The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-12-15

SO S6s,oio; treasury notes CT 1880, SIS, so;
gold certificates. 80 1913
1T is easy 10 understand how any one
having access - these vaults would be
enabled in the course Of a days business
10 take from half dozen different M n
packages Of notes Of the Lincoln head
stamp. place them in the vault and give
IN return for them gold certificates. These
couterfeits might have lain in the the vault
Week,or monitor possibly longer, but 50
accurate would they have been that had
they been distributed to The banks
throughout the country and the sub-treas-
urles, sufficient time would have elapsed
pefore the certainty that they We're com
terfelts could have been established TO
enabled the counterfeiters to escape"
Ine prospect OF receiving a large part of
this S00090o0 was what led Ingham and
hewitt TO go into the scheme. Delay OF
the United States Court in hearing the
pleas of Jacobs, Bredell, Taylor, Downey
and Burns, who, since their arrest eight
months ago, have been in Moyamensing
prison, was not. as the United States dis
trict attorney would have it appear, owing
to the fact that they are wanted to testify
against Ingham and hewitt in case they
make appeal TO a high court. Their pleai-
ing has been put off because il was hoped
that the corrupted treasury official would
he captured and without the testimony of
Jacobs and Kendig it was well known that
the government would not be able TO bring
to close the most audacious and danger
Gus conspiracy that has ever threatened
the integrity of its finances.
The first thing that led to the discovery
OF the counterfeiting was the cupidity of
Taylor and Bredell. Although less than
80 years old, they are regarded by the gov
eminent as expert engravers, equal to the
best in the bureau of engraving. They
made the plate for the 500 Monroe-head
silver certificate and delivered 1t to Ken
dig and Jacobs, but, before they allowed it
10 90 out of their hands, they took sew
erai Impressions, and these notes they
passed one at a time, and it was one of
these that George Cramer OF the sub
treasury here discovered. He held it for
several days and examined it with a micro
scope carefully many times before ne even
decided that his suspicion that 1t was a
counterfeit was correct. The only devia-
ton he could detect was that the colors
we're trihe light and that the note was
about one-sixteenth of an inch short. of
course, either of these might have been
an accident of the press or the cutting
machine, but after convincing himself he
sent the note to Washington for expert
study and It was there at first said that
the note was genuine, and they were only
convinced that il was a counterfeit when
Cramer had pointed out the divergence in
its makeup from thousands of others,
none of which showed the lack of color
ing or similar shortness.
Immediately the government called in
the entire issue of the certificates, but
months interviewed before the counterfeit
ers were captured. How many of the bo-
gus notes were put out the government
to-day cannot say accurately Tt may be
said, however. that the amount gathered
in so far does not fall far shore of $95. 900.
Had Taylor and Bredell known the pro-
ject for disposing of the notes they would
not have taken the impression surrepti-
tiously and 1t is possible that the whole
scheme as outlined would have gone
through and the government been robbed
Of enough money to pay large part Of the
expense incurred by the war with Spain.