The Sunday Oregonian., January 26, 1908, Magazine Section, Page 10, Image 52

10
THE SUNDAY OREGOMAS", PORTLAND, JANUARY 26, 1908.
(John E. "tvilki.. chirr of the
ntfrret service division of the United
States government has not only .
'upheld thft hixh traditions I of that
very reFponsible post, but has won
special laurels by his personal suc
cess in several big; cases. He was
born. in Elgin. 111.. "47 years ago, and
before accepting the headship of
the secret eervlce had made an envi
able reputation as a worklnit Jour
nalist. While connected with' the
Chicago newspapers he made a spe
cialty of criminal investigation
which probably accounts for his un
usual success as a detective. Dur
ing the Spanlrh-Amcrican war he
organized a tpccial emergency force
of men to checkmate Ssanlsh spies
in this country. As a consequence
he succeeded In arresting their best
spies and driving most of the othcra
oft th soil of the United fitaUs.)
ONE Monday, morning, not many years
ago, a smartly" dressed man strolled
down lower Broadway and entered one of
the trust company buildings in the heart
of the ' financial district of New York.
He was what Is known to the patrons of.
tiie turf as a bookmaker, and . had
called at the bank for the purpose of
securing a roll of bank notes that he nui
h ft there on -the" previous Saturday night
for safe-keeping. It was promptly handed
to liim, a roll as bli as both of his fista.
He counted it over rapidly to see that
the amount was correct, and when he
near the end of the roll he paused lony;
and looked earnestly at a $100 gold certi
ficate that lay there conspicuously among:
the bills of smaller denominations. He
continued his study of the "yellow back"
for a considerable period, and finally
thrusting the balance of the bi.lls' in Ms
pantaloons pocket, walked over to th2
cashier and handed him the bill.
"What's the matter with this note?"
he asked.
The bank official looked at it casually
and handed it-back with a smile.
"Nothing," he answered, "except that
it's collntcrfeit.',
Tha bookmaker gasped with astonish
ment, 'lie- went over his roll and four.d
three or four more notes of the same
kind. 'That morning he notified his fellow-bookmakers,
and before 24 hours had
passed CO or 40 of the counterfeit no'.tis
had been .located in New York City. Sam
ples were Immediately secured by the
authorities and forwarded to John W.
"Wilkie, the Chief of the Secret Service
ili vision of the United States Treasury
Department. That night urgent public
business compelled Chief Wilkie to go
to Buffalo. The following morning while
he was seated In the office of the United
States District Attorney in that city a
man from the Knickerbocker race tra-.'k
entered the ro'om and showed the District
Attorney a $W0 counterfeit note that had
been given him on the track the previous
day. M'ilkle began to do some hard
thinking. The note was a companion
of .those that had been located in New
York City. It looked very much as If
there had been a conspiracy to circulate
these hundred-dollar -ciotes simultane-
ously at the race tracks In "all of the
large cities of the United States.
The chief dropped the business in hand
and Immediately turned his attention to
the new developments in 'the hundred
dollar counterfeits. Telegrams were sent
to the agents of the secret service in
structing them to visit the race tracks in
their vicinity and look out for bogus bills.
These instructions applied particularly to
Cincinnati, Louisville, Memphis, New
Orleans and St. Iouis.
At St. Louis Captain John Murphy, the'
secret service agent In charge of that dis
trict, went to the Delaware race .track
and posted the bookrrmkers to look out
for any $100 bills that nii4:htbe offered
them. Agents of the service were posted
in various parts of the track) and it was
Where All Army Officers Are Able to Ride
lu Kuropcau Armies the Tests Are Severe and Frequent.
CONGRESS will be urged to enact leg
islation calculated to improve the
quality of army horses and to raise
the standard of horsemansjiip in the
Army. At the' direction of President
Roosevelt, the Secretary ..of AVar will
send to the House military committee a
communication proposing legislation for
mounting infantry captains .and for the
establishment of remount depots. In the
opinion of the President such legislation
Is essential in improving horsemanship in
the Army and in raising the standard of
military efficient".
The necessity for legislation was em
pha!xed by the result of ths horsemanship
test ordered by Mr. Roosevelt last Sum
mer. That test showed that many offi
cers of hlsh stunding were poorly
equipped for practice marches and the
horsemanship required In time of war.
The test created surprise among Army
officers. To the public it was something
ynheard of in military discipline. Yet the
horsemanship test is an established fea
ture of the army regulations of all Euro
pcan countries.
Compared With European Teats.
As compared with the rigorous ord-aU
t) which some European Army officer.
ar subjected, tha tct ordered by Presi
dent Rooseelt -s child's play. Recently
the President sent to General BeU. chief
of staff, a letter regarding the horseman
ship lost of foreign armies.
Tli President cnKed attention to the
impression in thi;- country that the prac
tice marches required of officers in bur
Army was an Innovation, and requested
General Pell to prepare for him a rcpoit
s.. owing the horsemanship requirements
In the Kuropean armies. Mr. Roo.velt
also sent Secretary Taft a letter directing
him to bring the proposed legislation to
the attention of the House commute In
his report, which he has Just submitted,
to the President. General BeU say that
every Kuropean govt-rnment has strict
horsemanship reflations for its army of
ficers. Tic teMLs ttiat in nearly all of the
foreign armies mounted 'officers a re
quired to ride every day and constantly
to keep themselves and their mounts in
condition for actual warfare. With the re
port General Boll submits pictures inJ'
catinjr ihe character of the U-sts of aors-i-morsl
ip abroad.
The President's Letters.
In his letter to the House committed on
military affairs . accompanying GenerU.
Hell's report, the Prcsiuem said in part
"The field officers of our Army cannot
be held exclusively responsible for th3
, poor riding wnioh has been frequently ob
served among them. The quality of our
horses does not equal that of mounts us-d
In foreign armies. Furthermore, thoush
ail Infantry captains in European armlea
are mounted, an Infantry officer In our
ferv.ee has little opportunity to practice
riding until he becomes a field offier.
The ocly practicable way in which we cm
agreed that if any of these certificates i
were offered by any of the patrons the
bookmakers should at once give the se- :
cret . service a prearranged signal. In j
less than two hours one of ; the agents '
received a signal and hurried to the booth :
occupied by the bookmaker. He made a
careful examination of Che bill that had.;
been given to the "bookie," and found
that it was one of the counterfeits. Tha
agents were then posted at spots where-!
they, could see the patrons of the track 1
in the act of "cashing in" their vlnf '
nings. 1 he man wno nau put up me
$100 bill bet on" the favorite and he came
out a winner. When the victor called td
receive his winnings he was immediately
placed under "surveillance. There was
nothing about the man to attract' partic
ular attention. He was neatly but plain-,
ly dressed, and bore all the. outward in
dications of a prosperous business man.
After receiving his winnings he walked
Into the rear of the grandstand, and,
making a roll out . of the money he had
just received, placed it In his trousers
pocket. Then he took out of his vest
pocket another '$100 bill for the next race.
The secret service man, who was at his
very heels, made a $2 bet on the same
horse. The. favorite won again. The
man "cashed in" and as he did so was
taken into custody.
He. was marched over to the clubhouse
and searched. A white envelope wr
found in bis pocket, containing 28 of the
$100 counterfeit bills. He mid his name
was Marcus Crahan. the proprietor of an
extensive photo-engraving" establishment
at Providence, R. I. He was perfectly
candid in hia explanations. He said that
he had been visiting the fair and was a
guest at the Southern Hotel, and that he
Would 'be very glad to refer the officers
to any bank in the city of Providence for
the purpose of establishing his moral and
financial standing. Nothing, apparently,
could be more straightforward. He was
placed under arrest, however, and then
the secret service men made an examinA
tion of his room at the Southern Hotel.
There, they found a suit case containing
$4700 in genuine money. He was asked
then to explain how he came to be pos
sessed of the counterfeit money. He said
that on the previous afternoon he had
gone to the Union Station for the purpoye
of having the return half of his railroad
ticket validated. As he' came out of the
ticket agent's office, the -electric lights
were suddenly turned on in the waiting
room, and he. saw in the corner on the
floor a long white envelope. He picked it
up and found that it contained SiOOO in
$100 bills. He immediately went to the
office of one of the local newspapers and
inserted an advertisement telling of his
discovery, and offering to restore the
money to its lawful owner. This part of
his story was verified by the little identi
fication check which is given to classified
ad. patrons by the big daily newspapers.
In addition to this, there was a clipping
from the paper containing a copy of the
advertisement which read as follows-
"Found: In the Union Station late yes
terday afternoon a sum of money in bank
notes which owner may have after prov
ing property, by applying to X-lit, this
office."
Crahan was perfectly cool and self-possessed
at every 6tage of the inquiry and
persisted In his story in a manner that
convinced many of the officials that he
was telling the truth. An inquiry was
immediately instituted at Providence, and
this verified every feature of his story.
It was' shown that he had a high stand
ing there, in social, business and religious
circles, and there was a great deal of
honest resentment among bis friends
and associates over what they termed
"the awful blunder of the police" in
attempting to associate Marcus Cra
han with the crime of passing coun
terfeit money. To such an extent did
this feeling prevail that a number of
his friends got together' and selected,
a representative citizen who wsa dele
gated to go to St. Louis, for the pur
pqse of . entering bail, employing
counsel, and doing whatever else might
be deemed necessary to protect the
rights of Mr. Crahan. For ten long days
the secret service officials and the au
thorities of St." Louis made every pos
sible attempt to disprove or even to
shake the story of Marcus Crahan. but
without any practical results. Under
the circumstances it really seemed that
it would be necessary to release him
for want of legal evidence.
Then John E. Wilkie, who had been
directing the movements of his sub- (
improve our military mounts is to pursue j
the method adopted in foreign armies in
obtaining remounts. They purchase yours
horses, send them to remount statio s !
where they ere trained or about a year f
and finally assigned to the service, well
broken and trained for military use. This
has proved to be. ohcapor in the end, by
making horses last much longer in tho
service.
"I have instructed the Secretary of War
to take such steps as may be necessary to
brmg to the attention ot our committee
the desirability of legislation for mount
ing infantry captains and for the estab
lishment of remount depots. It is hoped !
that the military committees of both j
houses of , Congress may give favorable 1
consideration to these two measures which
are essential in improving horsemanship :
j.. a : i .1 i .. ,l '
in our Army ana in rwismg i c inuuaig
of efficiency throughout the service"
Some of the European Tests.
General Bell's report follows tn part:
"At the French cavalry school at Sau
mur a course In equitation exists for field
officers of the French cavalry. The offi
cers vary In age from 35 to 55 years, and in
weight from 138 to 250. pounds. The course
.lasts two months and includes cross-country
work, involving a great deal of Jump
ing of all kinds of obstacles, consisting of
fences, ditches, walls, hedges and water
jumps. - They ride the ordinary school
horse and change horses each day. In
this course each officer spends an average
of about founand one-half hours a day In
the sa.ddle. As each officer also has two
or three private mounts which he must
keep In fit condition by exercise outside
of school hours., they are seen riding at
all hours of the day. and in this manner
the rfverage officer, who is mounted, takes
his recreation. In the French army the
horse spirit has been developed to a very
high degree among all mounted officers.
'Steplechasmg is frequently indulged ' In
and -encouraged by the government In
every possible way. Mounted captains
are common among the steeplechasers,
and it is not an uncommon t...ng to see
gray-headed majors or lieutenant-colonCls
indulging in this sport. .
The German Tests Very Severe...
"It becomes very clear,, even to a casual
ot server, that every mounted officer in
the German army must keep himself in
condition to make long, hard rides at all
times. It is, a matter of common repot
that many officers of captain's rank and
higher are annually railed out of the army
for deficiency in riding or endurance in
the saddle. When brigades and divisions
trquently march 36 miles a day the major
part of, the time at 1gtit, it can be sera
that a very considerable, demand is nvid-
ot' vthe senior n ounted officers. That they
live In continual anxiety ovr the regular
inspection and annual maneuvers seem?
apparent fron; the reguliritr with whb
hey exercir.e inemselves in riding. A
Hanover, winro the German riding insti
tute is situauo, the brii.2 paths are full
of fat majors and captain., hammer'ng
iiOLg with (rim determination in tueir
No. VII. Chief
ordinate! by- wire, determined to take
hold- of the case in person, '
He immediately took a train for St.
Louis, and after a number of inter
views' with his associates in that city,
began 'to consider how to reach the
weakest link In the strong- chain of
probability with which Mr Crahan
was surrounded. One of- the earliest
movements made in the investigation
was to discover the exact hour at
which ' the electric lights were, turned
on in the .Union Station. The engineer
of the electric plant was consulted and
his records showed that on this partic
ular date the switch which put the
lights into operation had been turned
on at 5:10. Wilkie next sent to the
I'iues. Refri'i:g to suc.i oi fleers, youn
students of il riding 'nstitute. have a
jocular sayim: : "His breid basket will
luy him a top hat before long," mean.n
ti:-t the brigade commarder will.w!:ts
the otflcef rt-t't rred to a- rr.ost courteous
note thahrfing him for tn splendid seryke
!'o has renn-std the fatherland for 30
rat.y years, s,'.y:ng be would always re
held in the highest esteem for his effi
ciency. Whereupon the recipient forwards
his application for retirement. The way
officers who really love tueir profession
struggle against "stoutness" -and incapa
Jc
WVi YliUW.tVI.' II
VMkC.it. KIDIXfi IX ITALY A
' mWwimi hi U '
, '
I
Wilkie and Gold Certificates
newspaper office which had printed
the found "ad" and requested a report
upon the exact time at which the ad
vertisement was accepted. The .clerk
who received the notice was finally lo
cated, and he. remembered : distinctly
that he had stopped work on that af-
ternbon at 5 o'clock: 'the ad which he
had received .was the fifth or sixth be
low the last one. and. according to his
own calculation, it must have been
handed in at 4:30 o'clock. This point
ed to a discrepancy in Crahan's state
ment of one hour and ten minut.es.-
.It was Important. It was the thiii
entering wedge which might produce
great results.
One' of the significant discoveries
city for fifld work, which means that they
must go, is said to be pathetic. It is
astonishing what' wonders dogged perse
verance in practice can effect. By this
perseverance some officers who, because
of their size, look out. of .place on a
horse, ride, nof only well, but hold their
own in daring and keenness" with tne
youngsters. In the Italian army vefy
mounted officer- is required to ride,
from Minister to junior subaltern."
uKpendrr Buckle Save Ufe.
" Pittsburg Teader. '
The life of Frank Bourton, of Beaver.
Fa., who was attacked by two robbers
with knlvrs. was saved by a suspender
buckle, which turned the point of one
knife.
Ancient sold' mines of old KsPt have
been reopened by English capital.
1 W l : w. i" A . , T
s , . . m
C'A AI.KY UBILt JiEAR BOM1S.
ill SmTmmlMJl
amons Crahan's effects was a number
of programmes of races at Gravesend
and two or three of the Eastern tracks,
not to speak of ne particular pro
gramme which contained the entries
of the races where the first., book
maker had received the $100 bill" which
j he deposited with' his roll in the
j Broadway Trust Company. Crahan
: calmly admitted that he had attended
j all of these races: that he' was a lover
of horses, but denied all connection with
the counterfeit money except -as already
stated. t
Examination of" the ' files of the New
Tork Herald revealed this advertisement:
"Found At the Grand Central Station
late yesterday afternoon, stwn of money
Grafters Abound Along the
I'orts Where Adventurers of All the World Meet and Are
THE China coast from Singapore to,
Vladivostok Is tile pasture for the
gentleman adventurer, the confi
dence man and the beach-comber from
every parallel. They take in the coast
coming and going. If ever there is a bit
of unpleasantness with' the police of Ber
lin, St. Petersburg. Chicago or San Fran
cisco, the genteel highwayman makes for
the land that lies east ot .the 80th merid
ian, there to come to a sure reward that
is golden and take a little pleasure in
passing.
All this comes about because the colo
nies of Europeans scattered from the
Straits up along the coast to the frozen
circle are always gullible, owing to their
Insularity. Provincial . from long living
away from the whirr of things In Europe
and America, the people who constitute
the little foreign colonies in the various
ports of China. Japan and the Straits
Settlement fall easy prey to the suave
tongu.e and the polished manners of the
wayfarer who plunders.
After one colony Is fleeced the dis
criminating rogue moves on to anoth
er, leaving behind a broad track of bit
ter memories. There is the Instance
of the polished" grentlemp who dropped
Into Yokohama a few years ago with
a batch of letters of Introduction from
hypothetical persons in India.
This Captain Blank was so dashing a
fellow that the Mnglish set In Yoko
hama took him . up with gusto. He
lived at the best hotel, , ordered ex
pensive suits from- Tom - Chinese
tailor, and was dined on the Bluff with
all the comical eclat that is of the
English colony colonial.
Then Captain Blank consented to
take the leading part In some private
theatricals. He wooed the daughter of
a -bank manager at rehearsals, bor
rowed 5000 yen and a diamond ring
from the girl's father, and on the eve
of the performance eloped with the
daughter, the diamond ring and the
money. He cast the girl off at Hong
kong and traveled light into the tfh
known waters beyond.
Hardly had Yokohama society recov
ered from the shock of this experience
when Mme. Nemo (the name will fit
as well as any other) dropped Into
town. It was during the Russo-Japanese
war. .. ,
Mme. Nemo said that she was ac
credited as a correspondent of the Lon
don Mail to write some of .the real ln
stde history of the war. She bore a
letter, subsequently found to toe forged,
from a London editor to Mr. -Hugh
Frazer, the well-known, writer on
things Japanese and wife of a former
Minister of Great Britain to Japan.
Mme. Nemo came to town in Novem
ber. It was chilly, but the engaging
lady with the slight Scandinavian ac
cent wore her Summer lawns. Shortly
after she arrived the atory crept up
the coast that her trunks had been held
for a board bill by the Astor House in
Shanghai. -
Mrs. Frazer and others who had ac
in banknotes, which owner may have,
after proving property, by applying to
B-344, Herald office."
It Is hardly necessary to say that by
this time Mr. -Wilkie had several speci
mens of Crahan's handwriting. After the
ad. was located in the Herald, the -original
copy was found in the records of the
office, and It was In the handwriting of
Marcus Crahan.
The Government was now in possession
of sufficient evidence to convict Crahan,
both of passing and having in his pos
session counterfeit money, but the au
thorities did not know where the plates
were, and how the money had been print
ed. The b'lg problem was to locate- the
plant, to ' pull it up by the roots, and
effectually stop the circulation of these
spurious notes. Crahan might have con- !
federates and his trial and conviction,
while important in . Itself, would be a
Very incomplete satisfaction for the Gov
ernment. .- -One morning after the case
had been pending' for many weeks, and i
rfter Wilkie had all of the. facts in his
possession.' Crahan was brought to- the
office of the secret service division in St.
Louis, and Mr. Wilkie, placing his pris
oner under parole, invited him to go out
and take a bite; to eat with him. The
prisoner had already begun to feel the
effects of " his' -confinement, and he was
delighted to even obtain temporary lib
erty, and the satisfaction of a good meal
at a first-class hotel.
The two men sat down together, and
Crahan was given a breakfast that would
nave delighted the palate and warmed the
heart ot the most confirmed epicure. It
was topped off .with a fine Havana cigar,
and then, this 'formality having been dis
posed of. Mr. Wilkie proceeded to give
Crahan the "third degree." But , this
"third degree." so called, differed, as
widely from the popular conception of the
operation as the day - differs from the
night To begin with, the two principals
sat down as man to man, and not in the
relation of policeman to prisoner. Wilkie,
then -as now. was far removed from the
type of detectives so often found, upon
the stage and in the pages of the .ro
mancer. He did not then and does not
now look like a detective, act like a de
tective, nor talk like a detective. On the
contrary, he presented the outward as- i
pect of a well-bred college man, modest
mannered, and with an intellect far above
the average. He was quiet and self-contained,
and at no time during'' the two
hours they remained together was his
voice raised above a conversational tone.
A close observer, though, might have no
ticed that this gentlemanly person had
a- positive note in his voice and an un
usual alertness Tn his manner. Crahan,
on his part, . looked like a prosperous
business man engaged in the- discission
of sor.ie contract affecting his mercantile
interests.
"Crahan," said Wilkie. "ypur convic
tion Is as certain as that the sun is
shining this morning."
"You seem positive," was the rejoin
der. "What have you to base your opin
ion upon?"
The chief of the secret service then
clearly and carefully outlined the case
of the Government, making it as strong
as he felt Justified in doing under the
circumstances. At its' conclusion he said:
Crahan. your only hope of receiving
the slightest consideration Is to assist the
Government in this case,, rather than
resist it."
Wilkie followed - this up by plausible
argument. alongWthe same line, and al
ways pausing long enough to permit his
words to sink into the man's conscious
ness. The argus-eyed representative of
the United States Government knew by
experience that there Is nothing In this
world more difficult for a man to do than
to admit to' another man that he has
been guilty of, wrong. He realized, there
fore, the necessity of giving Crahan an
opportunity of confessing gracefully. He
did this by suggestion, by innuendo, by
appealing to the man's pride, by pleading
with his patriotic Ipstinct, and, at last,
by laying siege to his sense of. justice.
He- said in substance:.
"Crahan, these noles are works of art.
and It is a great shame that a man of
vour .unusual talent, should have, in
moment of weakness, permitted yourself
tir-commlt such a flagrant wrong against
the public, I am sure, from what I have
seen of you. that while you made the
counterfeits, you did not originally intend
to do so. I feel that, in view of your
cepted the lady as genuine flouted the
story and she obtained a temporary
advance from some of her admirers
among the ladies of the English col
ony. She blossomed out in new Buits
and her faded beauty was brightened
by the change. She attended all the
exclusive functions given in Yokohama
and Tovio and was high in the social
world when suddenly she left town.
- It was only after she had taken a
steamer at Kobe' for Shanghai, on mon
ey wheedled out of a rich American in
the former port, that it became known
that she had worked a blackmail game
on an Englishman who lived on thin
ice in Yokohama, borrowed various
hundreds of yen from the women who
had befriended her, and had been sus
piciously near .to spying on some of
the Japanese secrets.
Mme. Nemo afterward horsewhipped
a Russian secretary of legation In the
Astor House at ananghal and disap
peared. Yet folk in Yokohama still
speak of her as "such a really charm-,
ing person."
The Dane in the red dinner coat was
the ten days wonder of Shanghai a few
years ego. It was the red dinner coat
that did it all.
Beouse he dropped in the dining-room
on the evening of his arrival garbed in
scarlet all of the men who make the
Astor House their club and the center of
their existence jumped to the conclusion
that the Danish gentleman, whose name
appeared on the register with a title pre
fixed, must be a person of circumstance.
Red dinner coats were Immediately or
dered, from the Chinese tailors of Shang
hai and overtures were made for the
Danish gentleman's acquaintance. He
held aloof for - just the psychological
period, tantalizing. the men and. fascinat
ing the women.
Then he allowed two of the wealthiest
men in the foreign colony of 'Shanghai to
become his Intimates, .sold them several
thousand iaels worth of stock in a tin
mine in the Malay States and moved on.
There were no more red dinner coats m
the Astor dining-room after that, and for
some months Danes were as scarce as the
tin in the Malay mines. .
Not all of the strange gentry that circu
late through the ports of the coast are
beasts of prey. Some are delightfully
unique and also harmless. The antics of
Captain Miles Reilly. of the steamship
Montara. is a case in point.
Captain Reilly had taken one of the
Spreekels steamers out of San Francisco,
bound for Petropavlovsky, on the Siberian
coast. The sjiip was laden with contra
band of war, and two Japanese cruisers
intercepted Captain Reilly just before he
made the desolate Northern port. .
They brought the Montara down to
Yokohama and held Captain Reilly as a
witness to testify at the prize court pro
ceedings. Japanese never do anything
in .a hurry. Court adjourned for the hot
months just after Captain Reilly arrived
in Yokohama.
He chafed and swore at delay and lis
soul irked him so that he turned to
strange pleasures. The first thing he did
recognizee, aoiuty. and the fact that you
re a student and enthusiast in engrav
ing, you have been seized with a desire
to. prove how you could reproduce the '
almost faultless work of the Bureau of
Engraving and Printing a class of work
that will always excite the envy and ad
miration of skilled engravers that, filled
with this desire, you began work In an
the camera, and reproduced it to see if
you could 'bring forth a bit of work that
would rival the unrivaled production of
the Government. Then, when this crea
tion, became a fact Instead of a vision,
you were seized with an overwhelming
desire to see if you .could actually circu
late It as genuine money."
Crahan walked down the mental path
way which had been so carefully pro
vided for him by Chief Wilkie as resist
lessly as a child, sind he admitted with
out any reservation whatever, that- he
had manufactured the notes. Having
made this admission," it was not difficult
to induce, him to make a complete dis
closure. "You certainly brought more than thirty
notes to St. Louis, said the detective.
"Oh, yes." responded the counterfeiter.
"Wh-re are they now?" - ' .
"At the. Union Station." '
"In what' part of the station?"
"In the baggage-room."
"Where is the check?"
"I haven't got it. It's downstairs In
the postofflce.' '
Wilkie looked the astonishment he felt.
Before he had time to put his thoughts
into words, Crahan said: r
"After inserting the advertisement in.
the paper, 1 put its.000 In a handbag, to- .
gether with several bottles of chemicals
which I use to artificially age the notes.
Then I placed the check which I received
for the handbag in. an envelope ad
dressed to, .myself under an assumed
name, and directed to the general deliv
ery office of the postofflce."
It was evident that Crahan had care
fully planned even the minutest detail
of tils great counterfeiting scheme. By
this method of concealing the check for
the handbag he left the counterfeit notes
totally disassociated with himself in any
way, and still at the same time within a
moment's reach. A secret service agent
was sent down to the postmaster, ob
tained the letter containing the check,
took that to the Union Station and re
ceived the handbag, which he brought to
Chief Wilkie. Its eontents verified the
statement made by its owner. The chief
took up the question of the plates.
."Where are the plates?" he Inquired.
"In a storage warehouse in Provi
dence," was the reply.
He admitted that no -one in his business
establishment -was f.ware that he knew
anything whatever o'.' the mechanical
part of the work, but the man. with a
cunning almost beyond belief, had per
fected himself in the art of etching.
After that he purchased a press in New
York City and had it delivered, in the
middle- of the night to a private room in
his establishment.. There he worked ana
experimented night after night until he
was finally able to produce the perfected
$100 bill counterfeits. Then the press was
dismantled, and with the plates, placed .
In' a warehouse In Providence. It was
stored under an assumed name.
"Where is the receipt?" asked Wilkie.
"It is pasted between two sheets of
paper that back up a photograph on
my desk in my office In Providence."
The chief immediately called up Provi
dence by telegraph. The local agent was
instructed lo co to Crahan's office and
find the receipt for the press. He did
so. It was between the two sheets of
paper on the photograph on his desk.
Immediate action was taken, and after
Hti nn.:i cu ui.i snui i npni.c ui unit; im
plates were in St. Louis in possession of
Chief Wilkie. On the following day Mar
cus Crahan was taken into court. He
pleaded guilty to manufacturing counter
feit money and passing it on the public.
He was given 15 years on each of the
two Indictments, the sentences to run
concurrently. This "was subsequently re
duced to eight years. Thus ended one of
the most Important counterfeiting
schemes ever-discovered and thwarted by
the marvelously efficient ' machinery of
the secret service division of the United
States Government.
(Next week "Captain Linden and ths
Mountain Mystery.")
Chinese Coast
Certain o Find Victims'.
was to give his plug hat to the rickshaw
tioy who pulled him about the streets.
iic uuj km iuiuiii hitcblvu uy 1113
police on suspicion that he had stolen the
hat. After Reilly had convinced the au
thorities that the boy did not steal the
hat and that he had a. right to wear it
the police made the coolie paint his IN
cense number in scrawling white ideo
gfaphs on the hinter side of the glossy
crown. . .
After that Yokohama never tired of
seeing Reilly, trundling down Main street
behind the sweating, almost naked coolie
and the rakish plug hat adorned wtMi
white ideographs. Reilly always pointed
with pride at the giddy rickshaw boy as
he passed acquaintances.
"It was the same Reilly who one night,
glowing with Celtic fun, bethought him
self of playing circus. It was in a large.
Japanese teahouse, wherein paper screens
only separated the rooms.
Reilly arose from his mat in one room
at the far end of the house and plungeJ
through all of the shoji, or paper parti
tions, as a circus rider plunges through
the paper hoops, until he came up
against the wooden wall at the far end of
the building.. He paid the damages gladly
the morning after. It was worth he fun,
said Reilly.
Touchingly pathetic in its humor was
the instance of the homesick American
who took noisy farewell of Yokohama
after he had been frosted and shrivelled
by the English aloofness of the place.
When he struck Yokohama he discov
ered that he, was a bounder. Being a
bounder, he could not get put up at the
United Club, he could not get an invita
tion on- the Bluff, he could not do any
thing but play billiards and drink Jap
anese Marini cocktails at the Grand Ho
tel bar.
This gentle American learned to haie
the English with a consuming hatred, and
in justice to him it must be said that ths
type of Englishman who makes the East
ern ports his home lays himself open to
dislike because of bis overbearing png
gishness. But after all, the man from
Chicago, finding that he could not break
into Yokohama society with a cold chisel,
decided upon returning to the smoky
warmth of his native city: He arranged
to have his farewell a grand one.
. On the morning that the steamer sailed
there was a sound of revelry along the
Bund. Members of the United Club and
guests at the hotels along the wide water
street hurried to their windows.
They saw the Chicago man reclining
luxuriously in a rickshaw, with another
similar Vehicle following, piled high with
his luggage. Before him marched the ex
ecrable band of Japanese musicians who
play the syncopated airs on the Grand
Hotel veranda of nights.
"Hail to the Chief." "The Star-Spangled
Banner" and "There'll Be a Hot Time in
the Old Town" were the tunes that
shocked the ears of Yokohama as the
Chicago man made his triumphal way to
the ship's pier.
That man left behind him the reputa
tion he "had established. He certainly
was a bounder.