The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1899-05-04
TN BOGUS MILLIONS
Was the Mark Set by the
Gang at Lancaster, Pa,
THEY GOT TOO GREEDY
Chief WiIkie Tells How They
Were Caught d-Randed.
THEY GOT TOO GREEDY

New York, May 3-The World Says
With plates as flawless as the Uni.ed
States Governments own dies;with cur
| sury's own making, the band of counter
| feiters, captured in Lancaster and Phila-
! de,phia last week, had planned to clear
s10OO0,OOO in the next two years.
No bolder or brainier band Of counter
| feiters had ever organized. No shrewder
| scheme was ever devised in this country
to defraud the government.
Their capture was the cleverest feat
in the history of the secret service.
These are the eight conspirators:
a giant in strength, a persistent, logged,
thorough executive; devouted to his fami-
", free from petty vices; by profession
a cigar manufacturer in Lancaster, Pa.
William L. Kendig; a cigar manufac-
turer in Lancaster Pa; son-in-law of a
bank president
Arthur Taylor; a mechanic and inven-
tor o Philadelphia.
Baldwin S. Bredel; a Philadelphia en-
gravor
Harry K. hewitt; a well-known law
yer of Philadelphia; socially prominent
and a former district attorney.
a very prominent lawyer of Philadelphia;
recently candidate for Judge the United
States District Court
James Burnes; ex-policeman and spe-
cial guard at the counterfeiting.
Samuel B. Dowwney; Deputy Revenue
Collector Of the ninth district
Philadelphia.
Chief VVillzia ragarde Taoobc nc +ba oo-
ner-stone of the plot He is a remarkable
man.
Jacobs ancestors helped settle the state
His father, DR.. Jhon N Jacobs founded
the Perkiomen National Bank of Penns-
burg. Pa. The old gentleman is worth
s3o00OOO The son could have had any
reasonable amount, but he preferred to
make money HIS own way
Jacobs is a cigar manufacturer of Ian
caster, Pa, Seven years ago he conceived
revenue stamps on cigars. The tax is
$500 a thousand. By saving this he
could undersell his competitors, and he
did it, selling %, 900 900 cigars annually.
In celebrating his plans he gathered
about him Kendig, Taylor, and Breden.
He put Kendig in a dummy cigar factory
at Lancaster, whose output was only 10,
600 cigars annually. There the counter
feiting Of revenue stamps wac DONE
The success of the bogus revenue stamps
led Jacobs to plan counterfeiting Trea-
sury notes on a large scale. y bcg1.s
800 silver certificate Of the Monroe
Head" issue was out out
officials, every one, although I, avs hlIt
experimental. Only $4,000 Of these w r.
circulated in July and August @ 1907
In January of 1898 the iraaI was dis
covered and the whole issue of se6,,00.-
00O withdrawn from circulation by Sec
rotary Of the Treasury Gage, so I-nIos-
sib,e was 1t to distinguish the genuine
from the bogus.
II was then that chief WielkI. OF tie
ecret Service, started to run down the
makers of the bogus notes. AMI t. was
plans to make s10O0O,19 To carry It's
out Jacobs knew he must have the as
si>tence of men Of unusual standing.
The other day hewitt AMI Jngham were
arrested in Philadelphia cna'cod with te-
Jacobs wanted to know what the Secret
Service men We, doing. The only he
could find out was from the Secret Ser
vice men. Samuel b. Downey Internal
prison, was on hs lst, but Downey had
Roration. m
Jacobs wanted to control Captain Nc
the Secret Service. hewitt and InCham
were charged with paying McNIanus $500 |
on two occasions. McManus was to keep
Jacobs informed Of every move of the |
Secret Service for twelve months for 500 |
! month.
VIII NJ
take ha made. McMauus took the money. |
known AIcManus he would never have ap-
preached him.
The supposed purchase of McNTanus was
the first step in the big counterfeiting |
some high officials in the Sub-Treasurv /
of New York or Philadelphia, who was |
changed into genuine Treasury notes on |
easy instruments within two years. The |
price of this Treasury official was not TO |
be limited-$l. 100000 if necessary.
The story of the counterfeiters as told |
by chief Wilke. o the Secret Service, is
as follows
Jacobs, the head of the conspirators.
Is a most remarkable man. I had a good
when [ watched him at Lancaster for
HFA weeks. He would go ii work al
. at and 6 a m. in his isar factory and
seave at ard : p. m. the picture Of
pA|s'eai exhaustion The next morning
he would 80 back again as fresh as he
could ne. He could easily DO the work
or two powerful day l5borers.
His record stamps him as the %anoI-
con Of commentators. Strangely eno,,gb
he has not a single netE~ vice He (
de voted Il his family Crimf-5-o.-fs-s