New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1902-11-16

coypists mistakes. etc photograph eade the
same size would obvate all this, No errors would
be possible and new prints would be aVallaole
whenever thev were required. General Alnswofth'
chief of the Record and Pension Office of the War
Department. which Office has custody Of the
volunteer rolls of the army during and since
the Civil War. has. at great expense of time ana
labor caused card index TO be made Of the rolls
In his charge This made necessary by the
wearing out OF the old rosters by constant refer
ence. but. had the system here described been IN
by the government, each Of the old rosters
could have been photographically reproduced ana
copies procured whenever they We're desired
The saving in expense labor and space would have
been great apart from the perfect accuracy so
obtained
Negatives and properly printed photographs will
last for many years Phorographically reproduced
documents cannot contain errors unless me olIeI
inals did; negatives will occupy little space, ana
NAV be made therefrom. The reproduction Of
the original handwriting would often prove OF m
trace certain acuons OF their predecessors. These
Uncle Sam now contemplates adopting for the per
petuation of his great diary. 49,,
important. work in this line Is PERFORMED
ury Department, whose negatives ana prints nae
proved of the utmost value 10 the Secret service
Customs the Commissioner of immigration and
numerous other branches Of Uncle sam great
The Work done for the Secret Service consists
largely OF tne reproduction Of genuine and counter
felt bills ana coins and has greatly facilitated
the detection Of counterfets and the conviction OF
their makers a suspected bill IS re
ceiYed by department IL Is sent 10 the omclal
photographer. together with bill known TO be
a greatly enlarged scale. Almost initnitesimal
variations plainly brought out by the camera,
the slightest deviation in the signatures or the
Treasurer the Register stand out as serious IN
accura cies the reproduction, and numerous de-
tails which the officials decline TO explain 10 the
public are so clearly portrayed as 10 leave no
doubt in mind OF the authorities as TO the char
acter Of the counterfeit, and frequently they iur-
nsh a clew the perpetrator. Generally, only a
bills is thus reproduced, so that even
II the negatives 10 fall into improper hanus
they would prove valueless- As many prints are
made is deemed necessary, and these are iur-
nIshed 10 the detectives who are placed on
guilty party or parties are appTehended the
Photographic reproductions again come into
use At the trial comics shown 10 the jury,
the members Of which easily determine the
genuine and the spurious notes thereby. and where
only the Fenuineness OF the real and the counter
felt bills be proved To the satisfaction OF the
fury conviction is invariably obtained. In a
ternal revenue stamps had been produced with
great accuracy. the camera revealed TO the eN-
perts at the department the certainty that the
suspicious stamps were spurious, and no trouble
eXperit need in securing a prompt conVlctlon.
in instance excellent counterfeit contained
a vignette Of Henry Clay, and the perfection with
which the spurious bill had been engraved almost
showed that gray hair over the left ear had
grown considerably since the genuine portrait had
been mace
The work performed in the Photographic studio
for the bureaus of Customs and immigration is of
a similar nature. The extent to which forged man