Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1899-10-21
Pleased With the Conviction of Ing
ham and hewitt.
SECRET SERVICE INDICATED
Plans of the Counterfeiters and
Their Associates.
A Z T E NJ PIT TO BRIDE


torneys, We're convicted of attempting to
bride a secret service detective to prevent
his working up a case against Taylor and
Jacobs. the celebrated counterfeiters
In talking of the case today Chief Wilkie
of the secret service said:
"One of the greatest criminal trials In
the history of Pennsylvania has just been
brought to close by verdict of guilty
brought in by jury at Philadelphia yes
terday against EIlery P. Ingham and Har
vey K. hewitt charge of conspiracy
and bribery.
This case was an offshoot of the famous
Jacobs Kendig counterfeiting conspiracy,
which was unearthed last April by operat
ives of the secret service division.
Plans of the COunterfeiters.
1.-THE counterfeiters who had in their pay
deputy collector of internal revenue. tenn
pOrarily stopped work in January last on
hearing that the secret service people were
investigating them. They had invested
nearly $4,000 in their illegitimate schemes
up to that time, and had just about COM
pleted plates for notes of all denomina-
lions, had machinery for manufacturing
paper similar to that upon which the gov
eminent prints its securities and needed but
a few months in which to carry out their
plan of making and floating Sl0000,0U0 in
counterfeit currency. Driven desperate by
fear of failure they conceived the idea of
attempting to buy off the secret service
officers. kendig approached e. p. 1ngham,
well-known Philadelphia lawyer and for
mer United States attorney for the eastern
district of Pennsylvania. and eventually
succeeded In interesting him in part of
their scheme, which involved the manufac
! ture and use of counterfeit cigar stamps.
Offer to an Operative.
an pursuance of the idea of blocking the
Harvey X hewitt, who had been his as
sistant as United States attorney, under
took the job of go-between and approach
ed VIM. j. McManus, a secret service OPP
erative. stationed at Philadelphia with a
proposition to buy protection for his clients
on a basis of 500 month. McManus
promptly advised me of the proposition,
and under instructions, was permitted TO
go on and negotiate further with hewitt.
Two payments of 500 each were accepted
by -McManus. under instructions, and
promptly turned over to me.
Being assured by the lawyers that the
secret service had been fixed Kendg and
Jacobs resumed the manufacturing and use
of counterfeit stamps, and Arthur Taylor
and b. S. BredeIl the engravers. again
took up the work on the last plates of the
series contemplated. on the 18th of April
last secret service agents, under the per-
sOnal direction of Chief Wilkie. raided the
warehouses of Jacobs and kendig, at Ian
caster. and the engraving shop of Taylor
and Bredell at Philadelphia. recovering
great quantities of cOunterfeiting material
and a number of the finest plates ever exc
cuted, including the plates for the famous
500 Monroe head silver certificate. New
lit taken into custody on the 10Th Of
April and his partner on the 18th.
Lawyers Made n Fight.
"All but the two lawyers pleaded guilty,
but the attorneys having filled prominent
positions and having many influential
friends determined to make a fight They
pleaded not guilty, and after several con-
, tinuances the case finally came to trial
Monday, October g. before Judge McPher-
son of the United States district court. The
defendant lawyers had always maintained
that they had a perfect defense, which was
simple, but absolutely convincing. Nothing
as to It's details was known until outlined
by their attorney, A. S. L. Shields, the fore
most criminal lawyer Of Pennsylvania, and
briefly 1T was this: That Kendig had re-
tanned Ingham and hewitt for the purpose
of representing them in a proceeding which
might become necessary, some of the COM
petitors in Lancaster having entered into
a conspiracy to seize their factory; and for
the purpose of investigating this conspiracy
they employed Secret Service Agent Nc
Manus as a private detective and paid him
81. 600 for his services.
The government was represented by
James NJ Beck, United States attorney for
the eastern district of Pennsylvania. who
had succeeded Mr.. Ingham, and the trial,
Wednesday last when the jury received its
instructions and retired. After forty-nine
hours discussion and consideration, and
after having been twice sent back by Judge
Mcpherson, an agreement was hnally
reached yesterday afternoon.
Victory for the Secret Service.
Throughout the case the defense relied
principally upon belief that 1t could sue
cessfully attack the credibility of the gov
ernment's witnesses, and the secret service,
from the chief down. came in for a bonn
bardment of abuse and Vituperatton such
az no court ever heard before, and the re-
suit was a splendid Vindlcatlon or the Sc
cret service division.
1T was a most remarkable victory for
District Attorney Beck, said Mr. Wilkie,
for ii was fought under most trying cir
cumstances and in a state where a con-
Yiction for bribery was considered an i'm
possibility. 1t shows one thing, If nothing
more-that it is possible to find a jury of
twelve honest men, who will not excuse
crime because of the socia-, business or
political prominence of the guilty persons.
1t a verdict that will meet with the
approval of every man who has the well
fare and reputation of his city at heart.
Personally, of course, | am pleased to know
that the attempts of the defense to snirch
the characters of the secret service men
was a failure. They had six months in
which to prepare the defense, and in all
that time. although they raked this coun-
try from end to the other, they We're
unable to cevelop a single fact to the dis
credit of any one of the governments wit
neSses."
Dramatic Scene.
Mr.. Theodore l.. De Land of the Treas
ury Department, who was in the court
room in Philadelphia at the close of the
trial, describes the scenes as highly dra-
matte. The cross-examination of Newett
by District Attorney Beck was extremely
searching" he said, land the ethical ques-
| tons propounded to Newett, tending to
bring out the honorable course a lawyer
| should pursue who has a rascal for a
| client. affected the whole court room. He
| showed conclusively that professional honor
| could not be lost by abandoning a client
| who comes to ask legal assistance in purely
| civil case and the lawyer suddenly dis
covers that 1t runs into the criminal. He
| paid high tribute to what the defendants
| attorney termed the work of mere de
tectives.' He showed that a detective is
| one who detects crime. and that in the
! interests of the government they suffered
| many ways that people did not appreciate
| 1t was evident that the governments case
| from start to finish was without a flaw,
| and there is naturally great exultation over
| the fact that a conviction was reached IN
| spite of the Eloral sentiment that went
forth that they might be guilty but they