The morning call., 1894-07-29
limitations Prohibited bv
Uncle Sam.
BOGUS MONEY AND NOTES.
Coin Catalogues Seized-Soda-Wa
CheCks-W Worlds Fair Diplomas.
Something Worth Knowing.

destroying the counterfeit money which
has accumulated in the storage room of
Mr.. Hazen. the Chief of the Secret Service
of the Treasury Department. The report
Of this committee may not be ready for
some time, but Chief Hazen estimates the
amount of counterfeit money which is be.
ing destroyed at $1,000. O00 This. of
course, is Its face value. It's actual value
depends on your point of view. To an en-
graver or printer it would have value as a
piece Of job work.
The collection includes not only coun.
terfeit money and the plates usld to make
1t, but advertisements which are uneon-
scious violations of the law against slmu-
la ting the securities of the United States.
And sometimes the agents of the Secret
Service seize whole editions of books when
contain pictures prohibited by law-llke-
nesses of the coins or the paper currency
issued by the government very short
time ago Chief Hszen seized 1000 pounds
nf "Cofn Guides" issued by concern In
Boston. These guides" not only quoted
the prices paid for rare coins, but gave
woodcuts of the coin designs. The whole
edition Of the guide" was seized, and at
the same time two other guides" printed
from the same plates were captured and
the plates were conhscated
These unconscious violations of the coun-
terieit law give the Secret Service Bureau
more trouble that the coun terfeiterS. Since
the passage of the E1Bunds counterfeit
law the Secret Service agents have had
their hands full suppresSing advertise
ments and other devices, which are plain
but innocent violations of the statute. For
example, some time ago bicycle people
issued a guarantee in the form or semb-
Cf bDUH AnU "a bO raa6 fbjS
guarantee and understood it saw plainly
that it was simply a promise 10 pay the
owner of q bicycle certain amount of
money if the machine did not last a certain
time; but foreigner, Ignorant of the Eng
lish language. might have been persuaded
very easily that this was United States
bond for $1,000 This fraud was in fact
practiced on certain foreigners with bonds
issued by a New York newspaper guaran-
teeing its circulation.
few weeks ago a newspaper in New
York published cartoons In the form of
notes bearing the faces and names of GER
tain city officials. The cartoons could not
have been used to deceive an intelligent
person, out the law is intended more
especially 10 protect those who are not in-
telligeDt; so the agent of the secret service
seized the plates from which the car
toons were printed and threatened the
proprietor OF the paper with prosecution 4
he repeated the offense. The proprietor
promised to be good, and he probably will
be good-until next time. a great many
newspapers are under suspicion rf viO-
lating this law purposey. so that they
may gain a little advertising through an
attempt TO indict the editor. Possibly
they have a wortbier motive.
The newspaper picture as printed Is
hardly ever dangerous. especially if it be
picture of coin. But what is dangerous
is the engraving from which the print is
49, rW~H,- - -.
reproduce the design in metal If it should
fall into the hands of unprincipled people.
That is why the Secret Service Bureau
seized the plates from which the New
York newspaper was printed This fea-
ture of the law is so we'll understood now
that many publishers submit designs for
engrsvings to the chief Of the Secret Ser
vice before having the engraving made.
The most important seizures made re-
Gently were of counterfeits of the Worlds
Fair diplomas. When the law authorizing
these diplomas was passed, a stringent
provision against cOunlerfeiting was at
tached to it. Under this provision. even
man who received a diploma could not
reproduce 1t in facsimile, much less could
men who had not received them counter
felt them. The designs for these diplomas
were kept a secret for quite time. but the
active newspapers were anxious to pre-
sent to their readers a copy of the design.
So by some means, as yet unknown to the
Secret Service people they secured blank
diploma and had it photographed by
.Tell-known Pennsylvania-avenu pho
tOgrapher. The photograph was repro
duced in several papers, but the Secret
Service agents swo0ped down on
fscated the plates. Then they set about
discovering the original, and finally they
captured the negative in Washington and
slowed it away in Mr.. Hazen's closet. But
more mischief had been done. A New
York lilhographer had got a copy of the
photograph and had made arrangements
with several large advertisers to reproduce
it on their advertisements. One of these
advertisements had been printed before
Chief Hazen knew about it. His agents
seized $4,000 copies of a checker-board
issued as an advertisement for a weIl-aG-
vertised summer drink, the design on the
back being reproduction in cOlOrs OF the
Worlds Fair diploma. These checker
boards are among the properties Of that
storeroom of Mr.. Hszen recently COM
mitted to the macerator and the furn ace
by the treasury committee.
Another recent seizure was a quantity of
"college currency" issued by business
college" at Colorado Springs. This 'col-
lege currency" has distinct classification
in the counterfeit list. II is bogus money,
made to initiate the money of the United
States, but intended merely for the use of
SCuOlhIS III GdII1l luz Uu uCblIiUuS Du5lu6SS
transactions in the course OF technical
training which they are taking. or course.
it is not intended by the people mo make
this "college currency" or the people who
have it made, that it shall ever fall into
the hands Of dishonest people. But the
Treasury Department must cons der the
fact that if it did fall into the hands of
dishonest people it would be put very
easily to dishonest uses.
The latest and the most amusing seizure
made by the secret service agents was
Set Of dies prepared in Chicago and used
Tor making soda water checks. These
checks weTe of metal and they were so
Ike the old 5-cent piece that they would
nave deceived a very intelligent person If
handed to him in a quantity OF coin. Most
n tnese checks were sold in the vicinity
OF birmingham, Ala, but some were found
In ashlngton, aud 1t is likely that if their
career mad not been cut short they would
nave reached other large communities.
q Inc sodaWater sellers were notified to
SEND IN all OF these checks under penalty,
and the agents In Chicago seized the dies
When wrote Of the "way Of all things
counterfeit l should name an execution.
There Is quantity of counterfeit money
which is held in the large cities of the
United States under special permit of the
Secretary Of the Treasury. 1t il held bv
about twenty-five men, and the limit IN
the amount held by each is $500 These
men are bankers and teachers or profess
sOTs in the art of detecting counterfeit
money. There is regular business, not
only in detecting counterfeits, but in teach
ing others to detect them. Several men in
IA.