Great Falls tribune. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1921-current, 1922-07-07
The Hdskin Letter By =, =
MAKING BAD MONEY BOOMs.

Washington, July 4.-The counter
feiting of none has increased to hith-
lerto unprecedented proportions in the
United States and is causing much
concern to the secret service of the
treasury. the federal agency which
is charged with the suppression OF
this species of crime. OF particular
interest is the fact that for the first
time in history, ome have entered
the counterfeiting profession, present
ing new problems for the government
experts.
The increase in counterfeiting be-
gan shortly after the armistice and has
been growing noticeably since then. It
is regarded as a 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 resulted
in an ALMOST complete suspension of
money cOunterfeiting in the United
States. There were two good reasons
for this. First. native born Americans
are seldom found in the business. 1t
is a department of crime in which
foreigners. and especially southern
list system of military service which
cp'dihS III hShIlN ali LuIppCdH NOuH-
tries. these foreigners living and coun-
terfeiting in the United States were
called to their home colors and thereby
forced to abandon their profession
here. In the second place. the wal up
set the channels of distribution of
counterfeit money and turned the
thoughts of all men. including counter
%feiters, to other things.
But after the war the profession
came back stronger thar ever with
many recruits. Four million Ameri-
cans were under arms. They were
taken by the war from their accus-
toned vocations and pursuits and put
into a life which. despite its manifold
hardships and dangers, was a life lack
ing in responsibility. No one in the
army had to worry about earning
money enough for his next meal. 1t
came from the government. as much a
matter of course as the sunrise. Also.
the very idea of an army is the de-
struction of property and life. To 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 prop
erty rights persists and makes few
bounds for itself. 1t was natural that
among soldiers who for a year or two
had followed this irresponsible exist
ence there would be some who lacked
the force of character to return to the
drudgery of hard work. They wanted
easy money, so counterfiting. as we'll
as other departments of crime. re
ceived 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 counterfeit. When there
are but a few kinds of money in general
use. the people become so familiar
with their appearance that they quite
readily detect any fault in design or
general appearance. But when there
are many new and unfamiliar kinds,
the people are at a loss to know
whether or not they have genuine
money.
Twelve federal reserve banks were
established at the time the war began
and all issued urrency Of two kinds:
Federal reserve notes and federal re-
serve bank notes. Also. the treasury
issued billions Of dollars in Liberty
bonds. Victory notes, War Savings GER
tificates. Thrift stamps and treasury
certificates of indebtedness. These
were all new to the people and of IN
familiar design. They constituted a
paradise for counterfeiters.
One Of the most difficult obstacles
for the counterfeiter is the distinctive
paper on which the government notes