Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1902-04-25
POSTAL GARD FACTORY
Inspector Stuart Unearths Big
Fraud on the Postoffice
Department.
Over a Hundred Thousand Coun.
terfeit Postal Cards Are
Seized at Chicago.
Louis Smith Under Arrest Adj
mits His Guilt How Scheme
Was Worked.

: Chicago, April Z0.--MOre imam IUV,'
9 600 counterfeit postal cards are stacked
up in the office of Postoffice Inspector
sued them, Louis Smith, is under ar
: rest.
The plot involves possible the biggest
fraud ever worked on the postotfice de-
rartment. Smith has confessed that
he has been issuing the fraudulen,
cards for more than two years. and il
is figured that the counterfeits run UP
into the millions.
Following Smiths capture in his Of
Stuart raided room 10 in the Hayman
building, 152 South Water street, where
Smith printed the counterfeit cards.
Here he seized printing press and the
I plates from which the forgeries We're
printed, together with many thousands
of the counterfeits themselves.
1t is believed that Smith conducted
4 his "enterprise" alone. nhe engravers
+ WIlO IIldue lilS HislCS ASA AiiAAA 90 y
thought to have done so innocently and
|counterfeits are not suspected OF any
intentional wrong-doing.
Smiths scheme was conducted with
caution. In the Rialto building he con-
Quoted business as THE Nerve Seed
Remedy Company" pretending to sell
La so-called nerve restorer. He had
woman stenographer there, but she
knew only his correspondence In con-
nection with the remedy business.
| The agents of the building in South
Water street rented Smith an office
two years ago, but did not know what
he was doing there. The prisoner him.
self declares that no one but himself
entered the room in all the time he had
possession of 1t.
The counterfeiting was made easier
by permission that is given by the de-
parment to enamel cards which already
have been printed by the first pur-
chaser. The printing on the reverse
side of such cards often is defective, or
for some other reason the person who
had the work done finds the cards are
useless. Then they are sold to con-
Germs that prepare them for other use.
An enamel or often bronze or silver
covering is put over the original print
ing and new printing is done. This
business is recognized as legitimate
and many firms are engaged in 1t
'thruout the country.
When Inspector Stuart started the IN
vestigation of the bogus cards Two
weeks ago he struck the right trail fby
visiting some of the enameling con-
Germs. The card which he thought |
suspicious in appearance differed little
from the official card. 1t was one, OF
the latest issue, with Jefferson head
and the printing was carefully done
He sent this specimen to Washington
for examination, and while the experts
there We're studying 1t continued his |
search for the maker
At the offices of several of the
enameling concerns the inspector was
told that many cards which had need
ed the Treatment" had been brought in
by Smith. The enamelers supposed
that Smith was in the business of buy
ing up mutilated cards and performed
the work for him without question.
After the cards We're once enameled
Smith would disposed of them in thJ
market at reduced prices, telling his
customers that he was in the business
that the enamelers supposed him to be
in.
BY first counterfeiting the cards, and
then printing them so there was ne
cessity for the enameling process to be
applied, Smith diverted suspicion and
did away with the necessity of selling
his wares to INSCRIPTIONS business
houses that might have accepted UNI
enameled counterfeits and asked no
questions. ;
When accosted by Inspector Stuart. |
Smith declared he had bought the
cards from business houses for his owr
Advertising. He could not refer his
caller to the business houses" how
aver. One admission after another
vas secured by the inspector and be-
,ore long Smith made q full confession
The prisoners statement led Inspec- +
or Stuart to, a house in Thirty first
street, where Smith boarded. There
he found a dozen or more engraved
plates and about $4,000 bogus cards I
Then followed visit to the South {
Water street Office, where the rest of
he outfit was found. The Office over
ooised the river at Clark street bridge. :
n it were other engraved plates on
arge printing press, a cutting ma !,
hine, over 10000 printed cards, AMI
arge quantities of unused cardboard
Further disclosures by Smith led In
pector Stuart to the Office of the Prent g
Printing Company, Dearborn and Mad q
son streets Mr.. Prent turned over
bout 10000 cards which he was about
o enamel for Smith, and said he had
'een doing such work on the same
lumber of cards each month for more
han two years for Smith. He charged
Ito for enameling 1000 cards.
Neither did the engravers whom the
called on suspect anything
wrong. One of these men had en-
raved a number of Jefferson heads on
! plate which1 was in the form of an
INVITATION. Another had made separ-
tie plate with the words, United
states of America, while others en-
raved other plates with different i:
fords or designs from the face of I.
ostal card. i:
These separate plates were joined in f:
ne by Smith and thus the form for i;
rinting postal card was made COM +;
lete. Smith told the inspector that he +
ad learned the "art'' from man for
HON he worked years ago Thous-
nds of old form postal cards, not in II
n,,1p %tN.1f H.. ~. III