Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-09-07
OLD SMITH THE CoUNTERFEITER.
One of the Most Skiifui OF His 1<1nA
Ii Dying I'm Affect Poverty.
Ill .a.xAn DnaiA

washington GOSt)
Charles H. Smith. who engraved the
plates for those two $1,000 notes which
a firm in Louisville sent here for redsmp-
ton couple Of days ago. when they were
found to be counterfeits. Is dying OF
paresls" said Chief Hazen yesterday.
HE is dying in AFFECT poverty. and his
son, who Is almost as brilliant a man
as his father was, is now under indict-
ment for assisting old Brockway In his
last scheme TO turn out false money.
There is something pathetic In the career
of old Smith. At one time he was the
trusted employee OF the American Bank
Note Company, and afterwards In the
National. He never enjoyed any OF the
rewards which come at times 10 the ex-
pert counterfeiter, for he was merely
the tool OF w. f. Brockway, the most
famous counterfeit engineer whom we
have ever had In this country.
'Brockway seems 10 have acquired
some influence over Smith way pack
there In the hfties, for we find him then
turning out notes which passed over the
counters of banks, and which were even
accepted by the government at times.
Brockway always, In one way or an
other, eluded conviction, until 1890, when
Il ~
rested, and three quarters OF n million or
dollars In splendidly counterfeited notes
were captured. He is now serving ten
year sentence In the penitentiary. 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 deal Of 1t.
But up TO this time nearly all the
bills put out by Brockway were exc
cuted by poor. old Smith. Smith was
merely a machine Brockway would
give him an order for so many $500 or
N,co0 notes, just about as the old note
companies would have done. and the old
enkraver would have them IT the required
time. Smith lived simply, while Brock
way lived like prince. Yet at the time
OF Brockways conviction he was In COM
paratiye poverty. In all that time he
never seems TO have laid up against a
rainy day. He did not have even piece
of real estate. 1t Is always the way with
those poor devils who waste their brain
TO rob the government, when they might
have amassed a fortune by legitimate
means.
Just look here" no said, opening a
book filled with various counterfeit
notes. Here are some bills done by
Smith that have eluded the government
officials themselves, who have 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.
1T is a strange thing that he could
never reproduce his own work without
some flaw. This Is natural. however.
when you think that the most expert
draughtsman cannot write his own sigma
ture twice so that one will 1T exactly
over the other. There is always some-
thing which will give the counterfeit
away. some OF his notes were 30 very
near the genuine that for long time
the most expert men IN the government
service could not decide which was the
real and which was the counterfeit
These notes which have just como
from Louisville have doubtless been going
the round for long time without
detection, certainly since 1857. There
is not as much counterfeiting az for
merry. With the deaths OF Brockway
and Smith the best OF them will have
passed away. Criminals see that II
doesn't pay. BY experience they have
been taught that even the best counter
feiters either die In the penitentiary or
In poverty. Old Smith. for instance. be-
lon9ed 10 q highly prominent family.
people In the best social position. yet his
end "a as wretched as II he had been
born and bred a. criminal"