THE 3EMI-WEEKLY TRIBUNE. NORTH PLATTE. NEBRASKA.
E
I
Some Little Detail Overlooked
Inevitably Leads to De
tection of Criminal.
EACH IsSSUE IS DISTINCTIVE
No Individual Engraver Completes
Plate for Any Series nf Notes
Interesting Cnscs Which Prove
Impossibility of Success In
Counterfeiting.
New York. The government Is nn
organization. It has organized forma
and means for making currency. These
forms and means arc fashioned on the
scientific plan that there aro no exact
duplicates possible In naturo or in tho
manufacturing of a product. No two
battleships arc exactly alike, any more
than are two roses that grow in tho
samo garden.
As an example In the making of our
money, let me say that an engraver
In tho government service can inako
one plate, and only one plate, from
which a given scries of hills aro print
ed, says tho chief of tho secret service
In tho New York Telegraph. That en
graver may nearly dupllcuto It, but
nover will ho ablo to reproduce) It
exactly, or evon approach tho origi
nal work by reproduction to such a
degreo that thero will not bo a dif
ference that Is detectable. So with
tho dies for stamping tho government
copper, sliver and gold coins.
Then, too, It Is not so remarkable
that duplicates aro Impossible, when
one considers that thero are thou
sands, in somo Instances tens of thou
sands, of delicate strokes by a very
lino tool necessary in tho making of n
singlo plate for, tho manufacture of a
Borlcs of notes. Perhaps a scratch Is
too heavy, or maybe too lightly mado.
Such an error would bo fatal. Con
sider, too, that only ono plate Is used
by tho government In printing a given
series of notes, and only ono die Is
used in making a given Ibsuo of coins.
Plato Work of Many.
It may bo Interesting for tho reader
to keep In mind that no Individual en
graver completes a plato for any se
ries of notes. One mun engraves the
vignctto; another docs tho script
work; a third man tho square letter
ing, and yet another takes caro of tho
mechanical latho work, etc.
In tho light of common reason thero
Is only ono conclusion possible gov
ernment money cannot bo Imitated
successfully for any sustained period
unless tho secret service agents coaso
their tireless vigilance. And yet, In
tho face of all theso organized obsta
cles, Individuals and small groups of
men have risked their froedom, and
no doubt will coutinuu to do so, In an
effort to cheat Undo Sam by foisting
BpurlouB coIiib and notos on tho public.
There Is tho caso of tho Gorman ar
tist who noticed an oil painting, a rep
resentation of a ten-dollar bill, paint
ed In tho panel on the wall of a res
taurant whero ho hud beon accus
tomed to dine. Ho tried, at first, "just
to imltato tho painting." His Imita
tion was In pen and Ink, and so well
dono that ho felt a curiosity to know
whether ho could dccclvo any perron
with tho product. Ho tried and suc
ceeded In tho docelt.
Then for 14 years ho devoted him
self mostly to sketching on bond pa
per of tho proper size a number of
bills, Including ton, twenty, fifty and
oven hundred-dollar notes, In Imita
tion of tho United States currency. It
would rcqulro his continuous efforts
for two weeks at a tlmo to complete
a hundred-dollar note. And yet again
ho would take vacations for six
months at a tlmo from his counterfeit
ing labors, In tho moantlmo devoting
himself to legitimate art.
Goes Once Too Often.
His method of "shoving" or dispos
ing of tho notes was to get rid . of
thorn In liquor stores near tho New
Jersey ferries on tho Now York sldn.
Ho would chooso a rush-hour crowd In
which to upproach tho I III r. nnlnr ti
quart of whisky, and a drink which he
would swallow at tho bar while ime,n
Ing tho bartender in conversation. He
would at tho sumo tlmo lay down hU
counterfeit bill, get It exchanged bur
rledly and huston to Now .ii.mnv
whero ho had built himself ami family
a nouse.
For tho most part tho hurtomii... ,11,1
not notice tho counterfeit note, not
even when counting up. and it went
to a bank or finally to tho Hiibtreasui
before It was dotocted. All I rum nf
tho distributor of tho bill was. of
course, lost by this tlmo.
However, tho Ditcher wont m .
well onco too ofton. Ono 'evening
nooui nvo o'clock our German artist
went Into a liquor Btoro on Courtlandt
street, not far from tho ferries. Hi
bought a quart of whisky us usua
nnd a separate drink, and laid i
twenty-dollar bill on tho i.r it u,
happendd that tho bar wnn niolot ...Id
whisky sullied from
glass. When tho bartender picked up
tho bill from the moistened bar, tho
Ink on tho note, damponed by tho al
cohol, soiled his fingers and ho gave
tho alarm.
Had tho artist used what Is termed
waterproof Ink. ho would not have
beeji detected In that Instance.
COUNTERFEITER TO
BEA
UNCLE
I
Tho most dangerous coin counter
feiter with which tho government hns
had to deal was an Italian jeweler In
Now York city. Ho mado a ten-dollar
gold plcco of GOO fluonoss in tho body
of tho nrtlclc. (Tho government
stnndard Is 900 fine.) Yet tho Imita
tion was vory accurato, and In order
to havo tho weight correct ho mado
tho coin n whit larger than tho gov
ernment mcasuro required. Thon, too,
ho made a rim, commonly called tho
reeding, for tho coin. This rim was
of tho exact fineness of tho govern
ment ten-dollar gold pieces.
Tho Jowclor'B object In making tho
rim, which he soldered on to tho body
of tho coin, was, of course, to throw
tho secret service men off the trail
when they mado an assay of tho rim
of tho counterfeit coin and found tho
gold thereon to be of tho standard
fineness.
Tho Jeweler's coin had a rounded
rim, and not ono that roso at right
angles from tho surface of tho body of
tho coin, as in the genuine article
Ho sent his little daughter out to
pass tho coins In different shops in
tho Kast sldo of Now York. When sho
was apprehended the nows filtered
around to tho Jeweler In time for him
to destroy ovldonco which, had wo
obtained, would havo resulted In' his
conviction. A fedornl Jury decided
that we had failed to present suffi
cient evldenco upon which to convict
him of making tho counterfeit money,
and tho Jeweler was discharged. Tho
rounded reeding or rim was tho most
pronounced dofect In his work. Tho
Jowolor laughed a hearty Italian laugh
us he left tho courtroom. Ills kins
men nnd frlcndB wero thero In goodly
numbors and Joined in tho laugh.
That was all In tho day's work.
Still, the future events that brought
the joweler and mo Into contact again
In the samo courtroom serve us an
answer to tho ofton-ropeated question,
Can you distinguish certain coins or
notos as tho particular work of certain
Individuals?
Turns to Silver Caught.
About a year after tho acquittal of
tho Jowolor tho secrot sorvlco men
wero supplied with Information that a
great quantity of counterfeit half-dol
lar pieces woro In circulation In nnd
around Now York city, Long Island
and .Torsoy city. A peculiar feature
of tho enso waB that tho coins were
such an accurato duplicate of tho gov
ernment article that subtreasury of
ficials could not detect tho defect In
them; they wore of tho samo fineness,
woight anU slzo as tho government
coin; In a number of other ways thoy
answered tho roqulromonts of tho gov
ernment jUandard.
xot tho Inevltablo detail was thero
to provo tho Imitation. When tho bo
crot servico men examined tho coins
It was found that tho rims woro round
ed, exactly in tho Bamo fashion as tho
tun-dollar gold piece of tho Italian
Jewoler. Wo called on tho latter in
tlmo to find him busily engaged In tho
manufacture of coins. When wo en
tered the rear of his Jowelry storo wo
found a number of tho spurious fifty-
cent pieces and tho matorlal and tools
for tho making of many thousands of
them.
Then thero was tho well-known Phil
adelphia-Lancaster caso, In which the
Bchemo was to print $10,000,000 and
unload It simultaneously through ex
change at tho dlfforent subtrcasurlcs
throughout tho country. Thero wero
Imperfect choekboncs on President
Monroo on tho $100 notos of this
particular entorprlso. Tho deficiency
gave an entirely different expression
to the face of the counterfeit as com
pared with tho gonulno bill. Anothor
detail, and an Important one, that the
principals of this enterprise over
looked was to properly manage tho
engravers employed by them. Tho
men backing tho schomo wero not suf
ficiently lavish with their funds. Con
sequently two of tho engravers took
$10,000 In tho counterfeit notes and
wont to tho races with tho money to
make n "killing." Thoy laid tho spu
rious notes at tho track. This was
prior to tho date sot for the grand
coup. Tho notos at tho track, how-
ovqr, woro sufilclont to set tho secret
servico at work In tlmo to frustrate
tho conspiracy.
And so many other cases there are
SAILS FOR EUROPE
Miss Lillian Ulrnoy, who last win
ter wub one of the season's prominent
dubutantes, has just sailed for Europo.
Miss Ulrnoy bus been spending the
Bummor with her sisters, Mrs. Harold
Walker and Mlsa Cathorlno Ulrnoy, at
their cottago at Southampton, L. 1.
to lllustrato tho point. But tho ono
which particularly appculs to mo Is
that of John Davis, who rccontly
pleaded guilty In Now Haven, Conn.,
to making plates for counterfeit five
dollar notes. Davis is nn old offender,
and tho Illustrative case which I havo
In mind was ono In which ho was tho
central figuro years back, it was
known ns tho Hank of England plot.
Davis had manufactured In London
nnd had planned there to Inyidown
counterfeit Banlc of England notes
representing a value In pxccsb of
$500,000. Ills scheme was to havo his
confederates In each of tho great
money centers London, Paris, Der
lln, Vienna. St. Petersburg and Now
lork, slmultnneouBly exchango tho
notes at foreign money exchango lro
kers' ofilces. N
Tho workmanship of tho product
was almost perfect. Tho notes were
tho closest Imitation to tho Bank of
England notes that have over been
discovered.
Soon everything was in readiness
for the grund unloading oxcept one
thing. Tho coiiBplrators had not tried
out tho monoy to learn how readily It
might bo accepted. Accordingly two
of tho men assigned to tho New York
end of tho plot went over to the Stato
bank on Grand street and offered
counterfeit notes representing a valuo
of $780. Tho conspirators erred In
presenting so much foreign money for
exchange at ono tlmo to a bank In that
neighborhood. Tho officials of tho In
stitution compnred the offered notes
with gonulno notos of tho Dank ot
England, but could find no difference.
Still tho ofllclals wero suspicious, bado
tho conspirators wait a few minutes
and called up tho secret servico ofilco,
which hurried men to tho hank.
Inevitable Detail Overlooked.
A close examination of tho offered
notes by tho government agents
showed tho color of tho printing to bo
true; tho color, ply und slzo of the
paper to measuro accurately with tho
Bank of England requirements, and
tho strong main features of tho etch
ing represented In tho print woro true
to a shading.
Yet, as always, tho detail was there
to provo tho counterfeit work. The
watermark of tho spurious notes was
more pronounced than tho genuine.
Further, and to mo more wonderful
still, a tiny guard, carefully placed on
tho gonulno note, was lacking In tho
counterfeit. It was a little thorn
shaped protuberance extending from a
certain letter In the word denominat
ing tho value of tho note. The tiny
little sentinel could bo observed only
with tho aid of a lino magnifying
glass. It would bo found only acci
dentally oxcept by ono knowing ex
actly whero to look for It.
The Now York members of tho con
spiracy were arrested, but released
when thoy stood on tho ifsBertlon
that they had found the notes In the
street.
However, that was not allfor tho
conspirators. Later, Davis was arrest
ed in London. Ho turned klng'B evi
dence, received a suspended sentence
and a reward, and camo to this coun
try to try his hand. His confession
resulted in 15 of tho conspirators go
ing to prison.
"WILD MAN" IN POOR FARM
After Traveling for Years as Circus
Freak He Now Becomes County
Charge.
Evansvlllo, Ind. After traveling all
over tho United States as tho "wild
man" In several circuses and carni
val companies, Joseph Reddlg, ago seventy-two,
has boon admitted to tho
Vandcrburg county Infirmary.
lie Is broken In health and penni
less, although ho has mado good
money In his day. Heddlg told tho
township trustee Sum U'urm. that
while ho was acting tho part of a "wild
man" with a circus for sovoral years,
tho manager, in tho presence of tho
crowds, would feed him great quanti
ties of raw meat.
"I cun cut moro raw meat," said he.
"than tho biggest lion that ever lived."
MAKES PRISON LIFE EASY
Sheriff Provides Gymnasium and Wife
Puts Canaries in Jail to Divert
Minds of Inmates.
llellefontalnc, O. A gymnasium has
been provided in the Logan county
jutl for tho pleasuro of the prisoners.
Sheriff Uoorgo Smith, feeling that tho
men needed somo other form of recrea
tion than reading, has put in the
equipment at Ills own expense.
Mrs. Smith, tho sheriff's wife, has
placed two canary birds in tho Jail to
help divert the minds of tho prison
ers. A man who has been a prisoner
hi the jail for several months has
been permitted to havo his graplio
phone with him all of tho time, and
dally concorts havo boon provided,
continuous programs being tho rule.
WIFE GONE; CALLS HIM SLOW
Husband of Departed Bride Says Sho
Declared He "Hugged the House
Too Much."
Patorson, N. J. William Whlto of
Van Houtcti street tostlllcd that ho
was deserted by his wlfo because lis
was "too slow." Ho was on tho stand
in his suit for dlvorco.
"Wo woro married In 101S," said
Whlto. "Four months later my brldo
told mo I 'hugged tho houso too
much. Sho wanted ilfo. dances, pic
nics, parties and tho like. The next
night I returned homo to find the house
ompty. noth my wlfo and tho furni
ture wero gone to parts unknown. I
haven't seen or heard anything of eith
er since."
POULTRY
FEEDING TABLE FOR POULTRY
Platform Arranged on Which Food and
Hoppers are Placed Nests Are
Placed Underneath.
I use In my henhouse a table or plat
form on which the drinking vessels
and the food und other hoppers are
placed, says a writer in Farm and
Homo. This tablo is in the middle ot
tho houso und is two and one-half
root high. Doth sides of it are fitted
with nest boxes that can bo pulled out
and closed. Tho boxes arc a foot
Feed Table for Poultry.
square and ton Inches deep. The back
part of the box is boarded up three
Inches, which leaves an opening for
the hen to enter tho nest from be
neath the tablo.
Over each nest a door is cut through
tho top of tho tablo and hinged in
place, thus making it convenient to
gather the eggs without pulling out
the box. The advantages of such an
arrangement are: The eggs can be
gathered without stooping, tho nests
are dark, no floor spuco is utilized, the
food and drinking water arokopt clean,
the nests can be taken out and cleaned
with little trouble.
CARE FOR INCUBATOR HATCH
Some Judgment Should Be Exercised
In Testing Eggs Remove Infer
tile Eggs When Found.
In caring, for a hatch with an incu
bator some judgment should be exer
cised when testing the eggs. Somo
people do not even try to test the eggs,
Tearing they will throw out somo that
ire fertile. Now this is all nonsense,
for if tho eggs do not keep together
In appearance you may be sure that
some of them are no good. The ma
lority ot the eggs will show a dally
advance. Some who are expert at tho
business commence testing the eggs
on the sixth day, but one who is un
accustomed to the business cannot toll
with certainty which are fertile and
which aro not until tho ninth or tenth
Jay.
Now and then a chick will die when
a. week or ten days along, and will get
offensive to the olfactory nerves if
allowed to remain in the incubator,
in fact an egg becomes so foul as to
Interfere with the hatch. All such
eggs should bo removed, as soon as
discovered.
Clear eggs should bo taken out just
as soon as you discover them to be
Infertile, and these can be cooked and
Siven to the young chicks to eat. The
romoval of theso will keep the eggs
lowr to the ones containing the live
chicks and will make the work of car
Ing for them less and give you a bet
ter chance to study tho remaining
?ggs.
LATEST MAKE OF INCUBATOR
Series of Trayo Supported One Over
the Other Around Central Ver
tical Metal Tube.
The Scientific American in describ
Ing an improvement on an incubator,
tho Invention of C. II. Osborn of St.
Joseph, Mo., says:
In carrying out this Improvement
tho invention supports a series of
trays or pans ono over tho other
SSL.
3
Improved Incubator.
around a central vertical metal tube
which serves as an elongatod tiilmnoy
for a lamp employed as a heating
medium. The egg trays arc supported
upon flanges secured to the inner wall
of the body or casing of the Incubator,
and may lie rotated thereon to facilitate-
the introduction of eggs through
a door provided for this casing oi
body.
Winter Feed for Hens.
Plan to bury or otherwise store as
much cabbage and as many turnips,
beets, rutabagas, pumpkins, etc., aa
possible, for wiutor feed for tho hejis.
Proporly burled, a little later In the
season, any of theso will keep per
fectly all wintor. A plentiful supply
of such things will aid materially In
keeping tho hens in good laying condition-vigorous,
alert, full ot pep
nnd on tho job all the time.
Bad Place for Eggs.
Nover kenp eggs In a damp place.
Old Fort De Russy May Be Partially Restored
WASHINGTON.-Restoration of Fort Do Russy in Hock Creek park suffi
cient to preserve tho outlines of tho parapet, ditch, bastions and other
features as it stood during the Civil war may be an outcome of tho G. A. R.
encampment here. Lieut. George Carr
serving the fort. In addition to othor
things, Lieutenant Round proposed that the present roadway up the fort hill
be extended to encircle the entire fort outside tho ditch and that sufficient
brush bo cleared awuy to show tho landscape to passing visitors In car
riages and automobiles. He suggested that an old-tlmo "crow's nest" or
signal station bo built in ono of the tallest trees near tho fort nnd bo pre
served us a feature of the jubilee encampment of th$ G. A. R.
Lieutennnt Round had signal stations in operation during the encamp
ment at Soldlei'3' Homo, Fort Stevens, Georgetown Heights, Fort Richardson
and Fairfax Seminary south of tho Potomac.
Concerning the appropriateness of permanently preserving Fort De
Russy, he stated: "I respectfully submit that Fort Do Russy is ono of the
most interesting objects in the park and could easily be mado a particularly
picturesque feature. It must bo about tho highest point In the park. It was
the most prominent fort In the lino of fortifications which confronted General
Early's Confederate army which attacked Washington in 18G4, much stronger
in natural position and range than Fort Reno on its loft and Fort StovenB on
its right. Rut for Fort Do Russy, Early's veterans in gray would no doubt
have entered Washington by tho Rock Croek valley."
Uncle Sam Promotes the Out-of-Door Movement
REALIZATION that the members of
to live more In tho open air seems
for he has done more, perhaps, in the
encourage the out-of-doors movement
than In any other equal period of time.
First camo the bid for a greater recre
ational use of tho national forests,
and now the general land oHlce has
completed a sale, without precedent,
of sites especially for villas on tho
banks of tho beautiful Flathead lake
in Montana.
To attract larger numbers of vn
cfitlonlsts to the vast forests owned by
the government, tho forest service se
cured legislation that permits the leas
ing ot sites for summer homes for as many as 30 years lor merely nominal
rentals. This arrangement, which went into effect last Bpring, makes worth
while the erection of substantial improvements, and has already greatly In
creased tho number of persons sojourning in the forests in tho summer
season. In many of the forests applications to leaso five-acre tracts are pour
ing in, nnd dwellings from simple log cabins to pretentious homes are
springing up in mountain glens and by river banks and lake shoro.
In order to determine Just what the forests present in tho way of at
tractive sites for summer homes and facilities for boating, bathing, fishing,
mountain climbing and other outing activities, the forest sorvlce ia now
making a recreational survey of the domains over which It has control and
will list and publish tho data as rapidly as possible. Now, it is realized,
most of tho applicants for cottago sites are persons who happen to bo fa
miliar with tho forests. When tho data now being collected are available,
however, city-bound souls who long for the woods but have neither tho
means nor the, time to make long senrches for satisfactory sites will be able
to choose just about what thoy wish without stirring from their doors.
Feast on Ham Cooked in Ink to Settle Dispute
FOR four years two prominent Washington men havo quarreled over the
question whethor a ham cooked In Ink is better than one cooked in
champagne. The liiampion ot tho lrik-cooked ham is Frank Conger, former
postmaster hero. Tho champagne side
"Of course," said Mr. Conger, "I do not maintain that tho ink adds to the
delectable flavor of tho ham. But neither does the champagne. I would not
advise epicures to drink the ink in which tho ham is cooked. Hut I will eat
tho ham cooked In the Ink to provo that no part of the Ink substance is ab
sorbed by the ham In cooking, and that the man who has been Jollying him
self with tho idea that ho obtulns a champagne flavor from ham cooked In
champagne is moiely working his imagination overtlmo and ought to be a
war correspondent and not a chef or bon vlvant."
At Hvo o'clock tho hams wero cut and about seventy-five persons present
partook of tho moat, nobody knowing which ho ate. The advocate ot tho
liiampagne-cookciS ham "was asked to pass judgment. He insisted ho could
tasto a bare Haver of champagne, but admitted that ho had not tasted Ink.
So ho decided fo himself, and Professor Noack handed Mr. Conger a bill
for eight quarts ot champagne under the terms of tho wager.
Newton, in Spotless Attire, Runs Steam Shovel
1'HE modern way of "breaking ground" for the construction of a govern
ment building vms shown at Eighteenth and F streets when Byron R.
Newton, assistant secretary of tho treasury, officiated at tho beginning of
the excavation fo." tho new home of
the interior depurtment.
Tho nsslstant secretary didn't pick
up n shovel and turn a bit ot earth in
the old-lashloned way. Instead Mr.
Newton, who was dad In a Palm Beach
suit and a spotWss pair of canvas
shoes, climbed alnoid tho high plat
form of a hugn and greasy steam
shovel and pull d a wire which
lroppetl Kverul hundred pounds of
ilrt Into waUlns wagon.
He "van phuogiaplied In tho midst
ot this liazaidous task ami when ho clambered down it was ascertalnel
ho had moved about tho greasy Interior of the big steam shovel without get
ting so much as a speck on Ins suit or shoos.
The iniilding. when completo, will cost approximately $2,000,000, which
is more than a half-million Inutor tho limit sot h congress. It will house all
ranchr is of iUa interior department and will bo a magnificent eight-story
tru. turn
Roird of Mnnassas, Vs., who was
doHiijnated to arrange for tho, reopen'
Ing o tho wnr-tlmo signal stations
during the oncampraent, wroto to the
board of control of Rock Creek park
requesting permission to open a sta
tion at Fort Do Russy. Certain im
provements were necessary before
this site could bo utilized nnd Lieu
tenant Round proposed that thoy be
made with a view to permanently pre
his big family should bo encouraged
to have como suddenly to Uncle Sam,
past twelve months to stimulate and
of the gastronomic argument was
taken by "Tony" Richardson, a local
real estate man.
Tho other day an experiment took
place at "Shoemakers," retreat 'ot
statesmen, artists, publicists, and lit
erary lights. Prof. "Gus" Noack, ana
lytical chemist, was called in as ex
pert. Eight quarts of each liquid were
used. Mr. Noack arranged the gap
stove and made sure that the ink man
had ndt substituted grape juice
