Evening star., 1908-01-12
GETTING OUT TIMBER
FOR PRISON TERMS

THAT counterfeiters are going out
of business In this country and
hunting other fields is clearly at
tested by the fact that the number of
arrests the past fiscal year reached only
216-1i0 less than the previous year: the
amount of counterfeit and altered notes
captured, s16,Oa675. while in 1906 it was
SIS. 16s 10; amount of coins. 1907. s11 ,619 IS,
and for 1906. $40, so. 46. and number Of
plates captured, 1907, 36, against 43 in
1906
With the exception of the year 1905
there has been a steady decrease in the
number of arrests for counterfeIting dur
ing the decade. In 1898 there were Io3
arrests. 4s9 more than the past year
The amount of counterfeit and altered
notes captured in 1858 reached the I'M
mcnse total of $117,2i3.D. while the past
fiscal year foots up only s16.o3bio. or
slo1 .2oJ.S5 less thar a decade ago Ire
number of plates ca ptured in 1S?s was OLA
and in 1907. 81.
Chief Wilkie In his annual report, IS
of the opinion that a possible expiana-
tion of this very satisfactory condition
lies in the fact that honest labor has been
strongly attractive and easily obtained
The skilled counterfeiter IS man OF
more than ordinary intelligence and a5il-
ity. and does not take unnecessary
chances. A fair living by honest en-
Dloyment is preferable to the uncertain
ties of criminal occupation. In large
measure this may be true, but the
activity and earnest efforts of the field
agents of the secret service division.
over which this erstwhile newspaper man
presides, have been additional incentive
TO the abandonment of counterfeiting as
means OF livelihood The counterfeit
artists have become satisfied that Their
pathway is strewn with thorns and
al th.1f hn 4rp fey q n
far between.s
OF the 216 arrests made the past fiscal
year 115 were convicted. twenty-five await
action of court thrty-six await action OF
grand juries twenty-five were acquitted,
two ignored by grand jury four nollied.
one awaits sentence. two discharged by
order of United States attorney. One hun
dred and eighty-two of these bad men
We're natives of the United States: Italy
furnished twenty-one. and the remainder
scattered as TO nativity. OF the states
Pennsylvania furnished forty. New York,
twenty-four: Ohio. twelve: Massachusetts
and New Jersey. ten each; Missouri.
Georgia and Indian Territory. eight each:
California and Wisconsin, seven each:
kentucky and Indiana, six each; TenneS-
Sc. Colorado. Michigan. Texas and Arkan-
sas. five each; Louisiana, Illinois, West
Virginia and Washington. four each, Utah.
Hawaii. Alabama. Minnesota and Okla
homa. three each; Oregon. North Caro-
lima and Iowa two each; Virginia. Mary
land. Connecticut Montana, Florida
Idaho, New Mexico and Porto Rico. one
each. The other states have a clear
record.
With single exception the counterfeits
of the year suggest the work of novicas
or ignorant Foreigners. The volume OF
circulation. both of coin and notes, was
smaller than for many years, as stated.
The most noticeable decrease was in the
amount of silver certificates. where there
was a drop from $2.924 in 1906 to s1.0i4
in 1907. There was an increase in ma
tional bank. counterfeits due to the sur
render of some old collections contain
ing specimens of notes circulated a quar-
ter of century ago. Very few of the
national bank certificates IN the total
of 1852 were products of the criminal
industry of 1901 Probably a few hun
dred dollars would represent the total of
current manufacture.
There satisfactory dimnution In
the volume of raised notes-from A.210 to
81 .S25. This is attributable largely TO the
arrest and conviction of the dangerous
criminal and note-rais ser. Irving Tolley.
y
confinement in the federal prison at AT
lanta- Ga. Tolley was responsible for %
per cent of all raised notes reported to
the Treasury.
In coin counterfeiting there was an
equally satisfactory decline, gold dropping
from 1886 to 1.501, and silver from
$1,000 10 9.51S The so-called 'tall sill
ver' counterfeit standard dollars and
. halves have practically disappeared, the
decline starting with the apprehension
an nf
In 1906.
An increas sing source of irritation
through wide areas of the country has
been the fraudulent circulation of notes
of defunct banking and railway corpora
tions. These notes, closely resembling
United States obligations In design and
color, have been Systematically passed
in those parts of the country where there
is the least familiarity with paper cur
rency-west of the Missouri river to the
Pacific. These spurious notes are sold
openly by dealers in stamps and ''curios
in some instances by men who know
that they are to De fraudulently used
but because of a technical weakness of
the federal statutes few prosecutions can
be successfully maintained in the United
States courts, and the cases have to be
turned over to the state authorities for
Wilkie urges amendment to the pres
ent statutes or the passage OF a brief
act prohibiting the possession, sale, pass
ing or use. with fraudulent intent. of the
notes of defunct banks or other cor
porations which resemble the current OBJ
legations of the United States.
There is a great deal more paper money
in circulation in the United States than
in any other country in the world. and
Yet counterfeiting IS not carried on eX-
tensively. although the facilities are great
and inviting. Ii is the activity of the
secret service men which keeps the coun-
terfeiters compa ratively out of business.
In the search for counterfeiters the secret
service agents recognize that they have a
dangerous class 10 deal with. but just
10 the extent that one of these agents
knows his business he Is confident in his
dssimulations and quiet Investigations.
He has all the time and money neces-
sary at his command: his employing
country would let ninety-nine other guilty
ones escape rather than the man who is
making spurious coins bills. When
the threads of incriminating evidence have
been drawn together the Treasury agent
lays his train. and when a raid is made
ii is almost sure of being successful.
Ever since this country was first set
tied by people from England counterfeit
have been with Us. The counterfeit
artist came along in soody numbers and
the first paper money issued by the col
onists was counterfeited. To prevent
counterfeiting of provisional currency all
kinds of rude devices and private marks
were reSorted to and these were stuck on