St. Paul daily globe., 1889-10-20
ASUYDAY SYMPOSIUM
Forgery Considered as q Fine
Art and Theoretically
Discussed.
& Romantic Case Which viii
Be Remembered by Old
Residents.
Political Representations and
Pertinent Paragraphs
About Politicians.
a Haunted House in South
minneapolis and It's Inter-
est.ng History.

g --Az 41-SLOA y
A trial which turns upon the question
of forgery Is necessarily dramatic and
interesting in the details and results.
Some OF tie most intensely absorbing
plays and novels have had the crime Of
forgery as the basis OF their DiOtS. 4
f0rger is one who seeks, by the accurate
reproduction. OF nearly so. Of sigma
ture OF another TO a negotiable paper
in order TO obtain pecuniaTy advantages.
Al the first glance, this would seem to
be easy enough. yet it is not so. As
human faces and voices vary,
so that one IS rarely mistaken
for that OF another. so 90 sig
natures. but perhaps in not so great a
degree: still Il IS a remarkable fact
that rarely. # ever are. the signatures
of two persons Of the same name exactly
alike. and IL is seldom. indeed. that one
person can exactly reproduce the sigma
ture of another. Almost always some
characteristic Or idiOSynCFaSv or the
original is lacking. and the Unerring
skill Of the expert viii point it out.
Expert testimony as to signatures OF
DeHmauShlD Is mot EueSSWQrK or random
opinions. rs many people imagine
There are certain general rules appiICa-
Die which are generally used. For in
stance, and IT S test which any enc
can easily apply. one OF tie rules Is the
length of the signature. i person who
is accustomed to signing his name Will
usually occupy about the same running
SPACE III doing so. The fOrger may lml-
tate the general characteristics OF the
original. bat. unless he IS extremely
aarerui. be viii make the signature
either longer or shorter than the orig
.nal. and in the effort 10 make it the
same he VIII fail in some characteristic
Of it.
Where a signature IS traced from the
original this rule. of course, VIII not
apD.y. but then the difficulty is 10 imi-
tate the shading and blight Of the pen
al every point.
The fact is that a mans Signature is
generally part OF himself, and many
hold that il Is Indicative of ais charac-
ter. He writes ii. TO a great extent. un-
consciously and mechanically. The inl-
itatOT i perf0rce cOmneiied TO cOncen-
trate his mind upOn the subject ana the
result IS bound 10 be 10 a great extent,
unnatural and easily SeparaOle from an
original signature. So the question runs
into one OF metaphysics, and the con-
cusi0n is easy drawn that 10 be an alb
sUlutelv successful fOrger one should
first acquire the mechanical ability to
initiate the desired signature. and then
be- able TO put himself mentally in the
place OF the owner OF that signature.
To do so is. OF course. impossible. and
by that token an absolutely successful
imitation of the signature of another Is.
indeed. a freak difficult 10 accomplish.
il you doubt II try it,: but don't attempt
to pass tie forged signature OF for
genuine one or You may gctintO trouble.
Speaking Of forgery recalls to mind
one OF the most sensational eases tnat
ever happened in this state. Nearly a
decade and a half ago there appeared in
q county seat of this state q middle
aged man who was a cousin of one of
the leading attorneys of the place. He
had in his possession an honorable dis
charge and bTeveU commission as an
officer Of New York regiment
during the war. He speedily be-
came prominent in business. social
and religious circles and eventually
opened . loan office to place money on
farm mortgages for Eastern PARTIES. in
which he did a thriving business. and
he seemed to be on the road 10 wealth.
Before he reached this point. however,
q 1OmbShell exploded in The community.
Il was during the Hayes-Tilden cam
paIgu Of 1876. Harper'S Weekly. which
was strongly opposed 10 TIlden. came
ont IN an editorial denOuncing his
action as governor of New York
In p6TdOning SO many persons from the
penitenJiaTies of that state. and in order
% make good its argument proceeded
TO publish list OF the persons so par
dOHed. In that fatal list was the name
or the newly arrived citizen. and it was
stated that he had been sent to Sing Sing
prison for a ser es Of fOrgeTies COM
mItted in Buffalo. There was. of
course. something Of a sensation. and
from that time on a part at least of the
community looked aSkance upon the eX-
convict. This. however, did not seem
TO interfere with his prosperity. for his
business thrOve and he seemed to be
accommodating wealth.
But tie end came at last. and great
was his downfall. He was discovered
TO have again resOrted TO forgery by
signing the names of other parties on
drafts sent TO him for such parties after
they had made application for and had
been granted loans. He fed from his
home in the night. was pursued the
next day with a locomotive and brought
back TO be tried. convicted and sent TO
Saltwater. where lie served out his term.
after which he went to Washington
and engaged in some speculative
schemes with weil-knOwn people. To-
day he IS IN one OF the South American
countries as the representative OF an
American syndicate which claims to
y Ia
from the government, and which is
headed by a Well-knOWn ex-United
States senator.
The parties interested with this man
I'm these schemes know all about his
criminal record. and yet they trust him
absolutely with all of the details and
management Of a business vast in its
scope, and which must necessarily
involve the handling OF a great deal of
money. The outcome of the affair is
being watched by many people with .
great deal OF interest.
=l=
An old attache OF the Hennepin county
court house Is said 10 have accomplished
the wonderful feat of voting the sue
eessful county ticket at every election
IN this county for a great number of
ycdIo- -At ACdSl tAidI ID HOW ne ACCOUNTS
for his remarkable endurance as a pub
lie crib feeder. Some of his associates
hint that nobody could ever find out be-
fore election how he was going to vote,
but that is probably slandeT. Jeal-
Ousy is the penalty which merit pays to
mediOcTity the world over.
=l=
indianapolis reports an ''unsUecess-
fui'' attempt to bTibe an alderman. 1t
Is said TO be the first case Of the kind on