New-York tribune., 1909-01-24

10 the officers in charge of the division of ,ssu.
II was thought at first that the bills completely
t u except tne seals. had been stolen from the
bureau OF engraving and finished by counterfeiters
on the outside, They were finally sent to w II
moran, my assistant and an expert for exartns-
'ioh When Moran dropped one of the bills in a
pan OF warm water ft came apart Well every
e III lne ONCE went into the sir. It didn't take
Iohs 10 discover that genuine 81 bills had been
spn, In the middle. bleached and then pasted
'oeetner, after which they had been printed on a
counterfeit 500 plate
~en-to-do and respectable cigar manufacturer
HI Lancaster, Penn, had been successful In
counterfeting internal stamps that he con-
cuded TO employ the two engravers who had hesn
working on the stamps start a paper mill Of his
o"h ana engage in the business OF making spurious
money His plans were all worked out IN advance
he proposed to print $4,000 900 OF bills and then
10 destroy his plates and the paper mill The coun-
terreit money to be equally divided among
the cigar manufacturer the engravers and two other
h1eL' nuns OF Whom had previous criminal rec
ord As the cigarmaker told me afterward: Tt
was ten million or ten years. We took a gamblers
chance and lost. The counterfeit hills vera nor
10 oe put Into circulation until all of them been
printed ano the plates and paper mill had disap-
peareo as evidence. The cigar manufacturer spent
$4,000 Of good money on the enterprise
But the engravers became weary of waiting
Without saying anything the cigar manufacturer
or the other two principals they took flyer on
the side printing $4,000 Of 500 IN the man
iici L nave described we caught all of them in
the very midst of their guilt They served their
sentences at the pententiary in Atlanta Ga Re-
turning to their homes they stopped in Washington
to pay me their respects. Their conduct since has
been without reproach."
WHO is the most dangerous criminal you have
ever known"
Henry Lieberman. little Russian chemist and
photographer. who looks all the world ike Israel
Zangw1ll the novelist He Is the ablest counter
feter OF modern times Indeed, he is the only man
who has successfully initiated the water mark on
the notes Of the Bank of England. After he caused
the arrest and conviction of a gang Of counter
letters Of which he was member he was taken to
Belgium by London detective, handed $500 and
let go He came TO the United States and engaged
In his special line of business Hoboken. Thence
he moved TO Winthrop. near Boston and there we
called on him professionally He is now in the At
lanta penitentiary" q
What is your theory to the cause of crirne?"
I'm my opinion It is the result of environment
ana mat Is the reason believe in social settle
ment work Crime. think is not hereditary"
Does counterfeiting ever pay the counterfeiters?"
No; they are always caught. After spending
good part Of their lives in prison they in pow
erty."
on were a newspaper man in Chicago?'
Il went to work on The Times when I was
seventeen years old. doing police and other local
assignments Then was sent Europe as a cor
Later I on The Tribune for a |
number of years in various capacities and In Lon
steamship business. While I was city editor Of |
The Tribune had Paul Potter Frank A Wander
lip. Finley P. Dunno, Elliott Flower Vance Thomp-
son and Frederick u. Adams for reporters. One
day I was asked by telegraph to meet Lyman j. |
Gage the Secretary Of the Treasury, at the Audi
torium Hotel.
DO you Ike to play chess7 Nr Gage asked
after we had chatted for few minutes
Are you fond Of investigating mystertesr he
inquired next
Then he wanted to know IL I ever had any ex-
perience in directing and controlling the work OF
men. couldn't understand what no was driving
at. Presently he said:
I should like to take you to Washington and
make you chief OF the Secret Service
'T almost fell out OF my chair. I hadn't asked
for a job 1 was doing well enough I didn't know
anything whatever about the Secret Service. But
came and straight into the Philadelphia
Lancaster counterfeiting case and In three
months had TO organize emergency force for |
the strenuous character Of my initiation / am in
clned 20 think I should have remained in Chi |
cago''
When 1 reached the door leading out OF Chief |
Wilkes Office I turned and said: HAS a Secret |
Service man ever been employed IN a private o |
political case, such q 'shadowing a member OF |
Congress. any other individual. for personal
sons?"
Never during my time" Chief Wilkie replied, |
with explosive emphasis.
Copyright 1909. by James B. MorrowJ |