Barbour County index. [volume] (Medicine Lodge, Kan.) 1880-current, 1909-02-17
Bad Bills Are Seized
and Then Long Probe
to Unearth Spurious
Coiners Is Started with
Results as Chronicled
The Work of Arrest
ing the Guilty Parties
How 1t Was Ac-
complished by the
Sleuth Who Never
ired Story Like a
Romance. (


Hodgins Of Toronto police headquar-
tiers, and accompanied by the two Of
hcers Johnson entered cab. In re-
Spouse to the counterfeiters directions
the Jehu drove the party out to Wells
Hill into clump of woods above To-
ronto. where they all got out The old
man took a careful observation and
pointed to the foot of an old elm tree.
That's where they are" he an
nounced.
The two officers removed their coats
and proceeded to dig, but found moth
ing.
This is a poor time for Joking"
said Murray, when they finally de-
sisted, looking sternly at the prisoner.
I'm not Joking" insisted Johnson,
but l may be mistaken. Wait a mo-
ment."
After celebrating he pointed out an
other tree, and the officers resumed
their labors. Presently spade struck
something hard and Johnson sprang
forward with outstretched hand.
go easy, go easy" he fmplored.
Those plates are not hard to damage.
Remember they took years to make
and are worth over $4,000"
Johnson lifted the plates out of their
resting place with infinite care They
were wrapped in oiled cloth and en-
cased in solid coverings of beeswax.
Here they are, Murray" he said,
mournfully handing them to his cap
tor, Il don't own them all. party ON
the other side has an interest in
them
The plates made a package the size
of two large bricks and were very
heavy. Murray took Johnson back to
Jail and then drove to the attorney
generals department with his treas
ures. Upon examining them the ex-
perts conceded that they were the best
they had ever seen. They were re-
ion of the strokes, the authority of the
signatures. the beauty of the vignettes
and medallions, the accuracy of fol-
lowing all the little whims of the en-
gravers of the original plates. For
each bill there were three copper
plates-one for the front, one for the
back and one for the wedge. Each
plate was about a quarter of an inch
in thickness. There were 81 separate
copper pieces or plates, three each for
the Bank of Commerce $40, the Bank
of Commerce SIS, the Ontario bank $40,
the Dominion bank 81, the govern
ment issue 81, and the United States S.
Johnson confessed that Hill made
the States SIS, and that the remainder
was his work. He made the plates in
the States and his daughters forged
the signatures. They had been trained
in forging or duplicating signatures
since childhood. They would spend
hours day duplicating single sig
nature and work at the one name for
months, writing it thousands of times
Jessie was better at large, and Annie
at small, handwriting. The boys were
learning to be engravers and were so
proficient than there father was wont
to boast proudly of their skill.
On August 10, 1880, Murray went to
Washington and called on John Sher-
man, secretary of the treasury, told
him the story, and showed him the SIS
plate of the United States issue Sher-
man congratulated the detective heart
lily, remarking that it was one of the
most valuable seizures of counterfeit
plates ever made. Murray turned
| over to the United States secret serv-
ice the names of the parties implicated
by Johnson's confession, and these
people were afterward arrested.
Edwin Johnson was placed on trial
at the Fall Assizes in 1880, in To-
ronto, before Chief Justice Hogarty.
Seven indictments were read and
Johnson pleaded guilty to everyone.
The counsel for the crown asked the
court to suspend sentence and this
was done. Johnson was released and
Murray escorted him and his daugh.
tiers to the United States, where the
authorities desired to make use of
them.
In 1896 old Hill, the maker of the
States SIS issue, was still in a United
States Jail, under the name of John
Murphy. Several of the Johnson fam
lily are in prison, several out and their
| whereabouts unknown. Old man john
son. the genius of the aggregation,
died in 1898. The capture of the
plates put a stop to the issue OF any
more bills, and the case of the coun
| terfeit million came to an end
Copyright. 1909, by W. G. Chapman.)
Copyright In Great Britain-j