Democratic Sentinel, Volume 17, Number 51, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 5 January 1894 — DON’T CARRY COUNTERFEITS. [ARTICLE]

DON’T CARRY COUNTERFEITS.

It la Contrary to Law and May Eaten Dlaagrrcmble Conaeqoencca. "A man better have a live rattlesnake in bis pocket than a counterfeit dollar carried as a pocket piece,” said Inspector Lawrence of the Treasury Department to a Minneapolis Journal man when talking about the carrying of coina or bills which one knows to be counterfeit. “A great many men do not know the danger they run in this thing, ■ be said. “Suppose, for instance, that a man has a counterfeit dollar which he has bad for years—one that he has picked up somewhere and carries as a pocket piece. He goes into a store one day, buys some article or other, and gets a lot of silver coin in change. He goes from the store, say to a saloon, where he a drink, or to home drug store to get something or other—it matters not where he goes provided there .is one of these ‘smart’ young fellows behind the counter who is always ready to take somebody up on something or other. “Paying for his purchase with one of the dollars the man behind the bar, or the counter* as the case may be, flings the dollar back with the remark that it is counterfeit The purchaser, somewhat abashed and not liking the eying of the crowd around, begins to make excuses to the effect that he did not know it was counterfeit, and so on, and the clerk, who is anxious to make a record as a counterfeit detective, suddenly calls in the police and the man is arrested and searched On his person Is found the other counterfeit dollar, and the possession of the two dollars Is prlma facia evidence that he intended to pass both of them, and that man hasn’t got enough friends in the world to keep him out of the penitentiary. True, it looks hard, but that man had uo business carrying around a counterfeit coin for a pocket piece or any other reason. It is a plain violation of the law to carry counterfeit money around with you, something which many people do not realize. “Suppose I happen to know that a man, a cashier in one of the banks in Minneapolis or St. Paul, for Instance, has a counterfeit S2O bill in his possession. Igo into that bank, , call him by name, and a6k him for that bill. He says he hasn’t got It ‘But,’ I rejoin, ‘you did have such a bill yesterday in your possession, for I have the testimony of two reputable men that they saw you show it around to some parties. Now I want that bill;•.yqu have no business with It.’ He demurs and makes various excuses and does not give me any satisfaction. What do you suppose I do? I go out and get a search warrant and I go through every dollar of money in that bank, dollar by dollar or bill by bill, until I find that counterfeit S2O bill and then 1 confiscate it. There used to he no law against this sort of thing, but there is one now, and the public generally ought to know the facts In the case. And foimerly it was not an offense to make the dies which are used in counterfeiting—anybody could make them and anybody could have them in their possession so long as they were not used, but that has all been changed now.”