The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-11-23
GUARDING DOOR WITH CLUB.

Brooklyn Eagle.

Brooklyn Eagle.
Mrs. Becker, wife of Charles Becker. a for
ger and counterfeiter, whose genius is
feared by bankers of all the civilized nations
of the world, fortified herself behind the
front door of her home at III Bradford
street, East New York, with big club
this morning and called down maledictions
and threatened to rain down blows on the
heads of reporters who called to ask her If
her husband, just through serving his lat
est term in prison, had returned home.
When the sight of the club did not scat
ter the reporters fast enough Mrs. Becker
declared she would invoke the aid of the
police, but instantly changed her mind and
said that a pistol which she had handy
would dispatch reporters in more salts
factory manner than policemen ever could.
An Eagle reporter rang the door bell and
the ring was answered by Mrs. Becker her
self She is a very tall woman, or rather
large frame and handsome features. No
sooner had the reporter asked If Charles
Becker was there than she slammed the
opened it again, however, and produced a
club which she threatened to use. Very
angrily she exclaimed:
IF this won't do I'll call the police; no,
I'll put pistol bullet through every one
of you
The story was published in a morning
paper that Charles Becker returned to his
home last night in closed carriage, having
come from Portland, Me-. yesterday on
steamer. Becker was released from San
Quentin prison in California a month ago,
story that he was going to come back to
his East New York home.
If he came back last night the neighbOrS
did not see him. They said they had been
hearing for a week past that he has re-
turned, but they gave this information in a
whisper and looked to see if Mrs. Becker
was anywhere around.
Mrs Becker's home is two-story brick
house, and is next door to the Twenty-sixth
Ward Hospital. For some years past ex-
Police Captain French has lived In the
house as boarder. Captain French has
been a contractor since he was retired from
the police force.
Becker is known to the police of all the
big cities of the world as one of the slickest
forgers and counterfeiters who ever lived.
He was engraver thirty years ago, living
in East New York. He was so deft at his
work that he saw many ways ahead or him
TO turn his talent and inventive genius to
illegal and profitable ends. He has been
in prison many times in this and other
countries, and in Turkey once he escaped
through criminal conniyance Of Turkish po-
lice officials.
He served a six-year term in the Kings
certificates of the Bank of France. This
was eighteen or twenty years ago. He man.
ufactured the bond paper in his house and
had one side of the notes printed when
the secret service men arrested him. The
work was wonderfully we'll done. and ex-
perts in France said the notes would surely
have gone into circulation had he not been
molested in time.
Becker even found a way to alter figures
of check perforating machine. He altered
the figures on Sl2 check TO $4,000 la Cali
fornia, and this got him into his latest
trouble. While in the San Quentin prison
he is said to have turned his genius from
its abortive channels, and invented pro-
cess for chemically treating paper so that
it is impossible to erase the figures on 1t Oh
change stamp marks.