The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1886-11-18
Disputed HANDWRITING.
How Peoples Rcnl and Pretended SYKES are
Detected.

The current number of the Penman's
Art journal contains complete Il paper
ON ''Disputed Handwriting" prepared
by It's editor ID. L. Amcs, the well
known penmanship expert, and read be,
lore the Business Educators Conven-
ton. The subject is Of such broad and
/ 9"u 2ral interest rs to warrant the repro
ductlon of the article in these columns.
"rhis is subject that has been grow
ing greatly i'll importance during the
past few yearsthat is the legal investi-
CATION of questions arising from hand
writing in our courts of Justice. With
reference to the value Of such labor as
experts are able to perform in this re-
! Spcct there is u wide difference of opin-
ion. Many Of the jurists Of our day
esteem 1t highly, and many not quite 50
highly. The question really comes to
bc-ls there any such thing as scientific
and satisfactory investigation Of the
various phases under which handwriting
appears i'll our courts. We all know that
torSerlcs arc very numcrous-tha
scarcely week passes in this city that
there arc not tried causes involving in
some manner the gcnuincsS of hand
writing. Most of those present arc
familiar with the methods rcsortcd to by
iorSers Ill producing their work. The
great majority OF EOrgerics arc not by
persons who arc skilled in the art of
| pcnmanship; many Of them arc OF SO
imperfect Il character that good Judge
would wonder that there had been any
question raised respecting it. | have
been called to investigate forgcrics
where there was scarcely a semblancc to
the genuine writing sought to be imi-
tated, others where there would be II
general outline, but the character OF the
work would at once stamp it as spurious.
Inc great proportion of the forgcries of
signatures arc pcrpetratcd by means of
trncInG--thc parties making an outline
with Il pencil and then writing it in with
lnk-lorgcrCS of that class are very
easily detected when carefully eXr mined
with good glass; and especially with n
good microscope. Another class, and
the most dangerous, are prepared bv
Slulllut writer's taking signature and
prGctIclng Upon it, as upon COPY, until
1t can be reproduced by the forgGr with
Il tOIcrablc degree Of accuracy, some
times to nn astonishing degree. have
seen such signatures where it was impos-
Slblc to determine with any degree of
certainty whether the signatures was
spurious or genuine. Forgcries executed
ny the tracing process arc invariably
demonstrated to be such, l believe, be-
cause no man can ut the first following
Oh tracing make signature which will
deceive person who is familiar with the
genuine the shades will be different,
and the strength Of the lines will be
different, and where there arc short
coming" III tins respect they have to be
covered by rctracing. These will appear
under the glass i'll overlapping layers of
INK. This Will also be true of forged
/ signatures that arc traced by holding
them to the light, rs to II pane Of glass
or to light, but there is also different
movement, and hence different quality
OF hnc~-~thcrc is that III the WRITING
winch shows 1t IS not written with the
ordinary and natural motion of the
hnnd. There will also be Il nervous
trcmor, and the slower the hand is
moved the more apparent will this bc.
II one signature is placed over another
and found to cover 1t in every respect. if
IS inevitably the case that one is IL forge
ry. Most forgcrics nrc msllilfulIy exc
cutcd by IL professional, or by one who
might be called pen artist. Many are
mad" by clerks who get an idea that they
can reproduce their employers sigma
turc; they have had very good opportu-
mites to get acquainted with Che genu-
me, yet rarely fail to be detected
one OF the most frequent phases in
which these investigations arise is in
disguised handwriting in the form of
abusive, binck-mailmg, threatening or
obscene letters. Persons unfamiliar with |
tins matter can scarcely realize the cx-
tent to which this species of crime is
carried. venture to say that during
the past year there has not been one
week III which packages Of anonymous
letters have not been brought to my
Office for investigation. Many of them
arc OF the very worst charactCr--mnny
threatening the lives Of people, many
abusing parties, and many growing out
OF the strikes. only recently letters
have come from the prOprictorS or man
ayers OF Il railroad who have been threat |
enc" with death by supposed employees. |
All manner of means arO rcSOrtcd to by |
writ rs to conceal their Identify some |
times the letters are even hand printed. |
Sometimes they are 50 slNillIulIy executed |
That no trace Of the identity Of the writer
IS lett. These cases, however, are rare |
1or very lew persons can write to the cX-
tent OF page OF amy sheet and impart |
to 1t some OF their own characteristics. |
Inc worst Of all handwriting to inYcs- |
tlBatc void would be that Of school bOy |
who had no characteristics to his hand |
writing who has not practsed under |
circumstances which impaired any indi. |
yldlallty--or personality to his writing. |
If two teachers Of writing should write |
Il letter and bring it up absolutely, ac-
cordlnG to principle, to the standard Of |
any system, there could be no compare |
son as to the personal characteristics Of |
the writers. As VIC go into business
however, We depart from the standard
forms Of the School-rOom, and each of
these departures constitutes the peculiar
personality Of the writer. (Hcrc was
illustrated upon the blackboard n1mc1-
ous specimens of these habitual CHANGES !
These departures are mostly unconscious:
Il person gradually drifts into these yarin,
tons III his practice illustrated by the
letter j on the board).
{" \ short time ago L had occasion TO
examine il dozen long letters, which I
pronounced for8cric8. In the genuine
handwriting the crosses Of the witb