The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-01-01

to Chief Flynn of the secret service.
While the banking firm is certain that
the notes are bad. they want to have
the assurance of the Belgian bank by
mail or cable before permitting the
bushel basketful of one thousand
franc notes sent on to them for col
lection, which would be worth $193
apiece II they were good, to be seized
by Chief Flynn.
The Swindle Described.
A member of the firm described the
wholesale swindle as follows:
about ten days ago man and wo-
man came into the office looking for
all the world like foreign tourists.
They we're about middle age, bore
travel stains and appeared to be able
to talk Just enough English to get
around comfortably. The woman had
camera slung over her shoulder
and the man carried a handbag.
"After stating their business the
man wanted to know how much we
were paying for one thousand franc
notes of the Bank of Belgium. The
clerk said our price was about $193,
whereupon the man set up great cry
about hating to part with the notes
for what he considered was less than
their value. Finally he shrugged his
shoulders and said he guessed he
might as we'll take what he could get.
when the man handed over twen-
ty one thousand franc notes the clerk
tnstinctively ran his finger across the
surface of them. He noticed at once
that the curvilinear mark on the note,
uyhfNH Oh xhn
as the silk thread in American bank
notes, had been stamped on instead
OF printed. as 1t is on the genuine
notes. Furthermore the quality of
the paper was just a little coarser
than in the good notes.
I'm every other respect the note
was thing Of beauty. The good Bel
CLAN bank note is as artistic as any
issued.
The Rascals Run,
ut was when the clerk handed the
notes to me for inspection that the
man and woman became alarmed, and
when they saw me scowl and shake
my head they turned and showed us
their heels. The clerk ran out after
them, but when he got into Wall
street they were nowhere in sight.
"Then we began to hear from other
brokers and bankers in town who
sent us the notes for collection. They
didn't suspect anything, but had
bought the notes from this pair of
swindlers. I think the couple went
to every foreign money broker in town
before coming to us, and iudging from
the bad notes that have come in for
collection all the brokers bought.
In day or SO the brokers in out
side cities began to be heard from.
The notes were all of the same series
and came off the same press. Then it
| occurred to US that there was a
wholesale plot to float the paper, and
after notifying the firms sending us
! the notes that we would take them for
| collection, but felt that the brokers'
had been swindled, we asked the
brokers how they had come to buy
the notes. In every case the Job was
done by man and woman and on
about the same day. 1t was not the
| same couple in every case, but they
were all made up as tourists and all
haggled over the price they got for
the notes. There must have been at
least dozen men and women in the
plot. and If the swindle is ever solved
am certain 1t will be found that
some of the cleverest bank thieves
and counterfeiters are implicated in
It. The counterfeiting is the finest
that I have seen in twenty years. ex-
perience."
I'VE have been informed that the
National Bank Of Belgium is already
aware OF the wholesale fraud and that
so many of the bad notes were float
ed In Europe that the bank has issued
an entirely new series Of bank notes. /"
lAalIRna lll1l