Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-25
STOCK STAMP swINDLE.
Latest Scheme of American Genius to
Get Dollars Quickly.

In New York yesterday Wall street was
startled just before closing time when it
became known that mysterious state Sc
eret service department which hardly any
one knew had existed had made five ar
rests for washing and reseliing tax trans
fer stamps. 1t was said that the total loss
to the state had amounted to $3.50 600 since
last year.
Nearly every great house in the street
was involved through some one or more
of It's Office boys, and several smaller
houses were involved directly through
members of the firm.
The matter became known last February
through complaints from the stock ex-
change that transfer stamps were being
stolen from the Offices of firms. The state
organized a small secret service depart
ment and got to work. Detectives were
sent 10 wall street to learn who was steal
ing them.
1t was found that hundreds of stamps
found on stock transfers were washed
having been used before. Then it was
noticed that sandwich men were going
about Wall street bearing signs notify
Ing the public that certain dealers bought
and sold transfer stamps This was sus-
picious, because all stamps are sold by the
state only at the Manhattan Bank and
redeemed there.
The secret service department sent two
men from Buffalo to open a stamp dealing
office in Wall street and it was imrnedf-
houses who offered new stamps in sheets
at the rate of 81 for 50 stamps 1t was
discovered that the boys expected to re-
ceive a consignment of washed stamps for
use in their offices.
Then 1t was found that the business
houses trusted their Office boys to stamp
the transfer slips and cancel them It was
simple matter for the boys to put the new
stamps in their pockets and put washed
stamps the stock. They then took the
new stamps to the dealers. who gave them
40 to 80 per cent of their face value. The
dealers then sold them in turn to persons
who wanted them at 10 per cent discount
to use in stamping stock.
The washers who bought the old stamps
from the boys got them very cheap. They
washed them with bichloride of lime and
hot water and sold them to the dealers.
The washers were persons without any
headquarters. who washed the stamps in
their homes. They were the enissaries of
the dealers and themselves instructed the
office boys and even messenger boys how
to do the trick.
The big houses in Wall street were sur
prisingly careless They would give an
Office boy $500 to go to the Manhattan
Bank for $500 worth of stamps. Instead of
going to the bank. the boy would go to
dealer and buy new stamps of him, which
he had bought of some other boy at 40
cents on the 81. He would get the $500
worth of new stamps for $3.50, putting into
his own pocket $40 by the trick.
The washing and regumrning of the
stamps was after a time well done A
woman opened an establishment for re-
cumming for the washers and got the ma
terials from Germany. 1t also became
known that a prominent man in Wall street
was deep in the cheat and proposed making
the swfnde something of a trust. Secret
service men arrested William O'Reilley,
Paddle" King, C. NJ. Lawrence and Fred
Thompson, all of Brooklyn. alleged wash
ers. and Luke McSherry of New York,
where he ran place known as the Knick-
erbocker Stamp Company They were
charged under the new stamp act with
washing and using stamps unlawfully,"
which carries a penalty of six months inn
prisonment, or $500 to 81, 900 fine, or both.