Evening star., 1901-07-13

lars in counterfeit notes was found in the
vaiise carried by ore of them. Brockway
knew that the secret service men were far
more anxious to secure the plates and
presses used in producing the counterfeitS
than to convict the criminals, and he alone
knew the location of the paraphernalia
used in the production of the imitation
bonds. so he proposed to the officials that
he be released in return for disclosing the
whereabouts of the plates and this was
finally agreed to. Nearly two dozen plates
in all were captured, and Brockway was
never brought to trial for his part in the
attempted swinde.
Utensils Destroyed.
The anxiety of the secret service to Sc
cure and destroy the utensils used in the
production of counterfeits is we'll founded
since with outfit of this kind intact a
counterfeiter can commence operations i'm
mediately upon his release from prison.
whereas his plant once DESTROYED it can
not be replaced without months of labor
and considerable expense. In the case of
BrOckway, the destruction of his plant did
not deter him from further attempts to
defraud. He q truly splendid work
man. He reproduced only notes and bonds
OF high denominations. and perfect were
tney that IL was well nigh impossible for
experts to detect them. Indeed. the secret
service officials declare that many of the
plates engraved by BrOckway were as eX-
ceiient as those turned out for the gov
eminent 1t the bureau of printing and
engraving, and N few actually
surpassed the government plates in per-
fectIon of workmanship.
OF course, man capable of such work
as tins could make a large income in a
legitimate line of business, but counter
teltlng seems to be q sort of mania the
fascination of which those who have once
gone into it cannot resist. There are now
serving sentences in prisons in various
parts of the country number of the most
Sklllful engravcrS in the business, any one
of whom could. on his release. make an
excellent living without fear of the law.
yet the detectives who have made a study
OF them say that it is morally certain that
almost every one of these men will go to
counterfeiting again the moment they are
released.
Star Men and ROpers.
To cope with men of this caliber the
secret service requires agents of a high
class of courage and ability. The star
men of the service are known among
criminal hunters, "ropers," and to be
successful at roping calls for about as
wide range of talent combined with sheer
nerve and propensity for hard work as any
other occupation on the globe. The work of
the roper is to insratiate himself into the
confidence of the count erfeiting gang
against which he is gathering evidence
anu actually join them in their unlawful
enterprise Unless the secret service can
place some man on the inside" of every
case IN this manner the officials can never
b" absolutely certain that they have cap
tifed the man who has been actually maxi
ing the counterfcitS. the most important
matter next to securing possession of the
paraphernalia.
One of the most brilliant pieces of in
side secret service work which stands 70
the credit of the United States officials was
that in connection with what is known as
the Philadelphia-L ster counterfeitinp
conspiracy. This gigantic plot to food the
country with $40 tpNl il,
vas evolved by two business men aided bv
two expert engray"rs. none Of them having
any previous criminal history and all bei3,
mighty respected in the communities in
winch they lived. The combination appar-
entity conducted legitimate enurayiro
business, and even when sitsniciop yyas
directed against the men, 50 excessive We're
the precautions exercised that the ''ropine''
operation could be conducted but slowly
and then only with the greatest difficulty,
A Successful Coup
The coup which finally enabled the secret
service men TO gain admission to the mill"
was one of the neatest ever devised A
young detective was detailed to get chum-
my with the office boy employed by the
counterfeiters. who was not of course
aware OF the character of the work goin p
on III the back room" The service man
learned that the boy wanted to be an
actor, and offered to get him a lob When
the youngster called at downtown hotel
as requested, he was taken into a room to
try on gorgeous pair of tights While bo
was changing the secret service workers
took the keys from his pockets. uuicklv
made copy Of the one Yale kew on the
ring, and returned the bunch to IT'S nIaca
before the lad returned to the room Win
the Key thus secured the criminal hunters
ihdoe nocturnal explorations of the engray-
ing establishment and secured the evidence
Whlch brought the gang to Justice