The Austin weekly statesman. (Austin, Tex.) 1883-1898, 1896-04-02
TONS OF BOGUS MONEY.
The Government to Burn Five Tons of
Counterfeits.

Five tons of counterfeit money, ma
chimes and other paraphernalia necessary
to the manufacture of the queer will be
destroyed in Washington within Il few
days, says the New York Journal.
SO great a quantity of material of this
sort has been collected during the last
year i'll the secret service division of the
treasury that its destruction has become
necessary. Just now it is carefully put
away in boxes and packages, each labeled
with a record of its contents. As much
care is taken of bad money as of good
money. because it would never do to have
the counterfeits get into circulation again
through neglect. Every penny of bogus
coin or paper must be strictly accounted
for, and deficit would be considered as
serious Il matter as theft from the cash
room.
\ few days from now the secretary of
the treasury will select three of his most
trusted men and appoint them a commit
tee TO superintend the destruction of the
products of criminal integrity at pres
ent ON hand. Every package will be
opened in their presence. and they will
watch the counting of the contents, which
must correspond to the memoranda on
the record book. Finally all Of the coin.
as well as the metal, tools and other
apparatus, will be carried downstairs and
put aboard one of the big inrOnclad
wagons which are used by the department
for carrying money. The wagon. guard
ed by armed men and followed by the
committee i'll a carriage. will proceed to
the Washington navy yard.
BY Il special arrangement with the sec
rotary of the navy, one of the great blast
furnaces in the gun shop will be placed It
the disposal of the committee. The
weighty packages will be taken from the
wagon and stacked up in front of the
furnace, which is like unto that one
which was seven times heated Into it
the stuff will be unceremoniOusly shov-
eled-the coin first and then the counter
feiters machines, engraved steel plates
for false notes, implements of various
kinds, etc. Such things as jimmies and
brass knuckles 90 with the rest. In the
lot will be a great quantity of metal to-
kens. representing money. such as are
used by manufacturing and mining COM
panies, particularly in the South, for pay
kens. the use of which is forbidden by law
bear rough resemblance to United
States coins.
Together with the lot, 90 in not few
things of odd sorts. Among them are
advertising tags of tin, made in rude
imitation of silver quarters. These are
not intended to serve a criminal purpose,
but the secret service gobbles them. just
the same. The law says that nothing
in the likeness of any security of the
United States shall be permitted. In
the collection now on hand are a number
of so-called coin clusters, intended for
paper weights. They represent clusters
of gold and silver pieces. OF course,
nobody could pass them as money, but
they come under the statute. and. be-
sides, there is a special objection to them.
Coin counterfeiters are apt to have a
few of them on hand so that if caught
they may pretend that they were merely
engaged in the manufacture of pappr
weights.
The great majority of false coins are
made with plaster molds. Such molds
are carried to the navy yard with the
rest of the material, but they are not
put into the furnace They are merely
Knocked to pieces with hammers. which
is an equally effectual method of de-
them. What is cast into the
furnace, including the machinery and
tools, Is melted and reduced to an I'M
recognizable shape. 1t is sold eventu-
ally by the navy department as so much
old metal. There is a small amount of
silver in it, inasmuch as bogus silver
pieces are always plated with silver
nowadays by the up-to-date counter
feiter.
Thus far nothing has been said of tho
way in which the paper counterfeits nre
destroyed. They are put into n bic
tank with hot water and acids and are
cooked and stirred about for many
hours. until at length they are reduced
to the condition of pulp. The puln is
dried. pressed into thick sheets and Sold
for paper stock. The process is thn
same as that which is applied TO the
damaged paper money redeemed bv the
treasury. Into the great vat n few dovS
hence will go large quantities of clash
money which term is used to descriha
the printed advertisements in imitation
or the National currency. with which
the country is at all times flooded nor
the utmost efforts If tbo
government to suppress them, Tbnr
are conhscated wherever the detactiros
81 the secret service come across tbon,
calendars bearing likenesses of SiIrnr |
certificates and hat bands with ranrol
sentations of gold coins come under tbiS
mead. Not long ago large number Of
soda water checks resemhling n;a1.oi
pieces were seized in Chicago. >''