The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1904-09-11
EMANUEL NINGER
GREATEST PENMAN
Baf1ed Secret Service officers
for Many Years
HAD WONDERFUL SKILL
With Pen and Ink He Drew Bills So
Perfect That They Could Not
Be Detected by
Banks.
HAD WONDERFUL SKILL
BY w. w. PRICE,

Washington, Sept. 10.-Chief Wilkie
/ looked around tho walls of his den in
the secret service bureau in the treasury
department and pointed to the photo
graph of Emanuel Ninger. "He was the
most expert penman | ever knew or
that the secret service officials ever came
in contact WITH said Chief Wilkie, and
then he declined to talk further for quo
tation. because 1t is tho policy of the
| secret service never to do anything to
display to the world the criminal record
of a man who is apparently trying to live
down the black pages of his life.
Chief Wilkie was right. Emanuel MIN
ger was the Jim tho Penman" of real
life, and in way the most remarkable
criminal of the age. He had no extensive
plants for engraving and printing coun-
terfeit notes, and his only stock consisted
of paper, ordinary writing pens, pencils,
red green and black inks. With these
he baffled the secret service officers of
the government for fifteen years, and
was finally detected by mere accident.
The wet fingers of a New York saloon
keeper came in contact with the ink
upon one of the freshly made bills of
Jim the Penman" and the ink blurred.
The fact added to the suspicious of the
saloonkeeper and led to the Immediate
arrest of Ninger, who has served his
sentence and Is a free man somewhere
no longer engaged in counterfeiting the
currency of Uncle Sam. but always I'M
der suspicion by the organization over
which Chief Will5ie presides
H..
that Jim the Penman' of the counter
feiting profession came to grief. He
started from his little home in F1agtown
N. j., Saturday morning, March rs, 1896,
and had In his possession six 800 notes
and one $50 note, which together were
the product of fifteen weeks work. His
wife and four children did not ask him
any questions when he left home that
morning He had been a mystery to them
for many years. He forbade them en-
trance to the room In his home in which
he worked. and he said nothing to any
body about his business. He had no
confederates and even MS wife did not
have any idea what he was doing MIN
ger experienced no difficulty in passing
five of the 500 notes. The sixth one came
near to getting him into trouble. He went
to John Weymans grocery store, 1862
Third avenue, New Zork city. called for
bottle of whiskey, and gave the $40
note remaining In payment Shortly af-
ter his departure the cashier In count
ing up her cash. noticed the blurred con-
dition of the number upon the note when
1t passed under her moistened thumb,
and, quickly realizing that something was
wrong, had an investigation made BY
that time Ninger had gotten out of sight
He walked rapidly down town to a saloon
at 81 CORTLAND street. There he got
a glass of Rhine wine and cigar, and
asked the bartender to change the $50
note for him, stating by way of expla-
nation that he wanted to pay off his
farm hands. He was accommodated.
hastily gathered up his change and hur-
ried out. He seemed to be somewhat
excited and the bartender became sus-
picious and took the bill from the mo-
ney drawer for closer examinations. In
doing so his wet finger passed over the
serial number and the result was the
L.ur. Putting on his hat he started In
the pursuit of Ninger and found him in
the New Jersey Central railroad ferry
house counting over the change he had
just received.
Showed no Surprise.
Ninger displayed no surprise when APP
preached by the bar tender and informed
by that individual that he was going to