast.
1--WE have in that collection" said
the Secret Service man, '.gold and silver
and every thing in the shape OF paper
from one-cent revenue stamp up to a
thousand-dollar government, which is
the largest bond that has ever been
counterfeited. There are 209 of the
thousand-dollar bonds which were made
by the great firm of BrockwaY. Smith
s. Doyle. probably the three greatest
men in their business we have ever
known. Some OF the work on the bonds
is finer than the genuine, but that is ac-
counted for when you remember that
Smith was the engraver who did the
work for the Government, and when
he went into business for himself he
improved on his first effort.
"Stories connected with this money!
/ should say. Here is some stuff (and
he picked up bag of half-dollars)
which was taken from gang.of eigh-
teen that operated in West Virginia in
1882 and 1888. Their leader was a
member of the State Legislature. and
when we bagged him at last he boasted
of having spoken on the floor of the
House with counterfeit money in his
pockets. No, / can't tell you his name.
because since his release from prison.
where we sent him, he has been living
respectable life and is now in business
in West Virginia and is doing WELL"
There's some stuff we captured at
Oswego, N. Y. in 1880. The brains OF
that gang was Mrs. Ingersoll, and Il
pretty bad woman she was. too Two
of her daughters were with her, and, As
they were very pretty girls. the old
woman found them very useful in fas-
cinating young men Of a certain class,
so that at last they were willing to dc
any thing the girls W anted. This pack
age recalls tragedy. 1t was made by
big gang in Indiana some years ago
and when our men went to arrest them
one of the fellows shot an officer through
the hand. and he promptly returned
the fire and shot his man through the
heart"
as there much couaterfeitiag going
on at the present time"
mo, very.little. The only man o.
any prominence in the busine So We
know of now out of Jail is Pete Nc
Cartney, and he is now being tried in
New Orleans for raising one dollar silver
certificates. You see, it takes a good
deal Of money to counterfeit notes
There must be good engraver, a man
who knows his business thoroughly,
and first-class printer. 1t takes from
six months to a year to engrave the
plates, and during tina. time the men
have to live. McCartney's principal
work was issuing bogus $50 greenb backs,
and in his time he must have made
thousands and thousands of dollars out
of them. About three months ago be
was released from prison. but he had
no money, and to tide him over until
he could get funds he tried to turn one
dollar silver certificates into fifties and
was caught"
Besides the $2.OOO,00O of bogus
money, there are millions of dollars in
what are known as flash notes.
These limitations are greenbacks used
for advertising purposes, and although
they were not got up for fraudulent
purposes, it is violation OF the law to
make any sort of imitation of United
States currency or Government obliga-
ton. These flash notes are often passed
off on the Negroes of the South as good
money by confidence men. The Secret
Service people at rough guess believe
they have s50.OOO,00O worth of flash
notes in their possession. All this bogus
money will be counted by the Treasury
Committee. The notes will be sent to
the macerator and ground into pulp