El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-26

THVTT7Ta
Developments following close npoI
the arrest of q band of counterfeiter
who for upward of two years have beef
operating in this city and in Lancaster
Pa, show the existence Of conspirac!
Outrivsling in the magnitude OF IT
scope and the danger in its possibis
consequences anything of like nature
hitherto known in the history OF the
United States government, says che
Philadelphia Times.
The men gathered in by the secret
service draglet are six in number
Arthur Taylor and Baldwin S. Bredell,
expert engrarers, and Harvey Il.
Newlts, prominent young lawyer, OF
this city; James Burns, William L.
Kendig and William L. Jacobs, OF Lam
caster, the last two named extensive
cigar manufacturers and dealers In
leaf tobacco, and the other said TO have
been at one time q member OF
the police force. Jacobs 1s
denominsted by John E. Wilkie, chief
of the secret service of the treasury
department, as the king pin OF the stu
pendous conspiracy against the integ-
rity of the governments currency sys-
tenn, and it wa sat his home, Lancaster,
that the actual work of manufacturing
the spurious silver certificates and in
ternal revenue stamps was carried on.
The execution of the plates, from
which were printed the notes and
stamps that for O period baffied even
the government experts themselves, was
ACCOM- plished in Philadelphia, where
also were conducted the negotiations
with a former attache of the United
States district attorneys office, as
alleged by the secret service agents,
the purpose of which was to keep
the counterfeiters posted in regard
to any steps that might be taken
by the government authorities
to balk their nefarious operations.
TONS OF SPURIOUS PAPER.
A complete counterfeiting outfit was
captured in their establishment at
Lancaster, run ostensibly by Kendig
as cigar mandatory, and the plate
of the famous "Monroe head" 500 sill
yer certificates, as well as one of 500
certificate equally dangerous. was seiz-
ed along with the printing equipment
aud a vast amount of paper used in the
manufacture OF the spurious revenue
stamps. Chief Wilkie told reporter
of the Times Yesterday that nine tons
of this fraudulent paper had been found
in Kendig's factory, and that this
quantity was sufficient for the manu-
facture of revenue stamps that would
have covered four hundred million CT
ed at about 2,OC0, 700, beside which
there was large quantity OF leaf to-
bacco and the machinery and stock in
the two factories Is worth upward of
$4,000
TRACKING THE COUNTERFEITERS.
The story of the exposure and capt !
ure of this counterfeiting gang sur |
passes in its interest anything related
OF the famous Brockway band of years |
ago, whose operations startled the
country and for long time COMPOUNDED |
the best efforts of the governments ex-
perts set to apprehend them.
"The origin of the investigation with
which the Treasury Department en-
trusted me-" said Mr.. Wilkie, Twas
the discovery of counserfeit 800 silver
check letter d, and bear.
ing the Monroe vignette. These coun-
terfeits had but two defects. The color
of the seal was salmon pink whereas it
should have been carmine. The other
and more prominent defect appeare d
in the quality of the paper, which was
slightly thicker than the paper used
by the government. The genuine treas
uary paper has hitherto proved to be
one of the greatest safeguards against
not because its manu-
facture was secret process, which 1T
wasn't. but because to make it would
|
be beyond the reach of ordinary men.
[ncid eutally L may mention here that
the penalty for making the paper is the
same as for making a counterfeit treas
lry note.
1.-THE counterfeit was produced by
of photo-etching and
hand engraving and, therefore, il
would be necessary to look for some
body who was an expert in both, which
are really widely divergent branches.
'sThe Investigation began stimuli
in New York, Chicago and
Philadelphia. The best men in the
service were put on the work. The
man detailed to Philadelahia was
Operative William J. Burns, aud as
was the place where the
spurious character of the 800 note was
discovered, aud as quite number of
hem had appeared, the chances oil