The Rock Island Argus and daily union. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1920-1923, 1922-07-06
Frederick / askin's Letter
MAKING BAD MONEY BOOMs

W8SuIuk ION, ~. u, July o.-Ine
counterfeltirg Of money has in
creased to hitherto unprecedented
proportions In the United States
and Is causing much concern to the
secret service Of the treasury. the
federal agency which IL charged
with the suppression Of this species
of crime. OF particular interest Is
the fact that for the first time In
history. women have entered the
counterfeiting profession, present.
ing new problems for the govern
ment experts.
The increase In opunterfeiting
began shortly after the armistice
and has been growing noticeably
since then. 1t IL regarded az q part
of the phenomena Of crime which
every great war brings in its wake.
A curious effect Of the war while
it was being waged was that it re-
suited In an almost complete sus-
pension of money counterfeiting in
the United States. There were twa
good reasons for this. First, ma
tive born Americans are seldom
found in the business. 1t is a de.
partment Of crime in which foreign
ers, and especially southern Eu-
ropeans, engage. Under the reserv-
list system of military service which
obtains in nearly all European
countries. these foreigners living
and counterfeiting in the United
States, were called to their home
colors and thereby forced to aba1.
don their profession here. In the
second place, the war upset the
channels of distribution of counter
felt money and turned the thoughts
of all men. including counterfeit,
ers, to other things.
But after the war the profession
came back stronger than ever with
many recruits. Four million Amer
leans were under arms. They were
taken by the war from their &C.
customed vacations and pursuits
and put into a life which, despite
its manifold hardships and dan
gers, was a life lacking in respon
sibility. No one in the army had tt
worry about earning money enough
for his next meal. 1t came from the
government, as much q matter Of
course as the sunrise. Also, The
very idea Of an army is the de.
struction of property and life. Tt
be sure it is the enemy's property
which is to be destroyed but among
many youthful and irresponsible
persons the fundamental idea Of
contempt for property rights per.
sists and makes few bounds for it
self. 1t was natural that among
soldiers who for a year or two hat
followed this irresponsible exist
ence there would be some who
lacked the forces Of character tt
return to the drudgery of hare
work. They wanted easy money
SO counterfeiting as well as other
departments Of crime received
fresh recruits.
More Money to Counterfeit.
Another strong reason for an in
crease in counterfeiting resulting
from the war was that there was
an increase in the number Of kinds
of money and securities to coun-
terfeit. When there are but few
kinds Of money in general use, the
people become so familiar witt
their appearance that they quite
readily detect any fault in design
or general appearance. But wher
there are many new and unfamil.
lar kinds, the people are at loss
to know whether or not they have
genuine money.
Twelve federal reserve bank!
were established at the time The
war began and all issued currenc,
Of two kinds: Federal reserve
notes and federal reserve banl
notes. Also, the treasury ISSUED
billions of dollars in liberty bonds
victory notes, war savings certifii
Gates, thrift stamps and treasur.
certificates, Of Indebtedness. Thes;
were all new to the people and O
Unfamiliar design. They consti
tuted a paradise for counterfeiters
One of the most difficult OBJ
stacles for the counterfeiter is thu