The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-04-04
SPLITTING BANKNOTES.
The Process is Simple Enough When
You Know How.

The Process is Simple Enough Wher
You Know How.
Some years ago the commercial worlt
was taken aghast by the announcement
that a certain scientific man could ac-
tually split a banknote so exactly into
halves that it was impossible to distin-
guish the separate pieces of paper from
genuine notes.
The authorities of the Bank Of Eng
land took alarm, for it appeared that
this invention would speedily open the
way to new kind of fraud. The imita-
ton of the engraved plate, however well
performed, was always discoverable by
experienced eyes, and he must be good
forser, indeed, who could prepare the
paper on which the plate was printed SO
as to initiate the peculiar water marks
on the Bank of England notes with any
thing like success. But here was dis
( covery which set at naught the precau
tions of paper-makers, engravers and
printers.
1t was really serious matter. A long
! correspondence enSued between the pro-
J prietor Of the secret and the officials of
| the bank the former asking large sum
of money for his knowledge, and the lat
ter requiring actual proof, of his ability
to perform the alleged feat.
| Paragraphs began to appear in the
newspapers, and public attention was
drawn to what seemed very extraordi-
| nary fact--that the thin tissue-pape of
which a banknote is composed could
really be divided into two leaves 1t be-
IN 10 % TIL of thi.
remarSab BILE discovery, and so it was ac-
ranged that trial should be made with
an actual note of the Bank of England.
Prelminares were settled, and note,
properly marked, so that it might be af-
terward identified, was submitted to the
inventor In the course of two or three
DAVIS back came the note to the owners
actually split in two. 1t was eagerly
examined but in a little time the bank
officials ceased to feel any alarm, and
confidence in the commercial world was
quite restored.
It was true the banknote was COM
pletely split, but 1t was also true that on
only one half of it was the printed i'm
preston sufficiently plain to allow of it's
being circulated Any attempt to pass
the other, or back half of the note,
would, it was declared, be Immediately
detected.
Still, the discovery was curious, and
might lead to dsagreeable consequences
should any person attempt to increase
his wealth by means of split banknotes.
Another kind of ink was therefore or
dered for the future to be used in the
printing of the bank securities, so that
in case any one chose to try the expert
ment the one-half would be left blank.
The secret, however, did not long re-
main hidden from the world. Indeed,
it's very simplicity seems to have pre-
vented it's being discovered by the clever
men who felt SO much anxiety about It.
The method of splitting paper is just
this: Two pieces of calico are firmly
glued to the sides of the paper, leaving
the ends of the calico loose, and the
whole is perfectly dried. BY a gentle
and equabe pull on each side the paper
is split completely in halves, one of
which adheres to the calico on one side
and the other to the opposite.
The fact that the adhesion between the
paper and the cloth is greater than that
between the surfaces of the paper to
each other is the cause of this phenome-
non.
Having now divided the paper the
two halves may be removed by damp