The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1877-08-22
MORE ABOUT THE GREAT PoRG-
ERIES.
Gesner's Record. Some Doubts Re-
garding His Connection. with
the Gang,
GEsNER AND WESTON.

GESNEH AND WES1ONs
Special Telegram to the Chicago Times.
New YORK, Aug 2l.--Fhe World pub
fishes the following with regard to Gesner
ana Weston, the alleged forgers: The
fact that the prisoners are charged with
forging check for $4,000, drawn by the
New York Lite Insurance company on the
Union Trust company, led many to believe
that Gesner and Weston belonged to
gang of forgers OF which the men who,
January last, forged check for $64, 900,
drawn by the same insurance company
upon the same trust company. were mem-
bers. MIR. Theodore w. Banta, of No.
I44 st. James place, Brooklyn, cashier of
the New York Life Insurance company,
when called upon this evening, said: Il
read the Chicago dispatch in the morning
papers, and | should judge that the $40,-
600 check drawn on the Union Trust CON-
pany, of which mention is made, is in all
probability the we'll known $4,000 check
drawn some months ago by the New York
Life Insurance company on the Union
Trust company 1t is not at all likely that
another check on the Union Trust COM
pany, purportihg to be ours, has been
| forged, because it is we'll known both 10
this city and Chicago that our account with
the Trust company has been practically
closed. We have, it is true, at present a
| few hundred dollars standing to our credit
on the company's books, but our deposits
are now mainly with the Chemical bank.
If any large losses were to be paid in the
west, checks on the Chemical bank would
in all cases be sent, and these checks would
| be cashed through the medium ot the
western city banks As the Chicago banks
| have no convenient means for verifying the
| signatures on our checks, they would un-
Goubtedly refuse to accept such as were
not presented by well-known and response
| Bile parties. The banks are on their guard
against any attempt to palm off any such
forged papers. and it is not likely that any
of the gang in question would have ven
tured to attempt such thing, Since it
was known to US that our paper had been
successfully counierfeited, we closed an
account with the Trust company as mat
ter of precaution, aud no bank would think
of receiving as genuine any large check Of
ours on that institution, even If certified by
their cashier. An uncerti6ed check such
as this SAC. 600 check may be supposed to
be would be worse than useless for its
presentation would instantly excite sus
picion. The tOrgers whose arrest is re.
ported belong undoubtedly to the gang
who committed the late forgeries in this
city. The detectives have been on their
track for the last few months, and have
refrained from arresting them only from
lack of evidence sufficient tor their convlc-
tisn. | suppose that the forgeries have
been so directly traced to them that the
detectives decided to arrest them on Satur-
day. The gang is certainly we'll organized,
and they have been decidedly shrewd in
their operations.
The forged check drawn on the Third
National bank was executed by the same
gang. The check for $4,000, purporting
to have been drawn by the New York Lite
Insurance company on the Union Trust
company, in January last, was almost q
perfect imitation of the checks used by the
company, the only difference that could be
| noticed on careful inspection, being g
slight difference 10 the color of the ink
1t came to the Trust company in the course
of ordinary transactions with one of theil
! customers, who was entirely ignorant of it:
character, and had received lit from S. i
Blood, stock broker, TO purchase $780, ,00(
gold coin. Blood had obtained il from
G. l.. Maxwell, Broad street curb
/; stone broker, who ordered the gold. sayins
. it was for a good up town customer.
Maxwell, after his arrest, said that he haC
= Ieceivediit from Chatwick, who had com,
to him and represented himself as con
nected with the New York Life Insurance
Company, aud, after speaking confidential,
about negotiating some securities, CAV
; him the check. with orders to buy tn
: gold. He also spoke with one Brown
{ coming TO him and speaking about th
affairs of the Life Insurance Company
Browne, however, cleared himself of a
completely, and was discharged Maxwe
got out on bail. Chatwick is still in Lud
low street Jail. on civil suit brought b
: the Trust company for the recovery of tn
% amount of the check
Ii the forgers arrested in Chicago by B
G. Jayne reached New York to day the
were pretty we'll concealed from the eve
, of men. The forgery of Winslow, Lanler
:. i Co.'S checks for $27 900 and $40, 90
on the Third National bank was like tn
forgery on the Union Trust company an
r the forgery of check of Hatch & Foott
= for which Buckingham is now in th
/, Tombs In all these cases not only tn
signatures but the checks themselves wer
= forgeries. The puzzle in the Union Trus
company case was to find out how th
forgers came to be possessed of the prope
numbers to stamp upon the checks.
has been suggested that very small chec
from the New York Life might have bee
procured and the number next to the on
q stamped on such check imposed. In th
4 Third National bank case the governmer
"a stamp on the check was forgery, as
Z probably may have been in the other case'
\ and this brings the arrest of Westor
. Gesner and Henderson within the jurisdiC
ton of the United States authorities
)" The work done by this gang was excellen
o. There appear to have been more than on
% forger of signatures in the compan.
Hairing was the forger, as alleged, in th
$4,000 business. B. q. Jayne, who an
pears as a government detective in th
case, is said to be no longer in the feder
service. but is employed By the New Yor
Lie Insurance company in the case.
GEsNER's RECORD.
u Special Telegram to the Chicago Times.
ST. PAUL, MINI, Aug. 20.-N. A, Ge
ner arrested in Chicago for his suppose
conne stion with an extensive gang
y forgers, has lived at Lake City, Wabasha