The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1899-04-02
THE PRISON ARISTOCRAT.
ONE PHASE or THE MASTER COUN-
7BREEITER ROUND.
Caste in the Pri.on-Cau,es of tho Master

- ~ hhhbe - IN W.
His Discharge and His Certain Return.
Certain important arrests made recently by
the Secret Service will arouse inquiry and
comment in the various prison communities
OF the land. from the heightened Murderers'
Row on the second tier to the Bummers Re-
treat under the caves. Even the doctor and
the chaplain. Pills and Gospel Sharp will
ask for particulars Of how Andy the Cook,
Kelly the Shoemaker and Pietro the Dago wero
taken again while the Warden. tho old man.
himself, In his nightly rounds. will shake his
head In unsvailing warning before the bars Of
long.timers about TO go out. as he somewhat
cxultingly. somewhat mournfully remarks. II
told you So"
Whom one speaks OF counterfeiters one must
diferentiate. The old order has changed the
note enRraver. for the most part. has passed
away. Here and there he fingers. a shy. silent
convict. blessed or cursed with an artistic
sense that makes him less than a shadow to
his gross associates. His long term has be-
come second nature to him he is content to no
borne to his grave on the sluggish. turbtd tide
of prison life. Regularly he performs his daily
task. keeping his own counsel and conscience
the while. oven as he did before his apprehen-
sion. when his neiRhbors little dreamed that
the decent, kindly workinRman. who set such
an example by his sobriety and industry. was
agitating the banking world by his skill under
the midnight oil. Perchance he may dream
at times Of the flush days bsfore the war, when
every crossroads had a bank grinding out
notes. difficult for him to initiate only on ac-
count Of their crudities. But he realizes that
modern methods Of execution. protection and
detection have turned the chances against his
handicraft; that Tom Ballard is becoming as
much OF an anachronism as Jesse James would
DO. Hence. keeping stem. with hands on the
shoulders before him ard with heels Just es-
Gaping the brogans behind him, he sways in
and out undistinguishable in the line; for a
man with a past Is too common to be noticed
in prison he must also have a future to at
tract convict interest or admiration.
Such a man 10 the head coin counterfeiter.
or master cJunterfeiter. as he might well be
called. He Is mechanical instead Of artistic:
zregarious instead OF solitary hopeful and full
OF life instead OF despondsnt and resigned.
His are the assurance and the ambitions Of q
man Of authority. for he is the organizer and
boss OF the gang. the one who cooks the queer
and parcels it out either BY sale or on commits
sion, the one who schemes but never shoves.
Inevitably he arrogates and holds an enviable
position while he does his bit. and when he
goes out his name and fame linger as pungent.
penetrating and perrasive ds the prison air.
In fact. the master counterieiter is the con-
Wet aristocrat. with no one in his class except.
perhaps. the slick confidence man. Bank
ers.' as h:Gh-Rrade cmbezzlers are termed, are
not generally accepted aS more than quasi
criminal. Many Of them seem to lack tho
genuine anin,us furdndi. which makes one
thief so wondrous kind to another. They are.
then. set apart as men. who probably got no
more than they deserved. yet who should not
be there and provoke mingled sentiments of
compassion for their severe punishment. awe
fTr fhAir ~ - ~aaI L. rta - 3 III. -
and contempt for their neglect Of opportuni-
ties Of taking more. The average convict feels
n certain restraint in talking with one Of these
anomalies. 1t is SO diricul; to size his trade.
The banker knows no slang. and to this insult
adds the injury Of speaking grammatically.
He not only does not glory in his record. but
he often den s it. Even on the dead level. in
confidence. he persists In asserting his inno-
ccncs. Resides. not only does he write regu-
.arly to his wife but the latter sticks to him
long after the average %convict's limit of hdeli-
ty. three month";. has elansed.
Now. the master counterfeitnr has no pre-
fences and bus few delusionS. He not only is
a con-; but also n lag an old-timer. He
Will talk by the hour. without turning his head
tive excellence in cooking accommodations
ana discipline OF the various penal institu-
HIS view. II may be stated. ia apt to be rOnser-
vative. and favorable to law and order and ne
s So1sss a AMI ndlq ,faxy rontemE. for both soup,
crimtnqI Biography. and can tell YOU to a day
when pig Mixes time VIII 20 10 at Albany.
In with a Ssrtain burglar in the lat safe he
cracked. While he has an exclusive bride in
his profession, and would ,corn to '.'prtr a SUI
per-and. slang except when on his uppers,
he takes all the delight OF Il diiettante in know
ing the tricks of every graft. and hence is as
ond- story sneak. This catholicity Of feeling
broadels the basis Of his position. while in no
The instant a master count@rfelter begins a
Iew term. and his vacations between terms are
gallery and rapned from cell lit to 't ceHi si rnen tb }9
value q n%otorlety asserts itself. BY the erfnv
but willing hanis of hallmen he is the reripi-
mix. plugs of tobacco. bottles Of kerosene. and
PERHAPS even a precious bit of oplum concealed
f,ersd with high assurances o respect and con-
aolence. hleroGlyphed in the latest slang on
from the Sir IHtTs'Tse AMONG "na u III. l5n mex in @eeees'
such a welcome. with the consideration
which it incu!eate5 among those so u]nfortu.
something to do with the ca!mness with which !
the master counterfeiter renews his impris-
a certain docged fataiism. characteristic Of
his class, He has been beaten. but he viii
lie, There's an end 10 evsry,hins soa and the
oh,y way wt to get along in the Jug Is to l3ok
fore you know i. and then-and then hasn't
ne q store, OF the queer. buried he knows
where, and won t he have II dozen new and
more clever schemes for working it of?
with such. wise saws, the only sort. luckily
Tor the public, within his reach, the master
colnterfeiter strengthens the functional mus
Gle which usurps his heart. He forthwith sets
ABOUT putting his house to order. Through
the favor OF the fat keeper in the wash house,
who was able to, TAX his pedigree without
asking any questions. he occupies u cell by
himself. He Is now ,%gratited tut not sur
rrlsed to lind in the head mailman an Old no.
quaintance whom he i",t snw In the uug at
Honolulu. Stay, hadn he walked off with
he poor fellows suS pruderB and silk handker-
CHIEF on that narticllar occasionE Wei. ner-
no-goOd as shorty, he is sure to he goOd-na-
tuted, even If by any chance he harpens to le-
This head mailman, Shorty by name, is a
handy hobo who can. when he pleasns. do n
little Of everything; lie has sailed the Arctic
seas in sear'h ut ice bound whpicrs; he has
from the British Amy in Canada;
he has hossed an asphalt Eaug in San Do
m Ingo: he has stolen diamonds at Pretoria
and thrown them away for whis<ev at Cape
Town, lie has ridden, On n truck from lack
to Duluth and from Augusta to san
francisco, which latter town approaches
closely TO his ideal. He has a sentimental fond.
ness for the New York Cir Hall Park in the
. rpiHn rnyin -,IE.lI-- -.