Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1910-06-09
TWO LONG TERM CONNECTS ARE
TRAPPED WITH COUNTER
FEITINe OUTFIT.
QUARREL LEADS TO RAID
ParsphernaIia Was Used in the Penl.
Tertiary for Twenty Years and
Has Been Handed Down From
Prisoner to Prisoner.

ped counterfeiting plant, in operation
at the state penitentiary at Jefferson
City for 20 years, was raided by Gov
eminent Inspector Edward J.. Nc
Hugh of st. Louis. Molds, fire pots,
spurious coins and other parapherna-
liza yer confiscated and two prisoners
arrested. Both confessed having
made spurious half dollars, quarters
and scent pieces.
The plant, Inspector McHugh de-
clares, has been in the p~enitentiary
for 20 years and has been handed
down from prisoner to prisoner. The
men arrested are Lee ]. Jayne, a FIVE
year mar from Kansas City, and Jo-
seph Vail, another long-term prisoner
from there.
A quarrel between four prisoners oc-
cupying the same cell regarding the
division Of the spells was responsible
for the raid.
The government has applied for
warrants charging the prisoners with
counterfeiting and will ask Governor
Hadley to pardon the two men so the
government may be able to convict
them on the more serious charge.
Jayne was convicted three years ago
at Kansas City of forgery and Vail is
serving a long term for robbing a
freight train. He also was sentenced
at Kansas City.
Prisoners to Be Pardoned.
Governor Hadley announced that he
will pardon both men in October,
when the federal court convenes, that
they may be prosecuted.
When Warden Andrea got his ihfor'
nation that prisoners were engaged in
making spurious coins he placed a
watch on the suspected men in hopes
of catching them in the act of turning
out the coins from the molds. His
discovery was made last Thursday,
and he Immediately wired Inspector
McHugh, who lives at No. 5535 Cab.
anne avenue, in st. Louis.
On arriving at the ~penitentiary an
examination Of the cell was made and
the revelation that followed surprised
McHugh, who has run down many
plants, but none like the one he
found here, according to his own state
ment.
Coin Hidden In Beds.
Three molds used by counterfeiters
were hidden in the cell occupied by
Jayne and Vail. Two sets of these
were for 50-cent pieces, one for 25
and the other for scent pieces. A
smaller plaster Of paris furnace, used
for heating the metal, was dug from
under the cell floor. This furnace was
constructed to permit a receptacle
four inches square setting In the cen
ter of it. Charcoal was used for
fuel.
Hidden in the beds of the prisoners
were found eight 50-cent, two 25-cent
and two Scent pieces. The appear
ance Of the furnace showed it had
only been in operation a short while
1t is the opinion of Inspector McHugt
that the lei did not have a change tc
put any of their coins in circulation
Were Following Old Custom.
1t is a custom at the Jefferson City
prison to hold a carnival twice a yeal
within the prison walls. One or
Christmas Day, when a three days
feast is allowed the long-term men
and the other on the Fourth Of July
1t was for this latter holiday thai
Jayne and Vail were preparing.
When the carnival is held conces
sions II granted to the long-tern
men, and they have stands on which
are various articles for sale. For q
years the carnivals have been an es
tablished custom, and invariably after
their celebration counterfeit coins
were always found among the prison
ers and even prison officials, who pat
ronized the stands, were sometimes
victims.