Mexico Missouri message., 1910-02-24
FRIENDS OF lLLINoIsAN, CON.
VlcTEp OF coUNTERFElTlNe,
WILL APPEAL TO TAFT.
HAD PLANNED CHURCH MEDALS
Rev. James r. Kaye Experimental with
Coins, but Passed None of them
--MouIds Found In His Yard
Leads to an Inquiry.

Bloomington, nl.-Hardly had the
ink dried on the order of commit
ment to the Peoria workhouse on a
charge Of counterfeiting when friends
Of Rev. James r. Kaye, the Presby-
terrain minister, who was found guilty
started movement to secure the in
tercession Of President Taft, and the
executive will be appealed to by in
fluential religious and political person
ages to pardon the central Illinois de-
vine. A wave of sympathy swept over
central Illinois when the sentence was
FASTENED to start a movement to pro-
cure his release at the earliest pos
sible moment.
To be taken from the pulpit and
from activity in religious circles and
transferred to the repeliant surround.
ings Of a municipal prison is an ex-
perience that would completely crush
the ordinary man, but Rev. Kaye sub
mitted to his fate with extraordinary
fortitude, and his patient resignation
Intensified the efforts Of his supporters
to secure his freedom.
Noted as Lecturer.
Rev. Kaye has a wife, son and
daughter, now residing in Oak Park,
suburb Of Chicago. The clergyman
is A years of age. He decided early
in life to become a preacher of the
gospel and graduated brilliantly In
theology. His scholarship along phil
osophical lines has been recognized by
prominent educators, while his trea-
tise on Theories of Conscience in
Modern Thought" found its way into
many colleges. He has travelled ex-
tensively abroad, paying especial at
tention to sacred sites and archaeolo-
gical researches, and became some
what noted through series Of illus
trated lectures upon his discoveries
and reflections.
After occupying various eastern
charges, DR.. Kaye was called, in 1892,
to the pastorate of the Presbyterian
church at Lincoln, thirty miles south
Of here. He was especially interested
in the work among children, and la
bored to interest them in church and
Sunday school attendance. He con-
ceived the idea of stimulating interest
by offering prizes for the most regular
attendance, and decided that a series
of medals of varying size and final
reward Of a bible would be the most
satisfactory and most successful selec-
ton. Inquiry as to the cost of these
medals developed the fact that the
expense would be greater than the
slender treasury of the Sunday school
could afford. Rev. Kaye thereupon de-
cided to experiment and see If he
could not make them himself. His first
effort was to make a suitable mold.
He decided to make the medals in four
sizes, corresponding to the dime,
quarter, half dollar and dollar.
Before going to the expense of OBJ
tanning dies made of the Impressions
to appear upon the medals, and having
nothing else to experiment with, he
used the silver coins of the United
| States mint and also pennies. In his
spare moments he carried on his ex-
periments, telling his friends and mem
bers OF his congregation what he was
doing and asking for suggestions.
After working for some weeks, he
found that his efforts were failure
because of the brittleness OF the
molds. Finally he gave up the entire
series of experiments in disgust and
threw the molds and pieces Of metal
Into the back yard. Here the abandon
ed molds were found and the states
/ attorney informed. The clergyman
was soon charged with oounterfeiting.
He freely told Of his experiments and
no evidence was furnished by the pro-
scouting attorney that he had ever
made a coin or passed one, or even at
tempted to do so. In NO vital particu-
lar was his testimony disputed. Mem
bers Of his church testified earnestly
In his behalf, but dispite the defense,
Jury found him guilty and he was
sentenced to two years Imprisonment