The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1901-07-15

capture of the counterfeiter is regarded
as one of those certainties. which in The
case of the average citizen. are limited
to taxes and death, and but for the lem
dercy Of judges in certain sections of the
country the business of Showing the
queer would have been broken up
years ago. There is one district in
which II has been the custom of the fed
era judge to let the average counter
fester off with a reprimand, while old
offenders have seldom been sentenced TO
more than six months in jail. In some
of the other districts comparatively light
fines have been imposed, and to a really
successful counterfeiter this is, of course
the preferable mode OF punishment, for
In his eyes il virtually amounts to
simple division of the spoils, and some-
times a very unequal one. The habitual
criminal law will revolutionize these con-
ditions, as the judges will be compelled
TO inhict the designated punishment
whether or not they desire to.
For all that they have been working, as
has been explained. against somewhat
heavy odds the Secret Service officers
have succeeded in recent years in forcing
q great curtailment of CONTRIBUTING oper-
ations. They have done this by duadrup-
ling the forces Of detectives in the dis
tricts where the judges have been prone
TO show leniency and keeping so close a
watch on suspicious persons that Offend
ers can be arrested almost Immediately
when they take up the manufacture OF
bogus money. AS an indication of the
passing Of the counterfeiter II may be not
ed that, whereas, a decade ago the discov-
cries of the counterfeits aggregated from
twenty-five TO forty every year, but four
we're discovered. While the passage of the
kabitual criminal law for counterfeiters
v IN not leave the detectives OF the Secret
Service without an occupation by any
means, It will largely limit the field of
their activity. since the shrewdest and
trickiest criminals will perforce be obliR-
ed to abandon this field OF activities
Doubtless. this will be sincerely regretted
by lovers Of the picturesque. for there has
been In American criminal history nothing
more fasclnatingly dramatic than some
of the exploits OF tho sleuths Of the Secret
Service In running down counterfeiters
almost as quick-witted as themselves.
The principle on which the Secret Ser
vice is conducted Is that Uncle Sam never
grows weary in the pursuit Of a person
who has defrauded him. There was a case
several years ago IN which Secret Ser
vice man followed "a criminal back and
forth across the continent three times be-
fore finally arresting him. although the
aggregate amount involved IN the crime
was but Eve dollars. Omcers Of the Secret
Service make between five hundred and a
thousand arrests every year, every ac-
complete concerned even IN the rem0test
degree In a crime being appfebendod.
one thing which contributes very ma
teriaEy ~ the cfnciency 81 the Secret
Service b. found in the fact that the oD-
snaiiyes have practically unlimited re-
sources ~ their command with which 60
meet any expense which may b. incur-
red. Sfaie ~ municipal rufhOrnes may
drop q case N fhey nnd ere fFpenfe ac-
count mounting uD lnfo fle fhQuann1H -
doliarF. huf fhf NH0ref arrWce-neVFr
TIM. 200. from fhr HfaffpYnf ~ ibe
government dftfrilvf M ~ object. The
criminal whom BE- baa been nsaEne9 "