The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-07-16
STORIES OF THE
SECRET SERVICE
Continued from Page p

secret service would probably find the
producers of the bills.
As I have pointed out, the Billiards.
had given Conway credentials when he
started east which, with his arrest and
conviction for horse stealing. was Sufii-
Cient TO satisfy the eastern contingent
that he was d safe man with whom to
do business" [ had carefully pre-
served COnwayS testimony at his
Springfield trial. in which lie told of
his places of residence and some of his
movements in New York. and forward
ed them to headquarters. although Con-
way probably had no idea that the in
formation he gave at that time would
be of any value to US. 1t proved, how
ever, to be of much service to the east
ern operatives i'm unearthing the crowd
that issued the bills which Conway had
showed" i'm the west.
There We're in the United States in
the year 1879 but four men capa BILE of
producing such high-class plates as
those from which had been printed the
800 bills received in Chicago from sew
eral western points. These were Charles
+. ClTiCh, Benjamin Boyd. Thomas Bal
lard and Charles II. Smith. Each of
these men possessed a distinctive style.
which was familiar to the mem berS OF
the secret service who had made these
things the subject of long study. VI
richS method was to lay before him a
genuine bill of the issue he intended
faithfully as possible copy il on steel
Boyd was the inventor and sole owner
of a process whereby he transferred by
the use of acids a reproduction of the
genuine bill on to a steel plate, after
cutting the plate by the lines trans
ferred Ballard used the copying proc
ess. but his work was much finer than
UlTich'S, and had a distinct character
under the microscope. Smith was at
that time an engraVer i'm the employ of
tho ITnifad States Terfa r-fFr
and his work showed clearly the dis
4 tiuCtiVe character of government en-
craving. Boyd was in prison, and the
work on the bills was apparently not
that of Ballard nor Ulrich.
For some time the secret service Off
GERS had pretty accurate information
of the operations of the band to which
Smith belonged w. +. BrOckway was
the leader of this crowd and enjoyed
the distinction Of being the first man
who used the electrOtype process. He
was also a fine chemist, but Smith did
the engraving For years Smith had
, been employed by the government i'm
engraving plates for currency and
bonds and his character was supposed
to he above reDrOach. I do not know
how he became entdngled with Brock
way. The third principal member of
this crowd was James 3. DOYLE. who
owned a 6O0-acre farm near Bradford.
Ill. Doyle had a brOther-in-laW named
&
feiter.
Through ShOtweH. presumably. Doyle
/ had met Dr. Parker. Louis Sieight and
other well-knOwn western counterfeit
ers. and had made trip to New York,
where he had formed the business con-
nectiOn with Brockway and Smith.
When he came west he brought with
him some Of the same bills we were try
ing to trace. DOyIe's visit to New York
had been reported to headquarters by
the western division, and he was
"piped" in that city by Operative Ken
noch at the order Of Chief Operative
DrummOnd.
When Doyle left the eastern metrop-
oils for Chicago Kennoch was on the
same train and Doyle was arrested as
he stepped from the train i'm Chicago.
He was tried and convicted. At the
time of his arrest he had i'm his possess
sion counterfeit United States bonds
representing $204 goo. These also were
from plates made by Smith. They were
absolutely perfect with the exception
of q slight inaccuracy in the margin on
one corner. and would have made the
government lot Of trouble if they had
not been cOnfiscated.
Smith worked in the treasury depart
ment engraving room on genuine plates
during the regular working hot RS and
on counterfeit plates during the time
he was not working for the govern
menC At the same time Doyle was
arrested in Chicago Rrockway and
Smith were arrested in the east If
my memory serves me right SmAe5z