The Monticellonian., 1903-03-26
COUNTERFEIT CURRENCY.
Our Remarkable Immunity From It Due to Ceaseless Secret
 Service Vigilance.
TIE WORK OF THE LAST FISCAL YEAR.
feiters are Given Bn. Little Rest and Their Opportunities to Float Their Output Reduced to the Min- imum.

Washington, March 24.-The re- markable exemption, when compared with the records of other countries in which paper money is in general use. of the people of the United States from counterfeit currency and false coins is in great measure due to the activity of the secret service di- vision of the treasury department. The arrests by agents of this division in the last fiscal year numbered 573, of whom 253 were convicted, 106 are awaiting the action of the United States grand jury, 50 awaiting action of court, 5 acquitted. 5S ignored by grand jury, 19 cases nolled and the same number dismissed by United States commissioners.
 Four hundred and thirteen of those arrested were natives of the United States, G. of Italy, 24 of Germany, 15 of Ireland and the others of other Gationaities. New York state takes first place. with s5 violat DTS. Missouri, 54; Pennsylvania, 4j; Illinois, 40; Ken lucky, %; Texas, 25; Ohio, 21; Geor- gia. 20; South Carolina %; Alabama, 16; North Carolina, II; Tennessee, 12; Massachusetts, 9, and with smaller numbers for the other states.
 The character and amounts of altered and counterfeit notes, coun- terfeit coins and imitation money captured represent value of S46,- 00095 of paper money and Sf9,S28.47 or coins. In addition to these there were vast piles of miscellaneous ad- vertising matter consisting of fac similes of confederate notes. labor ex- change notes, Tennessee estate war rants, Missouri defense bonds. prints of United States coins. old state bank notes and other flash" notes.
 More Paper Than Other Countries.
 The United States has more paper money in actual circulation than any other country in the world. and yet counterfeiting is not carried on to a very great extent, although the faeil- ities are great. One of the most an- moving features which the secret service force has had to deal with was the circulation of counterfeit pennies. This Is a phase of petty counterfeiting which has affected the principal eastern cities almost exclu- sively. Nearly year of patient work on the part of the agents in the New York and Boston districts was finally crowned with success, and skilled coppersmith, who had been responsi- ble for probably 90 per cent. of these commercials circulated in the last fnnr ta1 ,,rnennntaI and sentenced for a term of years.
 While the makers of spurious coin give the secret service men a great deal of trouble, # is the well exe- cuted bank-note bobbing up in differ ent parts of the country which causes them to spend sleepless nights in shadowing suspects. It is generally men of intelligence who place these on the market, ana they gre careful in covering up their tracks. The ig- norant, unlettered ccenterfeiter is an easy mark for agents. One Of rnS most perfect hand-execiited counter felt bills was made by a green Geor- gia farmer named w. C. Bonnell, be- ing a compassion of six shinpiasters, confederate money and section of one dollar genuine greenback. These were so perfectly wrought together as to make a seemingly genuine $10 greenback. Bonnell also made quantity of silver money, and was get ting rich when he got to imbibing too freely of his own output of illicit whisky and gave his counterfeiting business away. He was sent up for five years, and said that when he served his time he would devote him. self to the business of making illicit whisky and let counterfeiting alone. lie expressed the opinion that the government was against an honest man making an honest living.