The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1903-12-13
GAVE Ben A BAD BILL
COUNTERFEIT 800 NOTE GIVEN
SENATOR TILLMAN IN SAVANNAH.
PART PAYMENT FOR LECTURE.
WAS DETECTED by TREASURY EX-
PERTS AT WASHINGTON.


the Financial Clerk of the Senate
in Payment of IA Check and Was
Notified Few Days Later That 1t
Was Counterfeit-Was Passed by
Commercial bank, of Savannah,
and Also by the Financial Clerk
of the SENATE.
When Senator Ben Tillman left Sa-
vannah two weeks ago. after having
lectured on The Race Problem" he
carried away a counterfeit 500 bill,
which was given him in part pay
ment Of the $3.50, the consideration for
his lecture.
The bill has returned to Savannah,
after having gone through the hands
of government experts at Washington,
who had punched bad" all over the
face of it.
The matter has been kept as quiet
as possible, but the facts leaked out
and when a Morning News reporter
went to the Commercial Bank from
which the bill was obtained by E. ].
Linehouse, who acted as treasurer for
the committee which was instrumental
full statement was made, and the bill
itself was exhibited.
No blame can rest with the employees
Of the bank. who paid the money to
Mr.. Limehouse, as government experts
have pronounced the counterfeit of the
series OF which the note was one, the
most perfect ever brought under their
inspection. SO perfect was the note
.s.1 al l.. -.
was unable to detect il, and it was on
ly discovered when the note was car
ried to the Treasury Department to be
changed.
How the Note Was Detected.
According to agreement, Senator Till
man was to receive $3.50 for his lee
ture. and at the appointed time, Mr..
IimehOuse turned that amount over
to the senator. the denominations of
the bills making UP the amount being
one 500 BILL TWO SOS and one $40.
Senator Tillman put the money in his
pocket and went from Savannah to
Clemson College, where he delivered a
lecture, and then went to Washington.
When he arrived at Washington he
went to the financial clerk of the Sem
ate and told him he had more cash
money than he needed. and got the
clerk to give him a check for 500, and
turned tbs bill he had received in Sa-
vannah over to him.
A few days later Senator Tillman re-
ceived a letter from the clerk. stating
that he had presented the bill at the
Treasury Department to be changed,
and had been told that as it was OF
the same series in which counterfelts
existed, the department refused to ac-
cept it. but turned it over to experts
who declared il a counterfeit. The bill
was returned to the Commercial Bank
here and a receipt was sent to the
Treasury Department for it.
II is customary in the Treasury De-
partment to appropriate a bill as soon
as it is detected that it is a counter
felt. and Immediately letters spelling
''bad" were punctured all through II.
The bill which was exhibited by CASH
Ter Barron Carter at the Commercial
Bank yesterday was on the Central
National Bank of New York. 1t had
been slightly torn in the left upper
hand corner. and had evidently been
patched in some bank, as the issue was
the same as that used in banks. Inc
bill was of the issue of 1882.
The Genuine and Counterfeit.
On the genuine notes the left end
vignette represents Commodore Perry
leaving his flagship Lawrence; a .Ion :,
is a large ornamental c. and 100.
The right end vignette represents an
angel with a coronet, on which is
al liberty" her hands extended towards
fasces planted on rock, entwined by
wreaths and belts, the latter bearing
1.-THE" and Union" at the right, and
s'rnaintain il" in a burst of sunlight.
The whole is designed to represent the
Genius of America invoking the aid
of heaven to maintain and preserve
the Union; above the vignette is 100
and &C" The back vignette repre-
sents the Declaration of American In
dependence, July 4, 1875. All notes
prior TO the series of 1882 had green
border backs; those of 1882 have brown
border backs, with the charter num-
Der of bank in green panel, instead
of the vignette of the Declaration of
Independence.
On the counterfeits of this series, in
the vignette on the left end, the wa
ter drops from but one side of the oar
of the rover in the bow of the boat
which is carrying Commodore Perry,
while in the original the water drops
from both sides of the oar. In the
counterfeit the crossing of the letter
st" in maintain" is omitted. The note
which is now in the possession of the
Commercial Bank only has water drip
ping from one side of the oar while
the punctures, made by government
experts, have obliterated that part OF
maintain" where the letter It" oc-
ours. Otherwise the bill is perfect. In
speaking of it the government experts
who wrote to the bank here, stated
that all of the alignments and curv-
ings were simply perfect.
TelIers Would Have Passed 1t.
The bill has bean shown to a number OF
tellers in Savannah. and all of them said
they would have passed it without the
least hesitancy. Outside of the minute
differences mentioned above, there was
nothing to denote that the bill was
not genuine. and the government ex-
perts would have passed the bill them
selves had they not known that there
were counterfeits in this series and
been on the lookout for it,
The Commercial Bank will lose moth
ing by passing the BILL although II
Is held liable The officers know who
deposited the note, but believe that the
party who deposited it was in ignor-
ance of the fact that it was counter
felt
A government expert will reach Sa-
Vannah tomorrow or next day to
commence the search for the party who
put the bill in circulation, and past
successes of the government secret
service officials leave little doubt that
the right party will be located
Several years ago a counterfeit s.
bill was discovered in Savannah, and
government expert traced it back
from Savannah to Waycross, then to
Naldosta and finally landed the man
who put il out at Jacksonville.
II is not believed that the bill which