The Hartford republican. (Hartford, Ky.) 18??-1926, 1915-01-29
COUNTERFEITING
GAME UNEARTHED
James VertreeS Makes
Startling Confession.
Local Innocent People Injured by
False Publications Con-
Meeting Them.

Ysvveral weeks ago the news reach
ed Hartford that James vertrees had
been arrested and was in Jail In
pittsburgh charged with counterfeit
ing. About the same time Govern
ment detectives made their appear
Az here to investigate certain
stories which he had told after his
arrest in connection with his viola
ed both papers here not to publish
anything about the facts as II might
hinder them i'm their efforts TO make
further successful Investigations.
Both papers respected the request.
On Tuesday Louisville and Owens
boro papers published the story with
serious Measurements. The Louis
Vile Herald and Greensboro Inquirer
say that Vertrees gave Messrs. Emory
and Jesse Schroeder as confederates
in the counterfeiting business. These
men had nothing whatever TO do with
II and they both stand high in the
estimation of Hartford people. The
Government detective told the writer
that he had made a thorough investi-
cation OF this statement and knew
II to be lie, and with no foundation
whatever. He also told the writer
that Vertrees had told fifty lies about
IL and had implicated many innocent
people.
Seeming to go the Louisville Her
aid and Greensboro Inquirer one bet
ter the Park City Times. published
at Bowling Green. in a supposed con-
fession of vertrees makes him say
this;
MANY times decided to quit the
game. but my confederate Emory
Se2foeter. his brother Jess, and Ollie
Simpson was sent to the penitentiary
for years"
Emory and Jess Schroeder are pho
tographers here and have the utmost
ccRfdence of all our people. Jess
has been near death with typhoid
fever for weeks and is being cared
for by the local Maccabee lodge of
which he and Emory are both honor
ed members. Emory is also men,
her of the local Masonic lodge and
its secretary. The linking Of their
names with this lawlessness is I'M
called for and does them a great in
justice.
The publications also credit Yer
trees with being a native OF Hart
ford. This is also untrue. We un-
derstand he is native of Brecken-
ridge county. He married daughter
of Mr.. l.. ID. Bennett. who is a prom
inent and honora BILE citizen. and who
lives about four miles Northwest OF
town. Vertrees had visited at the
home of his wife a great deal and
especially during last summer and
fall
The detectives. under the direc-
lions of Vertrees, dug up some plates
and counterfeit bills which he had
buried in an old barn on Mr.. Ben
neIis farm. 1t is not known wheth-
err the money circulated was made
from those plates or not, as the work
is said to have been done in Louis
Vile. We were shown the $50 bill
By the Government agent and com
pared it with the genuine article but
so far as we were concerned. they
both looked alike. so perfect was the
counterfeit. II has been pronounced
one of the best ever made and Yer
trees claims he put in circulation
100000 worth of the spurious pa
per. 1t was made in $40 and $50
gold certificates.
While in this part of the country
Vertrees spent money freely but did
not attempt to pass any OF the coun-
terfeit bills. Instead he circulated
them among the bankers and other
unsophisticated of the large cities
1t was reported that he has good
bank account in Louisville and had
also purchased fine residence there.
Vertrees' wife, who was arrested
with him. has been released and Il Is
certain that she will be eventually
acquitted. While the plates and
money were found on Mr.. Benefits
land, he had no knowledge OF 1t and
"a in no way implicated. or course
he is greatly distressed about the