Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1901-04-13

Money. Bank of scotland Notes and
swedish Bills Found-Poiice of the
world Had Been ON Lookout.
New York. April 1f.-One OF the big
gest raids in the history of the secret
service Of the United States was made
last night by Chief Hazen. 1t was the
result of the attempted suicide OF Al
bert Jensen" who is really John Albert
Skoog, the daring and skillfui counter
feiter Chief iIazen visited Skoog ~
the hospital. and afterward, taking
with him several secret service agents
and following clew which he got
from papers in Skoog's pocket he Went
to building in Grand avenue, Brook
lyn, and arrested Emil Mobert, a
Swede.
One of the most complete and per-
feet counterfeiting plants ever found
was discovered In the house. The long
sought plates for the 80 kroner notes or
the Bank of Sweden and the 100 kroner
notes of the Bank of Copenhagen We're
among those found. They were buried
away with other plates for the making
of a EGO note of the Bank of Scotland
which, it is said, the entire secret serv-
Ice Of Great Britain has been trying to
run down for years.
Skoog is a native of Sweden, in when
country he began his career as coun-
terfeter He is painter, and when he
came to this country in 1893 he opened
a shop in Chicago so as TO have an os-
tensible means of support. Soon after
this shop was opened Chicago and the
neighboring towns were flooded with
counterfeit $40 silver certificates bear
ing the portrait of Secretary Manning.
Skoog tried to pass one OF these notes
at the box office of theater one night
and was arrested. At the police station
he begged for revolver with which
to kill himself. Failing to get the re-
volver, he tried to commit suicide by
taking cyanide of potassium, but ran
ed. His shop was searched, and the
plate for the Manning certificate and
an unfinished plate for 1t0 kroner
note were found. Pending trial, he was
sent to the Jail at Joliet. There he and
some murderers tied the keepers and
escaped by dropping 40 feet from the
walls
swedish Notes commencement
From that time until yesterday the
secret service officers and the police of
all the large cities have been on the
lookout for Skoog. The first counter
felt in which his work was recognized
by experts after his escape was the
counterfeit of the Hendricks head sill
yer certificate. 1t was next detected in
the Sherman and Webster $40 counter
feits, which appeared in 1898. Advces
were received from Sweden that coun-
terfeit Swedish notes, supposed to have
been made by him, were in circulation
in that country
Last year Commissioner of Police
Ledburg of Stockholm and Chief of De-
tectives Carin of that city came to the
United States for consultation with
Chief Wilkie Of the secret service about
Skoog and his work. These officials re-
ported that Sweden had been flooded
by counterfeit 100 kroner notes. These
notes all came from the United States.
They We're taken over by Swedes living
in this country who returned to their
homes during the summer months The
Swedish authorities contiscated these
counterfeits to an amount equal to S25.-
600, kroner being equal to about q
cents.
Skoog ReaPpears Ia Person.
All dealers in foreign money had
been warned to be on the lookout for
him and had been given accurate de-
scriptions of him and of the counter
feits which he had made. Several
months ago a tall blond man, wearing
eyeglasses and answering the descrip-
ton of Skoog in every respect, went
into brokers' Office in New York and
tried to sell 100 kroner note. The
broker recognized the note as a coun-
terfeit and the blond man as Skoog.
Without attracting his attention the
broker managed to tell a woman who
was in the shop at the time to follow
Skoog until she met "A policeman to
whom she was to point Skoog out and
tell the policeman to arrest him, as
he was noted criminal. The woman
did as she was told.
She followed Skoog without attract
j ing his attention and soon met police
man, to whom she petlted him out.
J Because the police nan would not
icross the street he lost the credit of
harvesting a notorious criminal
Chief Wilxie said yesterday that
Skoog would be taken to Chicago and
would he tried on the old charge of
counterfeiting the Manning head note,
on which he was awaiting trial at the
time of his escape from Joliet