Morning journal and courier., 1894-01-08
AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL.

AT THE NATIONAL CAPITAL. \ Glimpse of the Secret Service-Cur- iosities in ProfusIon-Flash Cur- rency - Relies of Counterfeiters- - Hard Times Reminders - Green | Goods Svindling. ~ From our Washington Correspondent.l WASHINGTON, Jan. 4-The secret service l which occupies several rooms in the tress- ury building and where L. Drummond, chief of the secret service, holds forth, Is e place fllsd with ouriosities in the way of old plates, counterfeits and pictures of Here Chief Drummond rei9ns supreme. and dreams of possible future legislation which will blot from the face of the earth the green goods frauds and render suprem.ly happy Anthony Comstock and himself.
 G1LDBD COINS
 Chief Drummood ssys: The people have not all become familiar with the faces of the new silver coins. The obverse and reverse of the older coins they have known so long and intimately that the drsped A8uk0 ok Ahbok " eh0 sho J5nsAo ROso oA the eagle are fixed In their minds and al ways recognized, but the newer coins, with changed designs, to which, puzxiing them more, were added the Columbian souvenir ooius, have not yet established their iden- tity.
 The manufacturing counterfsitere, quick to discover snd-to take advantage of what ever fsvors deception, almost immediately followed the governments issue of the coins of new design with their fraudulent issue in likeness of them, and resped a rich harvest because the originals were known, but not we'll known. The gilders -counterfsiters. too-ssw in the new % cent coin, If gilded, prssentab.e, beguil- ing $1o gold ptec. and pocketed a fine per oentage of profit until discovered. The lack of ight should, of course, and does, make known the fraudulent character of the gilded coin. This last, the gilder's scheme to fals!fy coin, ss 1t requires neither skill nor expensive plant, and promises SO much for 80 little, Is always seductive one to the unprincipled or weak of will.
 FLASH CURRENCY.
 We have gathered in and destroyed al- most all of the plates from which were printed the Clash" (sdvertising) notes and "collsge currency" which in former years were circulated with so much freedom and recklessness. A few of the most danger ous of these notes are still extsnt and occa ! sionally discovered by our agents, usually after long retirement from circulation. Some, perhaps as dangerous as any ever circulated, known as the "cotton mills' notes, issued about 1869, appeared again recently, but they were printed from platef long ego seized and destroyed. We shal congratulate ourselves when the few plates still in existence are safe in onr custody. There continues disposition to trench as closely ss possible and escape punish ment upon the laws which protect ou' coins from imitation, even for apparently harmless purposes, by circulating adver tisements on metal, in form and siz., ant often in design and inscription like or ir similitude to coins of the United States The honorable solicitor of the treasury ha | ably eet forth the law in his recent opin ions In cases of this sort submitted to him and strengthened the arms of agents o | this service in suppresaing coin advertise ments and tokens, and could we be sure il 1 all sections of the country of unhesitatipl and positive support by the United State attorneys when offenders of this sort ar brought to their notice, there would sool be no more of them.
 | Iho yOoi poSb lhuoh sILA nho 10 bor has been spent by this division il putting down another effort to prostitut the coins of the nation by making of then | an advertising medium. I refer to wha has become known ss the "coin-sticker, l an advertisement printed upon paper to b pasted on coins. This form of advertisin has nearly stopped owing to the refusal o the sub-treaeury to redeem such coins.
 WHAT THE HARD TIMES CAUSED
 The stringenoy in money matters durip the latter part of this fiscal year induces many firms to issue tokens, tickets o checks in sums from cents to $1, bearin inscriptions, "psyable in merchandise" o "at the bar," purporting to bs for use be tween the issuer and his patron or his en ploye, but in reality illegally used In com munities instead of the lawful currency c the United States, and demonstrated tn necessity more than ever before for the en aotment of an act making this a crime, an have already applied for proper legisls ton in this matter.
 GREEN-GooDs MEN THE WORST GLASS T DEAL WITH.
 The "8reen-goods swindle" of to-day eonpossd of many ingenious device which are manipulated by experts of man years' experience, whose lightning changes adaptations and elaborate plans slwsy work out for them successful result (when the dupe visits them prepared t purchase their alleged goods), even thoug threats of or actual violence may becom cessary.
 Their prefessed business is to sell coun terfeit United States notes of the dsnom nations of $l, 8, $5. $l0 and s20. printed from plates etolen from the bureau of eu grsving and printing. According to the | prospectus $6 GOO of counterfeit none s.n be bought for $500 and $20.000 fo S1 ,000.
 They inclose a printed slip alleged { have been cut from @ newspaper, showip how easy their counterfeit notes are take ss genuine; they send references (banker' ss to their honesty; they twill refund e1 penses of visit to New York if party not satisfied with purchsse;" 'he must nc reply by letter or the correspondence end, but by telegraph" and the message he to send is already prepared on telegrap blank and accompanies the circular. . variety of these circulars are used by thel | to cult tastes and conditions from lawye tosstsbleman, from burned out merchsr t. bankrupt manufacturer, showing ho' c ich can make fortune or retrieve one.
 The facts are these raecals do not dsr to have counterfeit money to show or sci No plates have ever been stolen from th bureau of engraving and printing, and th printed slip they inolose was not cut fror q newspaper, but prepared by them, ,givin details of an extraordinary trial of cour tsrfsiter that never occurred, but intende to tole on their correspondent by commend ing the quality of their alleged counterfe notes. Their references do not exist excer on paper; their promise % refund expe nst of trip is delusive, and their insistenoe o correspondence by telegraph is the onl genuine point in their circular, and thi because several of their rogues' guild hay fallen in consequence of receiving letter by mail. CAPITOL. West Haven Notes.
 On Thursday evening of this week th opera "Lails" will be given in Chrit church parish house in West Haven, unde l the direction of Mfas E May Smith. si