Walker Lake bulletin. (Hawthorne, Nev.) 1883-1926, 1895-09-04
SPOTTED BY A WOMAN
A Treasury Clerk Detected Brock
ways Bad Money.
HIS $500 BILL WAS A PRIZE BEAUTY
The Only Flaw Found Was the Dip of a
Crosstpee In the Picture of
a Ship.


a Ship.
Once a counterfeiter, always
is an axiom of the
United States Secret Service Never
was this more thoroughly illustrated
than in the case of William E. Brock
way, head conspirator in the recent
counterfeiting schemes detected. His
entire life has been spent in the at
tempt to amass million dollars at the
Government expense. Now, at
seventy three, with long peniten
tiary term staring him in the face, he
has not given up hope. Should he
live and get out, he will likely return
to his nefarious occupation. No coun-
terfeiter was ever known to reform.
Punishment in prison does not make
them good, nor can they break away
from the temptation to invest few
thousand dollars and float million
dollars in queer money. 1t was an
accident which prevented Brockway
from becoming millionaire in 1880.
He had got out counterfeit 500 bill
on the Pittsfield (Mass.) National
Bank. In the language of the Secret
Service, it was "a beauty" and it
passed through many hands without
detection. This was before the days
of silk fibre paper, and fine engraving
only was required. The scheme came
to grief through woman. This time
the woman was Treasury clerk. A
woman detects counterfeit quicker
than man. She looks at it and de-
clares, That is counterfeitp' Very
often she can't pick out the flaws
which proclaim it to be bad, but
sense of touch-call it instinct if you
will-leads her to believe the bill is
bogus, and she is right.
In 1880 the Brockway 500 bill
came to the Treasury from New York
bank for redemption. The woman
clerk caught it, investigation followed,
and the only imperfection found was a
slight dip in the angle of crosstree in
the picture of ship. Otherwise the
bill was as perfect as any turned out
by Uncle Sam.
New York City was found to be the
headquarters of the gang that was plac-
ing the Pittsfeld counterfeit, and the
large denomination of the bill caused
suspicion to fall on Brockway, who
has always delighted in putting out
big bills. Brockway was found to be
in close acquaintance with Charles H.
Smith, an engraver for the American
Bank Note Company. James B. Doyle
was also spotted as a confederate. All
were watched. One day Doyle bought
ticket to Chicago. Secret Service
men went with him. They arrested
him in Chicago, opened his valise and
found therein, not the Pittsield notes.
but 100000 in United States bonds,
counterfeited almost beyond detection.
This was new and unexpected dis
closure, which resulted in the arrest
and conviction of the three. So good
were the bonds that a microscopical
test was necessary to distinguish them
from the genuine. In another week
the gang would have been worth
million dollars in good money, and.
in fact. several big banks in the coun-
try had been taken in on the bogus
securities.
When an old counterfeiter like
Brockway comes out Of prison he is con-
tinually watched by Secret Service
men. Such rogues may change their
names, and appear to be lost forever.
but they are not. There is not day
that some Secret Service man cannot
trace them to their hiding place, or I'M
mask their identity. So long as they
do right they are not molested, but the
fascination of the profession is too
much for eounterfeiter at any age.
A man who has given the service
more trouble and expense than any
other one offender is Nelson briggs.
He is now about eighty-five years old
and keeps roadhouse near Dayton, o.
When he was eighty he kept score of
Secret Service people busy, and only
for lack of witnesses would now be.
where he has been before. in the peni-
Tertiary. briggs was not an engraver,
but with his young wife was an expert
handler and shower of the queer. Jim
Guyon. the chief confederate of briggs,
has been the only great counterfeiting
criminal the Government has so far
failed to catch. He is supposed to
have been mixed up in this latest con-
spiracy, and is described as the most
dangerous man of his class, because he
is remarkably shrewd in covering up
his tracks. Old briggs has been under
constant surveillance for years. despite
his age, mainly because some day the
Secret Service men expect to find
Guyon through his old confederate.
Firing" HUMAN BEINGS.