The Washington times., 1902-01-26
BAD MONEY AND
ITS MAKERS
Wonderful Skill Displayed in
Counterfeiting. .
B0NNELL'S COMPOSITE NOTE
Made of Six shin Piastcrs, n Gem
federntc Bill. and Part of
Good Dollar.

Treasury building contain all
~ kinds of counterfeit money, pho
tographs Of counterfeiters, tools
with which some of the work was done
dangerous looking apons-pistols. dirks,
knives-with which The counterfeiters en-
deavored to avoid arrest, and many other
things of like character These have
been collected from time to time since
the establishment of the Bureau and VOL
umes could be written about their his
tories.
One cf the most perfect hand-executed
counterfeit bills was made by a green
Georgia farmer named W. c. Bonnell be-
ing u composition of six shirplasters
Confederate money. and a section of a
one-dcllar genuine greenback. These are
SO ingcniously wrought together as to
make seemingly perfect ten-dollar
greenback.
Bonneil also made quite quantity of
silver money, and was getting rich. but
got to imbibing too freely of the output
of his Illicit still and gave himself away
He was sent up for five years. and said
that when he got out he would coriine
himself to the legitimate business of
making whisky and let counterfciting
alone He expressed the opinion that
the Government was against an honest
man making an honest living.
Crafty Maud EIrodd.
Maud Elrodd, whose photograph shows
her as being a not bad looking brunette,
was the most notorious crook and coun-
terfeiter of the female persuasion that
ever troubled the Secret Service men. She
was native of Missouri. and added to
her accomplishments as horse thief
robber. and all-round crook, that of coun-
terfeiting. When finally caught at the
latter she managed to borrow young
baby, which she claimed as her own, and
her potherly devoticns were such as 10
win the jury, and she was acquitted
Negroes, Italians, and Chinese are the
most numerous counterfeiters of coins.
but their workings give the department
comparatively little trouble when COM
pared TO having we'll executed bank notes
bobbing up in different sections of the
country, causing CONSERVATION among
bankers and business men. These are
the ones which cause Secret Service men
TO have sleepless nights, and to spend
weeks, months, and even years, in shad
ewing some suspect.
Duplicate geo Bonds.
1t was in June. 1867. that it was discov-
many OF the 7.30 one-thousand-doilar
United States bonds which had been re-
deemed by the Treasury Department. To
sas that there was CONSERVATION does not
express it when this discovery was made
Coed money had been paid out by the
Treasury for them to various large bank
ers in New York and elsewhere.
council OF war was held to ascertain
the cause of the Implications, if possi-
bic. Mr.. Casileer, then chief of the Bu-
reau CT Engraving and Printing, and Mr.
Clark. superintendent OF the printing di-
vision. were forthwith ordered to appear
before the officials OF the Treasury. Mr.
Clark declared that the bonds we're eenu-
inc. and that they had been printed un-
der his personal supervision.
Col. w. p. Woods. Of this city was then
chief of the Secret Service. and he said
that he was satisfied that some of the
bonds We're fraudulent, and that they had
been printed from copper electro plates.
He further said that he was convinced
that the work had been done by William
Z. Brockaway and his pals.
The Counterfciters Caught.
The Treasury Department was greatly
alarmed and offered a reward of s25O00
for the arrest Of the counterfeiter and the
recovery OF the plates. Chief Woods was
told that the reward applied to his office
as well as tc OUTSIDE detectives 1t was
not long before Chief Woods had Brock
away. John B. Doyle. Charles UIrich, and
Charles Smith rounded up, recovering the
plates.
The Government had a long and expen-
sive suit at law in the United States court
at New York against the bankers who had
obtained good money from the Treasury
On the spurious 40 one thousand dollar
fOndS After a tirtpr fipht the Govern
ment succeeded in recovering nearly or
quite 100000, which was reluctantly
yielded up by the bankers who had been
gulled.
Never Got His Reward.
Colonel Woods never did get his reward.
although he resigned as chief Of the Sc
cret Service in order to give all his time
to running down and convicting the coun-
terfeiters. He was paid $1,000 on account
by the Secretary OF the Treasury, who
told him to go to work and get a special
appropriation from. Congress for the bal
ance.
He has been trying ever since TO get his
money, but has failed, although a bill TO
pay him passed Congress in 1868. There
was always some hitch as TO whether OF
not the plates from which the bogus
bonde-perfect In execution-were print
copper, and II was not until some time
last year that these plates were brought
TO the Treasury Department to be de-
stroyed.
Whether this was done or not, very few
can say, as vigorous protest was made
that they ought not TO be destroyed until
Congress had finally passed upon the
claims Of Colonel Woods. Metallurgist
experts, chosen by Comptroller Porter,
testified positively that ithe plates were
copper electro-plates, the product OF the
electric battery obtained from matrices
thus backing up Colonel Woods assertion.
SkiIIfuIcst of Crooks.
The men mixed up In that 7:30 bond
counterfeiting gave the Government more
trouble than any band OF counterfeiters
ever captured. unless possibly the John
son gang.
Ulrich learning his trade in the Bureau
of Engraving and Printing. and. being
thoroughly familiar with the arts and
methods OF money making. he executed
his counterfets so well that they were
thoroughly in circulation before they
were discovered to be bogus. He served
more than one term in Sing Sing, and
~ KOCH LING GIIRE |