The sun., 1897-08-29
OLD SMITH THE ooUNrERFE1rER.
Ono or the Most skiIruI or His Kind L. Dying
in Abject Poverty.

From the Washington Post.
"Charles II. Smith, who engraved the plates
for those two 81 900 notes which firm In Louis
vile sent here for redemption, a couple OF days
ago, when they were found to be counterfets
is dying OF paresis," said Chief Hazen yesterday.
He is dying in abject poverty, and his son.
who is almost as brilliant a man as his father
was. is now under indictment for assisting old
Brockway in his last scheme to turn out false
money. Thore is something pathetic in the
career Of old Smith. At one time he was the
trusted employee Of the American Bank Note
Company, and afterward In the National. He
never enjoyed any OF the rewards which come at
times 70 the expert counterfciter. for he was
merely the tool OF w. 4. Brockway, the most
famous counterfeit engineer whom we have ever
had In this country.
Brockway seems to have acquired some in
for we find him then turning out notes which
passed over the counters OF banks, and which
were even accepted by the Government at
other. eludcd conviction, until 1895, when it
will be remembered that he was arrested and
three-qunrters OF IA million OF dollars In splen-
didly countcrfeited notes were captured. He is
tiary. In this last issue Smith was too old to
do the work of the engraving, but his son, who
was almost as expert as his father, did good
but up to this time nearly all the bills put
out by Brockway were executed by poor old
Smith. smith was merely n machine. Brock
way would give him an order for so many $500
or 81 900 notes. Just about as the old note com.
panics would have done and the old engraver
would have them at the required time. Smith
lived simply, while Brockway lived like a
tion he was in comparative poverty. In all that
time he never seems to have laid up against n
rainy day. He did not have even a piece OF real
estate. II is always the way with those poor
devils who waste their brain to rob the Govern
mcnt, when they might have amassed u fortune
by legitimate means;
Just look here" he said, opening II book
filled with various counterfeit notes Here
are some bills done by Smith that have eluded
received thousands of dollars of them. In most
cases they are duplicates of notes which Smith
made for the Government when he was In the
employ of the bank note company.
p" IL is n strange thing that he could never re-
produce his own work without some flaw. This
is natural, however, when you think that the
most expert draughtsman cannot write his own
signature twice so that one will fit exactly over
the other There is always something which
notes were so very near the genuine that for a
long time the most expert men in the Govern
ment service could not decide which was the
real and which the counterfeit.
THESE notes which have lust come from
Ioui willie have doubtless been going the rounds
for Ion: time without detection, certainly
since 1867. There is not as much counterfeit
ing ne formerly. With tho deaths Of Brockway
and smith the best Of them Will have passed
away. Criminals see that It doesn't pay. BY
experience hey have been taught that even tho
best cOunterfeiters eithor die in the pentt tnliary
or in poverty. Old Smith, for instance, belonged
TO highly prominent family. people In the best
social position. yet his end 10 as wretched a. II
he had been born and bred . criminal"