The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-08-19

/ this country.
In connection with the recent capture of
| gang OF counterfeiters in Connecticut
| ana the periodical appearance of bogus
paper money in the United States, it is
interesting to recall the ATTEMPTS which
nave been made to initiate Bank of Eng
land notes Such attempts have been
com paratlyely rare, and in recent years
almost unknown, in spite of the fact that
engraving has never been developed in
| England TO anything like the de-
gree of perfection which it has attained
mere. The engraving lathe, which is
| used for mechanical designs, such as the
wayy figures inclosing the denominationaI
number OF an ordinary bill, is an Amer
lean invention, and it is said that il has
never beer satisfactorily put into opera
ton outside of the United States IL is
an exceedingly complicated and expensive
machine, and is the chief stumbling
block in the way of counterfeiters. 1t is
| entirely impossible to initiate lathe work
| accurately by hand. In each of the
mechanical figures spoken of, there is but
| one line made by the lathe and il is per-
| tectly continuous. All that can be done
! by hand IS to give fairly close approx
nation to the effect In other directions
also, American bank-nOte engravers are
SO TAR ahead of any others that their
work has been called an American art.
The Bank of England note, conse-
! quently. would seem much easier to imi-
| tate than an American bill, but it is pro-
tected in other ways. The paper on
| which 1t is printed is white, but of a re-
| markable quality, W hich has never been
| duplicated by an outsider This paper is
| of very peculiar texture, being at once
thin, tough, and crisp, and the water
mark, of an elaborate design, is dis
! trlbuted oyer the whole surface of the
paper. 1t is made in Oblong slips, allow
ing just enough space for the printing of
two notes side by side. The edges of the
! paper are left untrimmed, but after
| printing, the two notes are divided by a
straight cut between them. In conse-
! quence. only one side of Bank of Eng
| land note is smooth, the other three being
| comparatively ragged.
! A single machine prints first the value,
| signature, etc, and then the number of
the note in order 1t also registers each
| note printed, showing the total output.
| The average production is $4,000 a day.
and about the same number are presented
| daily for redemption. A note is never is
| sued second tim2, but is destroyed as
soon as 1t reaches the bank and a new
one sent out in its place. The average
| time during which note is in circulation
| is five or six days. Upon being turned
in to the bank the note is defaced by hav-
| ing the mark of value punched out and
| the signature torn of. 1t is then packed
away for possible reference during a pc
| riod of five years. The amount of notes
| so accumulated in five years weighs
| nearly hundred tons, and requires
very large storage space. Every day the
mutilated notes which have been slowed
away for just five years are destroyed
| by fire in furnace constructed for the
| purpose.
The peculiar quality of the paper en-
| ployed and the close watch which is kept
| day by day upon the numbered notes out
! standing combine to make counterfeiting
| difticult. The death penalty which at
tached to the offence until quito recent
times helped to make it unpopular No
counterfeits have appeared in England
| for considerable number of years, and
| the field of counterteters operations is
| practically confined to the colonies where
| Bank of England notes circulate.
| 1t is somewhat remarkable that no at
tempt to initiate the notes was made un-
| til l15S, siXty-tve years after the founda-
| tion of the bank The gentleman who
| had the honor of leading OFF in this par
| ticular industry was Richard William
| Vaughan. lie was man of education,
but had not made good use of his advanta-
ges. After failing in business he became
a clerk, and soon succeeded in
winning the affections of his en-
plOyer's niece. The old gentleman OBJ
| Iected to the match, but Vaughan repre-
! sented to him that his relatives were com
| ing to his assistance, and in proof of his
assertion he placed in his sweetheart's
| keeping twelve alleged Bank of England
| notes E2O each, and the wedding arrange
ments were made. AT this juncture the
| engraver whom Vaughan had employed
| did what so many engraverS in his posi-
| ton have done since. He "peached,"
although that probably wasn't the name
| for ii in those days. AS a result Vaughan
| lost his life as well as his bride.
There was no further attempt at bank
note forgery on any considerable scale
until 1850. In that year a note was pre-
| sented at the bank and cashed in the or
binary course of business The paper,
the water mark, the engraving and the
| signatures were all in perfect order and
| the fraud was not discovered until it was
| found that a note of the same number had
| already been cashed. Attempts to locate
| the forger failed and similar notes con-
! tinued to be presented. They were finally
traced to a man who called himself
Drank. He was disguised as an old man
and disappeared before he could be ar
| rested. His real name was Charles Price
and for five years he continued to circu-
late his counterfeits without detection,
and while awaiting trial hanged himself
| in his cell
OF other frauds on the bank, that of
y
| the best known. He contrived in
| 1915 to swindle the corporation out of
100000 by forged powers of attorney,
and was hanged for it. The last
great fraud against the Bank of
! England was carried through BY
a man named Warren, who was
said to be an American BY means of
forged notes he swindled the institution
out of over 100000 The law prescribing
capital punishment having been abolished
Warren and his associates were sentenced
to penal servitude.
There have been "runs" upon the Bank
of England, in 1877, 1925, and other years,
and it has been three times compelled to
suspend specie payments. With the
assistance of the government, however, it
has always managed to pull through, and
is to-day the synonym for all that is
stable and enduring in the world Of
finance.
"Why my dear what's the matter2"
kindly asked a lady of her friend. "Oh
! feel I'm beginning to look quite old"
was the mournful reply. Nonsense;
what ever put such an idea into your