The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1883-05-24
The "Expert" business.

AN elderly gentleman with bushy white
hair and whiskerS, rather square and
massive features and firmly knit form
Of medium height, clad in an exceeding
ly plain and d-fashioned suit of clothes,
welcomed a reporter III Cleveland the
other evening.
els this Professor Piper?" asked the
reporter.
'Please call me Mr.. Piper, plain Mr..
Piper" was the modest request.
Piper is ali eminent microscopist and
expert, summoned to examine the sigma
lures of deed conveying certain Pros
pect street real estate from Mr.. and Mrs.
w. III. Osborne to G.. a. Adams. Mrs.
Osborne claims that her signature to the
deed was written at home without pro-
per acknowledgement by the notary,
whose signature and that of her husband
was written down town after hers
had been affixed. And upon this ground
She seeks to set aside the deed. Adams,
OF course, objects to the setting aside of
the deed, since he has advanced Osborne
money on the strength of it, claims that
the instrument was signed in legal
form.
Piper brought his microscope to bear
Oh the signatures and declared that it
was an indisputable fact that Mrs. Os-
bOrne's signature waSnOt written before
that Of the other signers, asshe positive
ly states, but afterward. The loop of
the y in Mrs. Osb0rne's Christian name
of Mary crosses the Ii. of her husbands
signature, and powerful glass showed
conclusively. Piper claims, that the
lines Of the y We're written over the II.
Numerous drawings of the letters mag
nified many diameters appeared on Pi-
per's table, together with pencils, brushes
and tinely-gradcd rules for measuring
the smallest fraction of an inch. Piper.
by an ingenious device, threw the sha-
doWs OF the signature, magnified many
diameters, Oh a sheet of bristol board
and then drew them as they appeared.
lie has just returned from Philadel-
phla, where he was employed over one
hundred days on one case. That which
called Piper into prominence more than
anything else was his connection with
the Cadet Whitaker case. 1t will bo
remembered that it was claimed that
Whitaker himself wrote the note of
warning found in his room. Piper en-
larged the handwriting and declared
that it wasno Whitaker's. Subsequent
confessions proved that he was correct.
81 am a firm LclRver," said the expert,
Gin Whitaler's innocence"
One of the curiosties Of Piper's col
lection is his wonderful laboratory of
inks, containing samples Of almost every
variety Of ink made. lie has a book
filed with ink tests. A long strip of
paper is painted with certain variety
of ink and then the strip is marked off
into squares. In each square drop of
a certain chemical is placed. Oxalic
acid, for instance, takes out all the color
of the bright-hued aniline inks, but has
little effect on Arnod's ink or Stephens.
Chloride Of lime and potash water have
marked effect on even Arnold's inks.
India ink nothing appears to effect. AT
stated intervals Piper writes specimens
Of certain kinds of ink with date
affixed and lays them, away to show
what effect the action Of time has on
them. In one case Oh which he was
employed matter Of $3.50. 900 hinged
on his decision. A. party swore that