The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1885-11-25
f SIGNATURES.
How Some hank Officials and Others
Sign Their Names

Sign Their NanneS
II think it's Simmons" said tie sig-
nature expert of the United States treas.
ury, to a Washington correspondent OF
the New York Sun, as he laid aside g
magnifying glass and wiped his eyes with
a silk handkerchief. He had for half an
hour been examining a curious scroll on
the back of q check. It consisted Of 8
black stroke of q pen, tapering off to an
irregular line, and was there to represent
the name of some bank cashier.
"There is not a letter in it," ne said,
holding it up to the light. ''but it means
Simmons"
"Do you have many of that sort2"
"Worse than that. Five or SIX hundred
different signatures pass through here in
a month, maybe, and two. thirds of them
are illegible. Bank cashiers seldom make
letters in their signatures. They adopt
a certain form Of scroll generally, and
always use it tor their signature. Some
of them are very curious. This, for in
stance" and he took from q drawer q
paper across which was scrawled a char
acter that looked like a schoolboy's
sketch of a whirlwind. The line had
been spun around and around in ne
piece like a spiral spring, then shot
across the paper about half an inch,
when the gyration was again re-
peated, and this was followed by
another dash and some more cir
Giles. "That," said the expert, 'tis the
signature of the cashier of one of the
New York banks. Of course there are
no letters in it, but we know what it
means and could swear by it at any time.
1 wouldn't want better signature. But
if YOU wanted a longer one, here it u.s."
and he handed out another draft.
"The length of this" he said, els reg.
ulated by the width of the paper on
which it is written. 1t always extends
from margin to margin. 1t consists,
you see, merely in high up and down
strokes, perfectedly pointed at the top,
and all of about the same height. Again
you have no name at all. 1t is simply
the sign of a name, but it is just q good
for US. 1t is always the same, and as
simple as it may seem, I don't think it
could be counterfeited. Here is another
with the same pointed strokes, but there
are fewer of them, and the signature is
higher than it is long. But there is one
signature we get on checks principally
which is more remarkable than
either of these. The letters are all the
same height, and will reach from top to,
bottom across the face of a check. At
first glance nothing can be made Of it,
but if you follow the line carefully you
can unravel the name, and you will be
surprised at it's %plainness. Each letter is-
perfect in itself, but is so tall and mar
row that at first glance you don't COM
prehend what it is.
"We come across some very curious
signatures, and some mighty bad ones.
Those of Ben Butler and Horace Greeley
are famous for their ugliness, but they
would fall into insigniicance alongside
the scrawls that pass through here on
drafts and checks" z
"How do you make them out"
"Generally the contour suggests the
name, though no letters may be formed.
Sometimes I know a name at first glance,
when if I try to analyze it l am thrown
of the track entirely. Probably once or
twice We have had to write to find out
what a name was. but generally when
they are too much for me, the register OF
the banks will give the name. When
we come across a new signature that Is
particularly hard to make out VIC make q
record of it, 80 that whenever we see
that same combination of odd characters
we know what it stands for"
lis a bad signature a sign OF ignor-
ance?" -9
"By no means. The worst signatures
are those of educated men, generally
bank officials. They are always written
freely and quickly. Write your name as
fast as you can and see what it 10 oks
like. That's the way it's done. These
men have to write their names so often
that they get to making the quickest
combination of characters possible. and
adopt it as their signature"
"What is the easiest signature to-
forgeT
Zone that is extremely bad or remark
ably good. Spinner used to write the
worst signature of any man in this de-
partment. Yet there were a dozen clerks
who could counterfeit it so perfectly
that no one could tell the difference.
The perfect Spencerian signature, how.
ever. is the easiest to initiate. One Of
the best signatures I have ever seen is
that of the new treasurer, Jordan. 1t IS
beautiful to look at-as clear and legible
as en~eraving-but I don't think it could
be counterfeited. He can write his
name quicker than any man ever saw:
Assistant Secretary Faircbild and Third
Auditor Williams write their names well,
too.
The most ponderous signature l ever
struck was that of Drake De Kay, who
was assistant adjutant general under Nc
Clcllan. When he signed letters and
papers of various kinds they used to be
spread out on the floor. where the sun
would strike them, to dry. This isl
fact. Idon't know what he used to"
write with, but I think it WAS a stick"
"Do you ever come across any Tor
geries"
eyes, but the large majority of them
arc innocent. They grow out of lgnor-
ance. Sometimes checks come IN with q
! mans name signed to them, and when
we come to look over the papers in the
claim against which the check is drawn
we find he can't write at all and has used
a mark only. Then, of course, we know
there has been a forgery committed.
But it generally turns out that the man
has had some one sign his name for INN,
and the parties have been led into 1or-
gerry innocently-