The Portland daily press., 1897-04-08
NO MORE BANGLES.
Uncle Sam Prohibits the DETACHMENT
Of His Coins.

Of His Coins.
A Law Passed by Congress, Making 1t an
offence to Mutilate or Defaoe United
States Coin Applies to the Deface-
lnent of Gold Dollars and Dimes for
Bangle Bracelets.
Washington, April 4.-Young women
who still have the bangle "fad" will be
obliged to abandon 1t, for the Federal
government has determined that it must
cease. This will be welcome news to
| the young men who have been INDUCING
these young women in their passion for
making collection of bangles.
bangle, by the way, 10 gold or silver
| coin, with the monogram of the giver
| engraved on one side, which has been
| filed smooth by the engraver. To be a
devotee Of the "fad," it is first necessary
| to get bangle bracelet. similar to the
| ordinary wrist ornament, with the addf-
ton Of number of little rings attached
to the outer edge. To these rings the
bangles are fastened, and ths girl who
|
Ia looked on with envy by her female
companions. 1t is her badge of popu-
larity, just as the scalp belt is the Indi-.
ans badge of prowess.
When girl secures bangle bracelet
she shows it to the young mon of her &C.
q uaintance and tells each of them that
she knows she will never get 1t filed. IT
the yonng man 10 gallant he Immediately
offers to supply trnket for one of the
rings. Then he takes the bracelet to a
jewellor and has him attach to it coin
on which the young mans monogram is
inscribed. OF course the girl is happy
when she receives the bracelet again,
an the young man thinks his money
has been well spent.
About ten years ago the "fad" was in
full blast In the Eastern States, but it
gradually died out In this part of the
country. 1t is very popular just now in
the West and Southwest. This is show
by the many letters received at tn =
Treasury Department making inquiries
about the new law. which will prove a
death blow to the bangle craze. Nearly
all Of the letters bear postmarks of towns
of the other side of the. Mississippi. The
popular coin for bangles Is the one dollar
gold piece. Very young girls are con-
tented with silver dimes, but when they
grow older they are satisfied with gold
only. But Rold dollars are hard to get
The Director of the mint says they com
mand 50-oent premium. None Of those
pieces has teen coined since 1889, but IL
wassa year latse before the suspension was
authorized by law. The coinage of gold
dollars was begun in lS49, ana during
the forty years of their issue 10, 900, 900
were struck OF at the minis of the
United States Between four million
and i've million Of these were returned
to tie mints, remelted and made into
eagles and double eagles. Those thar
we're left have nearly all gone out of
circulation through the bangle "fad.''
The young girls who have not filed
their bangle bracelets must not blame
the government for interfering with their
collections. Their ire should follow a
young man OF the. name of James L..
Wilcox, alias Joseph Foster. He Inns JUST
finished term in prison for indulging
in an am hition to accumulate money too
fast. Several years ago Wilcox was ar
rested In Chicago for mutilating coin.
He escaped from custody, and ths agents
of the secret service finally gave up their
effort to discover his whereabouts.
Al bout two years ago complaints began
to be received at the Treasury Depart
ment from the SUBJ Treasures that a
large amount of lightweight gold coin
was being turned In by banks. The
bank people said they had received it
from customers. After hard work the
~ III q ho%
most of the light weight gold came from
Baltimore, and In that city Wilcox was
arrested. His wife, frankie Wilcox,
alias Eta Foster, pretty young woman
of "a years. was taken into custody as
an aceompline. In their room was found
a portable lathe with which the tighten
ing was done. The lathe could be taken
apart and put in trunk, and ii had
been carried by the couple from place to
place. Wilcox and his wife had been
| pursuing their operations all the way
from Denver tv Boston. Their method
was to deposit large amount of money
in bank, say 81, 600 or SO, 0oO and draw
against It, demanding gold. OF course
this was before the hanks refused to pay
out gold coin. The Wilooxes used eagle
and double eagles only in their work.
4 They would file off the edges of coin
and then remill it by means of the
lathe 80 that few people could discover
that IL was different from coin of full
weight The remiliad piece would be
put In circulation and the filings would
be sold to dealers in old metals, The
business was profitable AMI the couple
MANAGED to make about $50 a day,
While Wilcox and his wife were oper-
ating in the East, the womnn,s brother,
a man of the name of Shaw, was work
ing the same scheme in the West. He
was arrested in Sioux City, Ia, and,
like his brother-iu-lRw and sister, was
convicted under the law then in foroe for
mutilating coin. His term of i.nprison-
ment ended recently, and he came ON to
Washington and called on Chief Hazen,
of the Secret Ssrviee. He told the
chief that he was leading an honest life
and did not intend to return to the
fraudulent work In which he had been
engaged. But the chief has doubts as
Shaw's good intentions, for the objeo
of the ex-conviot's visit was to secure
the lathe which the Secret Service agents
had seized. He didn't get II.
After the conviction of Mr.. and Mrs.
Wilcox and Shaw, Chief Hazen began
an effort t, have the statute against the
mutilntion of coin made broader in Its
1 kruN r.,