Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-06-21
NAN WITH iron NERVE.
CAREER OF A VERY CLEVER FoRGER.

: P0oo" Dunk -CharlcS ArnoId'S Scheme
3 10 Get a Light Sentence-Tryin TO Despoil
aDead Mans Estate.
The detective" remarked Francis w. Hol-
, brook, formerly general manager for A. T.
stewart ~ Co., land the expert accountant
often have the same object in view, the trac.
Ing OF a crime TO its source. but Eere the sim.
ilarity OF the callings end. The officer Of the
law deals more with people whose deeds are
those OF brute force, murder, garrotlng,
housebreaking, safe-blowing, etc. The ac.
countant has to do nearly always with rascals
OF Intelligence and skill, and the contest be-
tween the two is nearly always one Of brains
Or superior audacIty. / use the word 'audaci-
~ advisedly, for often one may be morally
certain OF a thing and still lack absolute proof
un'css 1t can be obtained from the criminal
himself. To secure that the guilty party must
be confronted suddenly and before the
shock OF expected exposure is over he GEN
orally supplies the missing links in the chain
Of evidence.
81 remember" continued Mr.. Holbrook, "a
ease In poin; which not only illustrates nv no.
sllloll, but which also SHOWS the iron nerve of
u selt-centered, self-contained man. TIE party
10 whom l refer was cashier for a large whole.
safe house here In Chicago. lie was a fine
looking fellow of thirty or so, with dark hair
and eyes, along black mustach and an elegant
dresser. He had none of what are termed the
petty vices. lie didn't use tobacco or drink.
lie never was known TO touch u card or enter
q gambling house. He had no entanglinp al.
liances with women. In fact, there seemed To
be no point at which his character was assail-
nblei and his employers trusted him implicit
~. Well, on one OF national HOLIDAYS. the
Fourth OF July, the senior partner Of the firm
Glanced 10 pass his place OF business, and no.
t.eed that the front doe was slightly aiar.
ms surprised him, and lie entered. He found
the cashier writing at the desk. The latter
on seeing his employer with a quick move
ment concealed something under a newspa-
per. The two Chatted n moment and the pro-
irietor went away, with a vague sense of un.
%rasiness. He hated to suspect his trusted
lieutenant OF wrong-doing aud strove to ac-
count for his action on the ground that he
was writing a personal letter To some friend or
Intimate. Do the best he could, however, the
feeling OF security increased, aud after a
week he resolved 10 have a quiet examination
made OF the books.
II had severed connection wit IA the house
OF Stewart only a short time before, and be.
gun the business Of All expert accountant.
and II chauced that | was called in 10 do the
work requircd. Well, sir, II was the hardest
job ] ever tackled in INV life. was twelve
years with the City Bank OF Albany and
twenty ears with Stewart, all the time con-
fronted by financial and business problems,
nut this was the first puzZler | had struck.
The suspected mans books we're marvels of
penmansLip and accuracy. They all agreed
to The last cent. Now here could he discover.
The slightest mistake u attempt at deception.
Then l went through the cash and over
hauled the hank account. Here ] discovered
n variation OF a few dollars, which was ex-
planned by a dozen Il fTercut methods, but
could cast no reflection ou the cashiers hon.
esty. Finally, as It last resort. / took 10 nv
once "A bundle of Cancelled checks, some 200
IN number, aud spent the night STUDYING
them. They all seemed To be for legitimate
expenses, we're entered in the books. bore the
Endorsements OF the firms to whom they had
beeh paid, had gone through the clearing
house, and were duly cashcd by the bank. 1t
was half past 4 IN the morning when | had
finished, aud | was about To write report to
tho firm stating that after a most rigid exam.
lnation / had no hesitancy in pronouncIng
,helr man all right, when the play of the
hRht from the fickering gas on some OF the
checks before me unravelcd the whole mys-
terry. Selling that bundle, ] went through il
again, aud found that two.thirds of the
checks were forgeries, but nearly all OF them
had been used to pay debts with, and the in
Gorsemenis were genuine. / thought out the
problem, went To- bed for a few hours. and
then presented myself at the store. went
into the private office and met the senior
partner. Handing him the forgeries, | said:
Ibid you sign thoscP
"'Why certainly
"'NO you didn't replied.
"'Perhaps you'll allow me 10 know nv own
landwritiug,' he retorted.
TO this ! disscnted and cited the case OF a
New York banker who went on the stand and
swore TO the genuineness Of his personal
which was proved 10 lie a forgery
on the testimony OF his own teller and the
o. the criminal. Then | incurred
his methods. He said that the
cashier each day made out checks for all paw {
due and had him sign them. the checks '
still being in the book six. on the page. (
"'All right | said. Now this is the story :
Of how you have been robbed. Here are your !
genuine checks, those you have issued for ,
personal or minor expenses. Those you sign I
ed at your own desk. How do | know itl
Because the Ink Is faded. or course It is the /
same Kind the cashier has at his counter, but y
there is this difference: You do not write O
much and your private supply gets old and [
weak. His IS constantly fresh, because he 1
Uses a great deal. After securing your name
At the bottom OF the checks for firm business y
he has destroyed them and substituted forged r
1nes. r
But whyl With what obicctlp d
- TO educate the bank to look upon the a
as II genuine, so that when he wanted S
money for himself he could get It without II
rouble." o
well, this staggered the old gentleman,
md lie insisted on calling the cashier to &C. d
cunt at once. / placed the sheaf Of forgcr- b
es before him aud said, Have you written a
my more of these to-dayP To my astonish- d
nent lie burst out in a laugh and exclaimed, c
How In III did YOU find 1t outP Knowing h
le was cornered, he cody told the story of q
io hahSoNbiOHS u udhIIlliJcuk Udl uc nhu Lou o
way with between $40, 90 and SIS, 900, RI
which, he continued, Il have safely hidden Il
The deficiency was charged by him to mer- S
%handise, etc. The upsliot Of the thing was A
hat the cashier is now in Joliet. His en- "
did't want the world to know how 81
'adly they had been bitten, so on the promise L
4 n light sentence the rascal was Induced to 81
lead guilty 10 the embczzlcment OF a couple Ia
dollars. He Is a man Of iron nerve, I
s was shown by his frequent calls at the 81
ank TO secure certification of his forgeries, oil
nd will be dangerous 10 society when lie is 81
gain at large" b
vi
"a criminal of entirely another sort," con- a.
Mr.. Holbrook, 'but a very dangerous q
ne and a prince In his line. is Charles Ar. Il
old, formerly Ia the employ OF s. A. Kean &
% but now engaged ON n government con- In
of some years duration at Joliet Ar III
old Is a German between fifty and sixty st
ears of age, and must have been a rascal for III
lany years, for his methods were those of an W
xpert. lie was detected by accident aud an d,
Examination Of bis books showed a deficit OF m
] 400. lie was called In 10 the private Of th
&C and Immediately confessed. On his lie
nees he begged for mercy and pleaded pow II
rty and the sickness OF his wife a sthe In OF