The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1907-05-10

The most stupendous counterfeit
Ing operations in the history OF the
world are coming to light in the orr
emit. The amount Of money involved
is great almost beyond reckoning,
and the method of forgery so far
reaching, clever and dangerous that
all the financiers of the east are
alarmed.
The gigantic scheme, so successful
" carried out that no living man
knows its extent, is practically laid
at the door of the Japanese Point
by point the fact that the little brown
men flooded all Manchuria and stuff
ed the Russo-C Chinese bank with spur
ious money during the war with Rus
STA is being established by experts.
Sixteen million pounds, or $4,000, 900,
of the worthless stuff is said to have
been detected. Nobody can guess
Row much more is extant.
Japanese engravers and printers
have manufactured counterfeit bank
note that has defied experts for two
years and puzzles them still. The
Russo Chinese, the Hongkong and
Shanghai, the Imperial Bank of China
and the Indo-Chinese bank-all these
have felt the sting of the Japanese
money viper. What effect it will have
can as yet be only conjectured. Even
Europe has suffered
Appeal has been made to the Jap
anese government to enact and en-
force stringent laws to exterminate
the swarm of Nshrewd conuterfeiters
in Nippon, and who elude the watch
full officials of that empire. 1t is
claimed scant attention has been paid
to this request Japan has had many
things to look after since her costly
conquest of the Russian bear.
Now Doubt the Truth.
Experts from the Bank of England
and the American Bank Note COM
pany are now on the way to China to
assist in ferreting out the tremen-
dous amounts of bogus money known
to be mixed with the genuine. Their
findings, If made public, are expected
to startle the world. They may be
80 momentous that they will be sup
pressed to prevent the tottering of
the strongest financial institutions in
Asia. Bankers of the orient fear,
with good reason, that they are hold.
ing, locked in their burglar-proof
vaults, tens of millions of pounds in
counterfeit notes which they took for
genuine, and which will spell ruin
when disclosed
The money men have not forgotten
that the Hongkong and Shanghai
Banking Corporation was compelled
to keep its doors open five nights
and five days at stretch to handle
a remarkable and unaccountable in
flux of bank notes-notes of which
many have since been found to be
forgeries, and of which the bank is
not rid.
And the Indo-C Chinese bank, a
French corporation of Shanghai, with
drew its notes from circulation to in
vestigate the character of those re-
ceived. Then Sudden and drastic
system of scrutiny was put in i'm
mediate effect Nine out of every ten
notes were rejected; now there is
doubt about many of the tenths.
Plant in Kobe.
The Russian government has de-
manded an investigation as to the
effect upon the Russo-Chinese bank
of the stream of counterfeit money
which threatens to engulf the cars
financial craft and bankrupt half his
empire, as it already has Siberia
Nicholas III. may address a note to
the powers asking that the Mikado be
urged to adopt measures to strangle
the counterfeiting menace charged to
his subjects. There is ground for
the belief that they would readily &C.
quiesce through the fear of the spread
of the plague and duplication Of the
money of other nations.
In Kobe has been located a counter
feiting plant which is said to have
cost 100000. 1t has ceased opera
tons, but worthless notes, so near
perfection that only the minutest
fault can be found by adopts, are
declared to be still coming from the
land Of cherry blossoms, chrysanthe
NUNS and fighting men. Other plants
and ingenious imitators are presum-
ed to be continuing the crooked work.
Last summer in the Russo-Chinese
bank doubt arose as to certain note.
1t was for $40, Mexican money, and
numbered .0664. II was as perfect
reproduction of the genuine original
as could be conceived. The banks
experts pored for weeks over it and
good note and could find not even
the slightest discrepancy. Yet the
bank note officials had strong cause
to believe it a forgery.
Worst Fears Realized.
Similar doubts had come up in the
imperial Bank of China and at the
Indo- Chinese bank. Persistent efforts,
however, revealed no visible peculiar
ity Of note-certainly none SUM-