Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1905-06-18

anu LuIVpe were ny Inc al
tempt OF band of Illinois criminals
- to steal the body of Abraham Lincoln,
bury 1t in the shifting sand dunes of
northern Indiana and have its recovery eff
fected through the agency of a convict
then in the Joliet penitentiary. The plot
had two purposes-the release of the con-
vict through the agency of a public CRATE
full for his aid in recovering the sacred re-
mains of the great emancipation. and the
securing of 100000 in the form of ransom,
either from the federal government or from
fund which the conspirators believed
would be quickly raised to recover the
body. This plot-the most ghoulish and
daring of its kind in history--is but a faint
memory to the present generation. To the
men of those days the flashing over the
world of the news that ghous had marked
the Lincoln tomb for dissertation came as
shock the memory of which will ever
remain with them North and south alike,
as we'll as Europe. shared the deep indigna-
ton and heaped unspeakable auathemas on
the members of the band that conceived
and sought to carry the plot to Its base
end. But even at that time, while the
country was at the white heat of indigna-
ton and details of the affair were eagerly
sought by the public. the long and tangled
chain of criminal events that had its cul-
was comparatively unknown to the public
at large
In a general way it was known that a
band of criminals had attempted to use the
theft of the Lincoln body to secure the re-
lease of a, pal. and. incidentally, to make
money. 1t known that the plot had
been frustrated and the body of the beloved
Lincoln rendered secure from any future
attempt of the same kind This satisfied
the public and the whirl of wOrkaday life
swept the incident from popular attention.
now propose to tell, after nearly thirty
years the criminal operations, plots and
counter-plots that led to the great Lincoln
body-snatchng case"
1t was on the 9TH day of February, 1875,
that uuiet-mannered man appeared at the
Palmer House in Chicago and registered
as "E Washburn. Washington, d. c."
While having wide acquaintance In Chi
cago the guest, on this occasion. kept much
TO himself Almost Immediately on his
arrival received from him an urgent mes
sage to meet him at his hotel, ana l
promptly responded. as the call came from
the chief of the United States secret serv-
ice No time was wasted by Chief Wash
burn in getting to the meat OF What ne
had to say, and. after nearly a third OF
century I recolect his words as follows:
'.TyrreIl there are two men the govern
ment must get. They are Nelson briggs
and Ben Boyd by name. although between
them they have dozen aliases Boyd Is
the most expert cutter of counterfeit plates
in the United States and briggs Is the
most extensive dealer in 'coney money IN
the country Benson of this department
has spent 5000 in trying to locate them,
but has not succeeded so far. If you can
get them dead to rights you will break the
backbone of counterfeiting in the United
States"
Are they as important as that?"
asked.
Yes" answered Chief Washburn, they
are the most important 'coney men IN ex-
isteuce today. We know nothing ABOUT
them except that Boyd ana Driggs are
their right names. The rest is for you
NV chief gave me such Information as
had been gathered-pra cticaily nothing as
he himself had said-and returned to Wash
ington. There may be men who still re-
member the food OF counterfeit money that
had been poured over the west and mid
die west in the early '70s. In those days
scrip in denominations of 10. p and 80
cents was in use extensively, and this
scrip had been counterfeited till the owner
of this fractional money never knew wheth-
er his money was good or bad In addi-
ton TO this IS note of the Traders Ma
tional Bank of Chicago had been counter
feited most cleverly. and these notes were
as thick In the middle west as falling
leaves in autumn.
Further to add TO the troubles of the
Treasury Department and the secret serv-
ice a treasury note of the denomination OF
500 had been showed" a short time be-
fore This bore the head of Abraham Lin
coin and was as nearly perfect counter
felt az human skill and patience could have
evolved A $50 treasury note was also gain
ing circulation: From expert examination
of these counterfeit scrip and notes we
found that the work had been done by men
of TIE highest skill. In detail. material
and workmanship, the notes from the view
point of the ''coney" men were master
pieces The geometrical lathe work on the
treasury notes was fully as perfect as on
the original notes issued by the govern
ment. There was one conclusion. therefore;
10 be drawn-that the work was that of
highly skilled men. working months and
perhaps years on the plates by hand or
with the crudest machinery
In the engraving, or cutting. of plates
for paper money the workmen in the en-
ploy of the government employ the most
elaborate and expensive machinery and
other paraphernalla that the counterfeiter
could not employ without laying himself
open TO inuumerable chances of detection.
Our quarry. then. undoubtedly consisted OF
men who had spent years under efficient
tutors in the art of engraving We also
knew that but one OF them was doing the
actual engraving. this lesson having been
learned from experience.
Before counterfeit money finds its way
into the pockets of unsuspecting men and
women three. = az Outlines four groups of
men. eacu with their speciality have to do
with il. The engraver of counterfeit
plate does the cutting and nothing else.
makes the plates. either to order or on
his own initiative. and sells them for a
specified sum to the dealer. Here the cut
ter's connection with the business ends. and
that of the dealer commences. The latter
sometimes does his own printing. but Of
tener has ii done by confederates, who do
nothing else. turning the finished product
over to the dealer, together with the plates.
Then begins the work of the showers
In this part of the business two men al
ways work team, one of them being
the shower proper and the other the
"boodle-carrier." In a town which team
is working the two men are supposed to be
strangers. and never allow themselves to
be seen together.
One note at a time Is given to the
shower" who makes trifiing purchase,
gets his change in good money meets the
'boodle-carrier' secretly gives him the
good change and is given another bill. 1t
is not my purpose. In this narrative, to
deal with the methods of counterfeters In