Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1905-04-21
A BATTERED DIME.
Recalls Interesting "reminiscences by
Chief Wilkie.

Recalls Interesting "reminiscences by
Chief Wilkie.
A battered dime lying upon the desk
of Chief Wilkie, Of the secret service
is all that remains Of a famous coun-
terfeiting case writes w. w. Price,
the Washington correspondent Of the
Columbia Record. This coin," said
Chief wilkie, caused a panic in a
bank. disturbed the business interests
Of a whole town, and put this bureau
to a great deal Of trouble. After we
had run down the counterfeiting plot
from its inception to this little coin,
we dropped the whole thing as quick
as a wink. Why? Because the coun-
terfeit was a genuine coin and there
was no plot
1.-THE number Of wild goose chases
the secret service has been obliged to
undertake on apparently first-class
evidence Of wrong doing, would. II
written out, make a good sized book.
Very often. as In the case of this In
nocent and perfectly good ten-cent
piece, the people who have first
shouted counterfeit have done so
with nothing better than a genuine
coin or note to back up their charges.
Not so very long ago we got a flood
Of complaints from the cotton belt OF
the south. A quantity Of dangerous
standard dollars were circulating all
through Mississippi, Louisiana and
Georgia, we were informed, and II
something was not done, and done
pretty quickly, business throughout
that section would be at standstin
for no one would dare to take any
money. We rushed our men to the
scene of trouble at once and found
that the terrible 'counterfeits' were
plain, everyday. silver dollars. What
had aroused the suspicious In the
minds Of the business people was the
fact that all the coins were brand new
and all Of the same date. The ex-
planation was very simple indeed. The
sub-treasurer at New Orleans had run
out Of silver dollars and had got about
100000 from the mint
"Often a defect In a perfectly good
coin, such as a bubble formed in the
melting pot or slip Of some Of the
machinery that does the reeding or
milling will give 1t strange appear
ance or will affect its ring. Immedi-
ately someone will Jump to the con-
clusion that It is a very defective
counterfeit, almost as good as the
genuine and we will receive a vol
ume Of complaints about It.
"a few months ago our agent at
Louisville happened to be visiting In
Washington. I believe that will get
a lot Of these new dollar notes. he
said, and take them back home with
me. We very seldom see any new
money out our way He went down
to the treasurer's office and secured
fifty new bills, which he took home
with him. In less than q week we be-
gan getting kicks from business men
and professional men who desired to
give us a tip about the latest work
Of the counterfeiters. After we had
received a few. Of these complaints, we
sent them to our Louisville man. 1t
was not more than a day or two be-
fore he tumbled to the fact that ne
was running down the very notes
that he had put in circulation.
"One of the most famous Of our
false alarms was given at Sleeps
head Bay. From number Of sources
we learned that there was gang OF
supposed counterfeiters at work Of
nights in an isolated house down near
the race track. Men were seen to
sneak into the house, which stood
with its barn at a considerable dis
lance from any other habitation, and
would remain working there until day
light. Strange noises, hammerings,
and subdued conversations came from
the mysterious building, and the only
explanation that could be given Of 1t
all was that a gang of counterfeiters
were making money there and would
soon be flooding the country with the
spurious currency. We got SO many
complaints and they came from such
apparently trustworthy sources, that
we finally gave orders for the agents
in the district to raid the place. On
the eventful night the raid took place.
The operatives waited until the gang
was we'll at their nefarious vocation,
then surrounded the place, and broke
In. AS they entered the sight that
first met their eyes was a man shoe
ing a horse. The gang consisted OF
a small crowd Of men who were at
work on ringer They were fixing
up this horse to run him at Sleeps
head track. but Of course did not dare
to go ahead in the open. So they
waited each night until the race horse
crowd had gone home and then went
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