The New York herald., 1922-10-07
PORTRAIT BEST TEST
OF SPURIOUS NOTES
Secret Service Chief Asks
Bankers to Educate Pub
lie on Currency.
MORE coUNTERFEITING
MOran's Men Detect and Ar
rest Average of Four a
Day for Forgeries.
CRIMES UNPROFITABLE
CRIMES UNPROFITABLE
Publication of Stories About
Offenders Attacked as Con-
tributing to Law Breaking.

States secret service. urged the Amer
lean Bankers Association yesterday in
message printed in the Convention
Nelcs to educate their depositors and
the general public to detect counter
felt notes.
Mr.. Moran suggested that the public
learn to know bank notes by the por-
traits rather than by engraved figures
or wording. The counterfeiter will
raise the figures and change the word
ing on genuine notes, it was said, but
it is almost impossible for him to
change the portrait.
The chief of the secret service
praised the American Bankers Asso-
cation and told how the banks are of
great assistance in detecting crime by
noting and calling to the attention of
the secret service any counterfeiting
or forgeries.
The secret service work In prosecut-
ing counterfeiters and forgers who
tamper with Government notes, checks
and securities has increased greatly in
the last few years because of tie vast
circulation of Government checks issued
In the payment OF compensations and
army payrolls and the many new forms
OF Government securities.
"Frauds Hurt the Poor"
Regarding his department Mr.. Moran
wrote:
The criminal with whom we deal is
the smoothest, suavest and to my mind
the meanest law breaker in existence.
He is the cunning and deliberate Grim
inal who knows all along that he is
breaking the law. I SAY that he is
the meanest because he knows that he
defrauds the small man. 1 recall cases
where spurious note has circulated and
finally come back to the criminals own
mother. robbing her of her last dollar.
Very often it is most difficult to
deal harshly with such violators of the
law for 1t brings great suffering to
their wives, their children and most
ptiful of all to their aged parents.
Why this sort of criminal continues
TO operate ! can't say, for he is always
caught sooner or later. Some cases
have taken us ten or twelve years TO
rnravel, but ultimately every one is
solved
THE chief offenders, of course, are
men. but often the counterfeiting is the
+ work of clever women; and in all my
experience l have yet to solve a case
where some woman has not been in
voved. Strange as it may seem, coun-
terfeiters come from all walks of life,
from the wealthy as we'll as from the
poor.
In the former case. however, we
have found that the vioators are de-
generates with criminal instinct. Yet
no man has ever prospered in the in
dustry of ~counterfeiting. If he does
accumulate any money it is eventually
spent for his defense in the courts
Counterfeiting Increasing.
"And let me bring very strongly to
the attention of the American Bankers
Association and the general public as
yell message which should serve as
warning for the rigid precautions on
the part of all who handle money. Dur
ing the past three years the number of
ccunterfeiters and forgers has more
than doubled Four or five years ago
500 detections and arrests in one year
was considered an excellent record for
this department.
During, the fiscal year ending in
1921 we made 1.025 arrests: while dur
ing the fiscal year ending 1922 the num-
ber of such detections and arrests had
risen to Laps, an average of over four
day. 1t is because of the rapidly in
creaslng number OF counterfeiters and
forgers of Government checks, Liberty
bonds and other securities that / wish
TO impress upon the people the necessity
for the careful handling of all money
that passes under their supervision.
'Of the general public 80 out of every
100 are almost foolishly careless about
money matters. They offer $40 bill
in payment of a 81 purchase and then
merely make sure they have received
the right amount OF change. 1t never
occurs to them to nay any attention
to the genuineness of the notes
II do not mean to say that stores
and other centers of trade are in the
habit OF handing out counterfeit notes,
but very often the cashiers themselves
do not detect the fraud Therefore
suggest that all bills received be
scrutinized and practice will soon train
the eye so that a counterfeit can be
detected instantly.