Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-07-16

| q
| sic, the 80 bill of the Shoe and Leather
| Bank and then to the SEQ and 1900 old
| Issue" United States treasury notes
|
Ballard had a comfortable residence as
225 West SD street, and here was supposed
| to be a painter. lie left home every morn-
| ing o'clock to go to the carriage fac-
| tory I'm which he Interested, but in-
| stead Of going there he went to 256 Riving-
| ton street. where his brother John lived,
and where the counterfeiting plant was lo-
Gated. The neighbors at 2j8 Rivington
| street believed Ballard to be a watchman
| In the custom house, and he left there reg
| ularly in the evening TO go TO work. but
| In reality went home. He lived this dual
| life without detection for years
| The government at that time had cons
| tract with the Glenn mills. at West Chess
| ter Pa, for It's entire output OF the cele~
| brated fiber paper. the mills being run
| under supervision of government officials to
! prevent the paper or the secret OF It's man
uiactufc beng stolen. Ballard, IN addition
TO being a hlgh-class eugraver. was the only
| man IN the world who could successfully
| make JhiS paper outside OF the Glenn mills.
As an engraver, chemist. papermakcr and
| ink manufacturer Ballard was UncXcelied.
| The treasury officials and money experts
| generally believed the "NbcT' paper 20 be
| "a complete guard against CounterfeitinR,
and they were amazed at the product ot
! Thomas Ballard long before such a man
| was known to the secret service The
|
| turned out bogus money in such amounts
| that the lawful currency became dis.
| paraged, and the capture Of the makers Of
| the clever CounterfotS became a matter OF
| imperative importance. He was caught in
| 1871, broke jail soon aftcrward and his SUB.
sequent history would I'LL a good-sized vol-
| ume.
Arrested in Buffalo for engraving a nlate
| or a $500 treasury note, which was pro.
| nounced superior 10 the genuine Ballard
was sent 10 Auburn penitentiary, FROM
! i'm - ton
| ialo he had also worked on a plate with
| which, he said, he going Ito bankruut
canada, and from the perfection Of the
| work he seemed in fair way TO make good
his intention.
| In 1875 he was sentenced to serve thirty
| years IN the penitentiary, after having been
! at large about three years with a standing
reward OF 5000 for his capture. In 1873
| he ripped open his own abdomen and sevs
! cred an intestine In trying to take his life
| but recovered. \ year later no dr.v, a
sharp KNIFE across his throat, severing the
| Wlndpipe and muscles of the neck and
| again recovered
-, II was during the wanderings following
Ihomds ballard s first arrest. and while the
reward OF 5000 hanging over him
| that he and his two brothers came west ana
| took up their residence on a farm near
| Clear Lake Iowa. They assumed the ram.
| lily name of Watson. and naturally fell
| INTO association with the counterfeters op-
| Grating in the northwest. They became
| acquainted with the BosCobel and ST Paul
gangs and with Frank Conway which faot
accounts for the frequency with which I
encountered the assumed family name Of
the Billiards. while trying to Identify the
man VINO had been arrested I'm Eaudala,
The St Paul contingent Of counterf,Iters
had IN their possession, 1t was afterward
found. the Poughkeepslo and pe.LtsLtII
plates that had been made In tho cast NV
Ballard, and had issued money from them.
There was no evidence that the Billiards.
accomplished much in the line of producing
'coney while in the west.
1t is only fair that 1 here call attention.
to the fact that from this point any credit
accruing to the secret service for the ultfs
mate discovery OF the engravers and proc
| ducers of the 800 Wilkesbarre, Boston ana
| New Bedford bills should be bestowed on
| A l.. Drummond and other operatives In
| the eastern division of the service
mere We're in the United States I'm the
year 1879 but four men capable of produc-
| ing such high-class plates as those from
| Wnlcn mad been printed the 800 bills re.
ceiVed IN chicago from several western
points These were Charles F. Ulrch Ben.
gamln Boyd, Thomas Ballard and Charles
II. smith. Each of these men possessed
distinctive style, which was familiar to
the members OF the secret service who had
made these things the subject of long study
Ulrchs method was to lay before him n
genuine bill of the issue he intended TO
counterfeit and laboriously and as faibh.
fully as possible copy it on steel
Boyd was the inventor and sole owner Of
process whereby he Transferred nv ina
use or acids a reproduction of the genuins
Dill onto steel plate after cutting ths
pate by the lines transferred Ballard used
me copying process but his work waH
much finer than Ulrich's and had a ais.
Chc' character under the microscope Smith
was at that time an eugraver in the ennIov
or the United States Treasury Denartmenf
anu ie ms WORK showed clearly the distinctive
character OF government engraving Boyd
was In prison, and the work on the biila
was apparently not that of Ballard nor
Ulrch iu lux
For some time the secret service officers
mad had pretty accurate information OF tho
operations of the band TO which Smith ha.
iongeo' w. f. Brockway was the leader OF
this crowd and enjoyed the distinction Of
being the first man who used the electro,
type process. He also a fine chemist
put smith did the engraving. For years
Smith had been employed by the governs
ment in engraving plates for currency ana
bonds, and his character was supposed to
be above reproach l do not know how
he became entangled with Brockway The
third principal member OF this crowd was
James p. Doyle, who owned a GOO acre
farm near Bradford ILL., Doyle had
brother-in-law named Thomas ShotweIL
who was a counterfeiter.
Through Shotwell, presumably, Doyle had
met DR.. Parker. Louis Sleight and other
WelI-known western counterfeiters, and had
made trip to New York where he had
formed the business connection with Brock.
way and Smith. When he came west he
brought with him some of the same bills
we were trying to trace. Doyle's visit to
New York had been reported to headquar-
ters by the western division, and he was
"piped' in that city by Operative Kennoch
at the order of Chief Operative Drummond.
When Doyle left the eastern metropolis
for Chicago kennoch was on the Same
train and Doyle was arrested as he stepped
from the train in Chicago. He was tried
and convicted. At the time OF his arrest
he had in his possession counterfeit United
States bonds representing 100000. These
also were from plates made by Smith. They
were absolutely perfect. with the exception
of a slight inaccuracy In the margin one
corner, and would have made the govern-
ment lot of trouble if they had not been
conhscated
Smith worked in the Treasury Depart.
ment engraving room genuine plates
during the regular working hours and On
counterfeit plates during the time he was
rot working for the government. AT the
same time Doyle was arrested In Chicago
Brockway and Smith were arrested III tho
east. The sentences of Brockway and
lal In e. faaiA