The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-10-12
JIM THE PEN MAN.
Capture Of the Perpetrator of Series
of Forgeries.
From The st. Louis RepubEic

From the st. Louis Republic.
An arrest that will be read of In many
cities and towns of the west with interest,
was made in st. Louis yesterday morning
about 10 O'Clock by Officer Pagan. The
man arrested is James Ross, alias J. A.
Gordon. alias w. B. Mason, and the crime
for which he was locked up is forgery, or
rather long and most daring series of for.
geries committed in various places. In no
instance did he secure any great amount of
money, but in the aggregate he has reaped
quite harvest, aud the story of his travels
and the methods he folio we'd make the affair
more than ordinarily interesting. Ross
home is in st. Louis, where mis- wife and
mother reside.
For some time the authorities in st.
Louis, Chicago, Kansas City and a number
of towns in Iowa have been puzzled by the
passing of number OF forged drafts. One
thing that was quite apparent was that one
penman was dong the work, that he was
on the wing, as it were, and was following
a careful plan OF not drawing for amounts
sufficiently large to attract any great
amount of attention. Finally information
ton was furnished the police of st. Louis
by F. J. Pope, treasurer of the st. Louis
Bank Note Company, which pointed al
most conclusively to Ross as the perpe-
TRAITOR of the forgeries, but Ross was hard
to find Mr.. Pope was not vicdmized
financially, although his name was forged
to most of the drafts, as he never honored
any of them, but he was sufficiently con-
cerned to take an active interest in capUur
ing the criminal.
HIS OPERATIONS.
Ross was formerly in the employ of that
company. When he left he took with him
samples of the drafts of various merchants
throughout the country which that firm had
printed. HIS first bogus draft, as far as
is known by the police. was passed on the
Leland hotel of Chicago. 1t called for $50.
After having obtained that sum Ross must
have decided that Chicago was no longer q
safe place in which to cash any more of his
paper 8, for he shortly afterward left that
place. Just previous to his departure he
visited the tickes office of M. j. milford
and purchased ticket for Kansas City,
rendering in payment another one of the
drafts.
In Kansas City his operations were not so
extensive. He only had time to cash one of
the drafts before Its nature was discovered,
and the authorities af that place were fur
nished description of him. 1t can be said
for him, however, that at that place he was
very bold, for the firm that cashed the
draft was the Fl. s. Mills Banking Com
pany, whose skillful employees did not dis
cover the true nature of it until it was too
late.
Not long ago man walked into the Boat
mems Bank of this city, and handing the
paying teller draft, asked him to cash it.
The latter, after carefully examining the
piece of paper, decided that 1t was genuine,
and handed the amount called for to the
party who presented it. 1t afterward
proved to be bogus From the description
furnished the police the man was identified
as Ross. A search was made for him, but
he could not be found. He next went to
Iowa, and managed to get money in various
towns on bogus drafts. After obtaining
several hundred dollars he disappeared. he
was not heard of again until yesterday
morning, when he was arrested.
THE ARREST.
The arrest was brought about in pecu-
liar manner. The police having b; en- furu-
ished description OF Ross had been on the
lookout, with the hope that he would sooner
or later return to the city. At about 10
O'Clock yesterday morning Officer Pagan
was passing the Laclede Building, when he
saw ahead of him a man whose face was
somewhat familiar. The man entered the
Lacede building and the officer followed.
After ascending the stairs the man went
into the Office of Mr.. Pope. Then it flashed
upon the officer that it was Ross. Mr.. Pope
was in his Office at the time, and, seeing the
policeman at the door, tod him t. arrest
Ross, which was done When brought
before the chief OF detectives prior to being
licked up in the holdover, he admitted that
he was the man wanted. He claims that
his downfall is dus to betting on horses,
which habit he contracted in tae local pool
rooms
PROSECUTION DOUBTFUL.
Mr.. Pope, when seen last evening, re-
fused to talk about the affair, giving as a
reason that be did not wish to disgrace the
young mans wife and mother From his
manner il seemed that he would not prose-
cute. If such proves TO be the cise the
young man will be discnarred from f.,ls-