Spirit of the age. [volume] (Woodstock, Vt.) 1845-1913, 1897-08-07
MAKING FALSE MONEY.
CHIEF HAZEN TALKS OF THE WAYS
OF coUNTERFElTERS.


OF coUNTERFEITERs.
Makers of Spurious Notes Flourish Mos
in the West-Chicago the Headquarter
of the Workers-New Counterfeit sil
yer Certificate-AristOcracy OF Crooks
A counterfeit of the IS United States
silver certificate, series of 1896, la.
been forwarded to the Secret Servic,
Bureau at the Treasury Department il
Washington from Chicago. 1t is tn,
first which has been received since las
January, and experts declare it is ,
clever piece of work, which would no
be detected as counterfeit except un
der close scrutiny. 1t has number
Of points about it which stamp it as
being spurious, but which would not
be noticed in the least by the laity.
II had been expecting this note tc
turn up for a long time" said Chiei
Hazen, of the Secret Service Bureau
to Washington Star reporter to-day
as he showed the counterfeit note
across the table to be examined by the
reporter. "I am rather surprised that
we have not secured it before.
''It comes from Chicago, and from
certain ear marks which I can detect
about it it is the work of noted coun-
terfeiter by the name OF John Alfred
L'Koog. L'Koog is Swede, about
thirty-five years Of age, and rather
clever as note maker. He escaped
from Joliet Prison, ILL.,, last March,
where he had been sent from Chicago
for counterfeiting, with two other men.
They we're coin makers, named Jacob
Johnson and James Foley. They were
recaptured and returned to the prison,
but SO far L'Koog has eluded the
watchfulness of the officers.
''The last counterfeit note we re-
ceived was from Chicago, also. 1t was
a $40 Manning head certificate, and
turned up January IL. The Windy
City is centre for counterfeiting, as
the workers have often been captured
there"
The chief sat in his private office in
the Treasury building, about which
clings an air Of mystery connected
with everything pertaining to the Sc
cret service. On the walls were pic
lures of famous makers and showers of
"the queer" more were held in cab
inets, and records, which if revealed
would cause sensations throughout the
United States, were hidden in boxes
and carefully filed away.
"Counterfeiters might be termed
the aristocracy of crooks. They are
generally quiet, not often immoral or
convivial, and are naturally very re-
served. 1t is paradox, but there are
never thieves among them. What I
mean is, while they follow counter
feiting, which is one of the worst
crimes imaginable, they would not
rob or burglarize. Many Of them have
been known to be exceedingly chari-
table, though it may be said if they are
successful they can easily afford to be
so. They are milder class than that
of any other criminals. They never
cause trouble in any community
wherever they may happen to be, out
side of their counterfeiting.
"There are not so many women in the
business as formerly; why, cannot just
be explained. There are few females
in it now, and those who are engaged
in the business cooperate with their
husbands. The man generally make s
the money, and the woman passes it,
as she does not find so much trouble
in doing SO.
"It is mistaken idea to suppose
that counterfeiters, as has been stated,
buy silver and make it into coin,
thereby gaining the profit which the
stamp is supposed to add to it. Not
by any means. A counterfeiter will
not pay sixty or sixty-two cents an
ounce for silver to use when he can
get the same results differently. He
buys antimony, tin, plaster of paris,
and other materials, the whole outfit
costing about a dollar and half
With these he can get out coin to the
face value of 5000 or $500. They
wish to make as much as possible out
of little as possible.
"We recognize the work of individ-
ual coin counterfeiters by the manner
in which the coins are finished, as to
the milling on the edges, and other de-
tails. It is very seldom that we are
mistaken in this respect. Every one
has his own mark.
"The biggest capture we ever made
was that of the Brockway- -Bradfords
gang, in Hoboken, N. j., in 1895.
There were six members of the gang,
including the notorious Mrs. Abbie
Smith, who is now serving four.year
sentence in the New Jersey peniten-
tiary at Snake Hill. The woman made
the notes. She was cousin to DR..
Bradford, one of the prime movers Of
the gang.
Hoboken before they had a chance to
put any of their bills in circulation.
We captured notes Of all denomina-
tions on United States and Canadian
banks, figuring up to the value OF
$3.50, 900. Many of the bills were in
partly finished state, but the work
was exceedingly clever, and would
have passed inspection almost any.
where"
The chief opened one of the cabi.
nets, fixed SO that leaves, in which
photographs were fixed of noted coun'
terfeiters, easily swung outward.
There were more than 1000 photos in
this cabinet alone of the ''queer" peo
pie. They were of all ages, colors,
classes and appearance. Some of them
were women, we'll dressed, with, il
many cases, refined faces. The coun
tenances of q number of the men were
handsome, the expression pleasing ant
intelligent.
1t is an album of faces which is {
notable one, and the chief frequently