Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1893-12-23
aside. and, after being kept five years. they

fire of great heat. But Congress, perceiv-
ing that the stock reduced to pulp would
be valuable enough at least to pay the
expense of destruction, passed a law de-
creeing that the process at present followed
should be adopted. So. nowadays the old
notes and certificates are taken to the
bureau of engraving and dumped into an
iron cylinder. five feet In diameter ana
ten feet long, in the cellar. The cylinder
is partly filled with water and chemicals
and heated by steam, which boils the erst-
while precious contents for thirty-six hours,
at the end of which the money is reduced
to mud-like pulp. There are two of these
cylinders, and while one is stewing away
the other is ready to receive fresh sup
plies. The masses of pulp thus prepared
are heaped into a pit below, from which
the moist material is carried upstairs again,
passed through a machine that transforms
it into sheets a quarter of an inch thick,
and dried in that shape.
In this form 1t furnishes valuable paper
stock. But it will not do to make more
money out of, because 1t Is discolored by
inks and further injured by the action OF
the chemicals used in the macerating ap-
paratus. However. the paper makers are
glad to buy 1t at $40 a hundredweight dry.
Any one else can purchase 1t in the moist
state. when it contains so per cent OF wa
ter, for one-fifth that price. The manu-
facturers of paper would not purchase 1t In
that shape because the freight for so great
a weight would be too high. Those who IN
vest in the pulp for the purpose Of making
it into busts Of Abraham Lincoln. repre-
etc, employ their own molds ana make
their own estimates of the value OF the
original money material composing their
wares. National bank notes are not de-
stroyed at the bureau Of engraving. They
are chewed up into minute fragments In
sort Of tub with revolving knives beneath
the ONCE Of the controller Of the currency,
under inspection by persons appointed by
the banks to superintend the operation.
No imitation has thus far appeared OF
the fiber bands now used In the distinctive
paper Of the treasury. But then, you see.
counterfeiters nowadays are not exhibiting
much activity in this country. The difficult
ties in the way of successfully reproducing
the elaborate and beautiful engraving on
with the incessant activity of Chief Drum
mond and the sleuth hounds of the secret
service, have discouraged them. Only one
really good forgery on a United States Sc
Curity is now known to be eXtant-namely,
the 81 note with the head Of Hancock which
caused some alarm about four years ago.
This has reappeared in new and slightly
improved edition, showing that the en-
and undiscovered.
Efforts to Secure Counterfeit Plates.
The difficulty of getting hold of the plates
of a counterfeit are so great that the gov
eminent will ordinarily grant full pardon
to a forger who will give up such dangerous
material To catch a person in the act Of
Showing bad bills is not usually an
achievement Of any important consequence.
The chances are hundred to one that he
does not know anything about the source
from which the counterfeits were originally
derived-that is to say, who manufactured
them. He merely enjoys acquaintance with
a saloon keeper perhaps. who furnishes him
with the stuff at 90 cents on dollar. That
is the usual rate, and allows a reasonable
margin Of profit. The saloon keeper pays
80 cents on the dollar for his supplies, but
he himself is not likely to know the forger.
Between him and the latter there is again
an Intermediary.
To weld together links in a chain of evil
dence that will connect the shower with the
manufacture is all but impossible. That
1t Is accomplished in many instances affords
the best possible illustration Of the skill and
cleverness Of the government detectives.
They adopt various DISCUSSES. and expose
themselves to all sorts of perils in the pur-
suit of these dangerous criminals Such
men are desperate in proportion to the risks
they run, which are very great the legal
punishment for counterfeiting being only
less severe than that for deliberate man
slaughter. Months Of persistent effort may
be required to ferret out a gang. and during
this time the faithful agent Of Uncle Sam
may be obliged to frequent the lowest
haunts Of the vile, striving to win his way
into the confidence of the forgers. Much Of
the counterfeiting done in this country is
performed by Italians, who are bound to-
gether by oaths Of secret organizations.
nothing.
Back Of the manufacturer Of false money
stands the promoter" who Ia almost never
caught. He supplies the capital A man
who did business of that sort in a large way
was well known for many years to the po-
lice in New York city. They could not lay
hands on him, because no evidence could be
got against him that would convict in a
court of law. The showers are the small fry
of the business. They receive a tip that at
a certain time and place something in their
line will be available No specific commu-
ncati is made to them on the subject,
beyond the giving of a direction. The
minor criminal goes to the place indica ted
1t may be in the back cellar of a tenement
house-and a package of "stuff' is handed
out to him through a small opening in the
door. In return he hands over the requisite
amount OF cash in good money. He sees
nobody, and, if he is caught passing the
counterfeits, he knows nothing.
Surprising that he steers the police to the
cellar where he got them, the disbursing
agency has vanished. Even the disbursing
agent Is not acquainted with the engraver
or with the promoter. He gets the "coney,"
as 1T Is technically called, from an inter-
mediary. If he should ''squeal on the in
termediary, the latter denies the charge
and there is no evidence against him, for II
is certain that he Will have nothing of a
compromising nature in his possession.
The only person who has knowledge of the
| engraver is tine promoter, who pays him for
his work. and attends to circulating the
engraver, it is difficult for the law to con-
vict the promoter, who keeps no criminat-
ing evidence about him in the shape of
plates or counterfeits. He is nearly al
ways a man Of great ostensible respectable
ity, enjoying excellent repute in the COM
munity where he lives. Yet II Is he who
maintains the industry Of counterfeiting.
Secreting the Plates.
Earth is the ravorite hiding place Of the
counterfeiter. He never keeps his plates
near him unless they are in process of man
| ufacture. A building may be searched, but
| a spade will make a concealment that is
beyond the power Of police to discover
Usually tho plates are wrapped in oilcloth
or covered with wax to prevent corrosion.
A tale is told OF engraved steel plates for
perhaps the most dangerous counterfeit
ever made. a note for $780, which are at
present buried beneath the tracks of the
Long Island railway
On the whole, the counterfeiting business
cannot be said to be remunerative. Those
engaged in 1t seldom get rich. Once in q
while a forger makes q good strike without
being detected or punished. and retires to
a life of temporary honesty; when his mon
ey is gone he returns to the business and
| its dangers. The highly skilled counter
letters Of the world spend the best part Of
their lives In Jail for long terms. Never
1neless, there are exceptions. One of the
most notable of these is Charles H. Smith,
who executed the most remarkable series
of counterfeits ever known. His work puz-
!