El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-09-12
u. s. SECRET SERVICE
Which There Little KnoWn-A Thrilling Ex-
perience- Gang of Counterfeters Was
Cases Criminals and Their Work.

Your counterfeiter is man who get
something from nothing. A sheet o
metal, some ink and paper, or bit o
base metal and q handful OF proper.
manipulated plaster of paris-ant
presto! his purse fills with crisp neV
bills ind jingling coin of the realm
Eliminating the question OF detectlon
the counterfeiting business Is an IDEA
one. But your Uncle Sam, ever jealous
of his rights. insisting that he alone
shall grind out the pictures and med ali
that pass current among his millions
of Oh ildren. discourages all competitor
In the money manufacturing line, and
has provided an unpleasant list OF pun
i.hme,t IS for offenders in that direction
to suppress enterprises having Tor their
object the imitatio of government &c.
curities. And 10 bring to book those
who had the temerity to embark In
them, the secre:-service division was
established in the early sixties as q
part of the treasury department. Coun-
terfeiting is peculiarly mean crime,
because so farreaching in its results
and involving so many Innocent peo-
pie. Take, for instance, the case of
the poor artisan who had boarded bis
savings for years, and from time to
time exchanged his small bills for
those of larger deuomiu ations. One
day he reads of the detection of new
counterfeit, a cunning reproduction of
the genuine, and later finds that OF his
cherished savings nearly every bill 1s
spurious He is without recourse, un-
less able to trace the bills direct to
those from whom he obtained them
an exceedingly difficult m after.
The government safeguards Its cur
rency in every way that igenuity can
suggest; first, in the intricate portions
of observation-disclosures lace-like crea-
tions of the geometric lathe; in the per-
lection of it's portraits, and in the die
tinetive character of the paper upon
which it's obligations are printed.
Time was when the counterfeiter was
forced to rely entirely upon the keen
ness of eye and the skill of hand in
copying the designs chosen by the Gov
ernment upon it's money. Now, modern
processes of photo-etching open the
field to a greater number OF forgers,
who need perhaps but small part OF
the skill of the ''old timer" to
reproduce note, much more
deceptive than that of years ago.
Certainty of swift detection should
perhaps prevent couuterfeitipg. but so
long as there Is q gam bler's chance of
escape there will be found those who
feel sure they can succeed where others
have failed. Hence the necessity for
the Secret Service branch OF the gov
eminent. And as the making OF spu-
ricus money is fascinating enterprise
for cunning rogue, so the checkmat-
ing of that same rascal in the count
less schemes devised to yield an ille-
gitimH tie fortune is q game of absorb
ing interest to him who plays 1t. The
liberty of one, perhaps the life of one
or the other, are the stakes in this bat
tie royal.
LAWBREAKERS' METHODS.
The advantage lies first with the law
breaker. He plans and works In
secret for mon tbs, and sometimes years,
then stealthily, through trusted chan
nels, the product of his abOrs ia mar
keted, and bad money is quickly turn
ed in 20 good. But work as he may,
some imperfec'ion In his spurious bills
which has escaped him one day arrests
the glance of keen-eyed money hand
Ter. Familiarity with the characteris-
tics of genuine money results In the
detection of counterfeit.
Something about the bill Is "oH."
One may not be able to determine in
just what respect it fails to equal the
genuine, and sends 1t to Washington
for inspection. There a line-fOr-line
comparison.
With she genuine establishes the
spurious character of the suspected
note; circulars giving it's description
and poiu ting out its imperfectious are
cent broadcast TO bankers and money
handlers The .public, thus placed
upon its guard, is wary, and it Is no
loo ger safe for the gang to continue
the circulati on of this particular note.
Changes must be made in the plate to
its character or new plate
PREPARED. Meantime everything is
the maker goes to work again. The
have made the first
move in the game, which is now up
to" the secret service.
/ might go on aud detail the opera
lions of the service In the work OF dis
covering the MAKER of good coun-
terfeit. but it would hardly be wise to
10 so. No two cases are ever exactly
alike, for your counterfeiter is Ter
Tile fellow, and is a constant student
sud inventor OF precautionary mea-
mis- safety. In the Investigations made
oy the division the chief has constant
y before him the exhaustive daily re-
10, t. of each man in the service, and q
careful weighing of the various points
~ omitted by operatives working often
1t widely separated localities
will frequently suggest a move in
he right direction. The gravity of
the crime makes progress slow, for no
step is taken uutil facts are tablished
70 warrant il. 1t is always considered
lesirab!e to 80 arrange the final act in
his drama so that the criminal may
be taken wholly by surprise. There is
\ sort CT moment sry paralysis follow
ng the shock of sudden disaster, and
when raid is properly planned the
chances of serious resistance are mini
nized
SHREWD COCNTERFEITERS.
Occasionally it becomes necessary
ror @ daal RI bo ypa6o 1iraot1u ,u;tb tho