The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1902-03-01
IN EIGHT COUNTS
L. S. GRAND JURY TELLS OF THE
COUNTERFEITERS GAME.
GRIGGS AND JENNINGS JOINED.
CHARGED WITH MAKING AND Ut
TERING FALSE MONEY.

The Manufacture of the False Coins,
the Attempt to Use Them, the Pos
session of MOIds From Which
They Were Cast, the Manufacture
of These MOIds and the Possession
of the Spurious Money All Made
the Basis of Separate CharSes-Ef-
fort Instituted to Bring Jennings
From Jacksonville to stand Trial.
Several indictments besides that
against Carter, Greene and the Gay
nors were returned in the United States
District Court. The most important
and interesting was that in which
George w. Jennings, alias James
Smith. and Evander G. Griggs are
charged with counterfeiting.
The story of the several phases of
the crime with which the men are
charged was told in the Morning News
at the time the grand jury was consid-
ering the evidence against them.
Griggs is now held in the county JAIL
while Jennings, who is said to be the
principal defendant and the brains OF
the pair, is under arrest at Jackson
willie for having in his possession coun-
terfeit silver dollars.
The indictment against the two men
is in eight counts, each count charg-
ing a separate violation of the laws
regulating the coinage of the United
States.
The first count charges the manu-
facture of thirty-seven false and
fraudulent coins, in imitation of the
silver coinage of the United States
and of the denomination of one dollar,
twelve such coins of the denomination
of half dollar and two coins of the
denomination of a quarter of a dollar
The second count charges the manu-
facture of 2S3 coins of various denomi-
nations.
The third count charges Jennings
with an attempt to defraud Charlie
Johnson, Waycross negro, by an at
tempt to pass upon him three of the
counterfeit dollars and four of the
counterfeit half dollars. The fourth
count repeats the allegations of the
third count as to parties to the grand
jury unknown.
The fifth count has as its gravimen
IiiC POooCSSlOn ny jennings ana (IrlRgS
OF the plaster moulds in which the
spurious coins were cast. and the sixth
is based upon their making these
molds. The seventh and eighth
counts accuse the defendants of hay-
ing in their possession the manufac-
tured products of their Illicit industry.
An effort was instituted at once by
Assistant District Attorney Alderman
to bring Jennings to Savannah for trial.
in inl1 I,o
raigned with Griggs some day during
the coming week. A letter was written
to United States Attorney STRIPPING of
the Southern district of Florida. re-
questing his aid in bringing Jennings
to justice and pointing out to him the
fact that the ends of justice will prob
ably be better subserved by trying
Jennings here, in conjunction with
Grlggs, than by a separate trial in
Florida, as the tools with which the
spurious coins We're manufactured and
much direct and circumstantiaI evil
dence of the most conclusive character
is in the possession of the authorities
here.
If District Attorney Strpling
agrees with these views, as he prob-
ably will, he will institute proceedings
to have Jennings removed to Savannah
to stand trial.
Inc SIdnu jury also returned a true
bill of indictment against John c.
Thompson, formerly postmaster at Sta
tenville. This indictment is in two
counts, both charging the defendant,
while a postmaster with having en-
bezzled postal funds. The first charges
the embezzlement by him of $401. 20 and
the second the embezzlement of $685.
Hiram Ellis. formerly postmaster at
Garrant, is charged With embezzling
postal funds to the amount of $21S SO,
from the proceeds of the sale of stamps
at his office. Nathan L. King was in
dicted for illicit distilling.
The grand jury considered other cases
after the return of indictments and
will be in session to-day. It's session
may continue into next week.