The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1891-06-16
FORGED RIGHT AND LEFT.
4. j. Ryan Charged With Signing
Mcconnell & Clayberg's Name
to Numerous Checks.
His Operations Believed to Foot
up in the Neighbhrhood
of $1,000.
Caught While Trying to Raise = Stake on
Other Peoples Money to Leave
Town with.

f. j. Ryan's contem plated trip to parts
unknown has been indefinitely postponed.
Of leaving Helena ~ he intended
doing Yesterday afternoon he took n trip to
the county jail. where he will remain until
brought to trial in the district court on
numerous cases of forgery. aRRregattnR
probably $1,000.
Ryan il a we'll dressed young man OF
about 81 years. He came here from Great
Falls about the middle Of April with first
class recommendations, and secured en-
ployment with Mcconnell Il Clnyberg, the
we'll known lawyers. as bookkeeper. In
that capacity he had charge Of their check
book as we'll rs the other books. The sign
ing Of the checks, however, was
left to the members of the firm.
Being a genial companion he soon
made many friends. and his man
ners and attention to business gained
him the good will Of the firm. His down
fall began when he tried playing faro. He
lost heavily and his efforts to retrieve only
put him in deeper.
The climax came yesterday afternoon and
It was undoubtedly brought about by over
doing the thing. Ryan contracted a bill at
Cans & Klein's for $40 and paid it with q
check signed Mcdonnell d Clayberg," for
$40, at the same time cashing another for
$40, which amount was handed him. He
also owed q bill Of IS at Babcock d Co.'S.
The same system was worked there. He
gave them two Of his employers checks for
SIG and $35 respectively and got cash for
all over the amount of his bill. Then he
went to Woodman d Sanders, where he
owed SIS. and paid the bill with Mcdonnell
q Claybsrg checks for $45, getting
$50 in change. He made ont a
number of other checks in Mcdonnell d
ClayberR's name and sent a boy to get the
money. He had previously sent his trunk
to the Northern Pacific depot n intended
to catch the 4:40 p. m. east bound train. He
never reached it. Herman Cans OF Cans q
Klein. saw the checks which Ryan had
passed at that place. He became q little
part about cashinR the $40 check. He took
them over to Mcdonnell & Clayberg's Office,
where he showed them. JudRe Mcdonnell
had no recollection of having drawn any
such checks. About the same time checks
with their name on them began coming into
aroused the teller's suspicion as to their
eenuineness and he spoke to Cash
Ter Aaron Hershield about one OF
them. drawn tor $25. Mr.. Hsrsh-
field took the check and went up stairs to
Mcconnell q Clayberg's office, which is just
nounced a forgery by Judge Mcconnell.
Ryan was not in at the time, but came in
during the interview between the cashier
and Judge Mcconnell. He was confronted
with the charge of forgery and though at
having done 20. Cashier HersbieId went
out md got Policeman Rice and then re-
turned to the lawyers office. Ryan was
still there and Rice placed him under ar
rest. As he was leaving the office Ryan
f Mnth %e for t Hiss 'uJ Judge Mcdonnell Moo neil who Who
was too much affected by the exposure of
his trusted bookkeeper to grasp the irony
of the remark, replied: Il don't see how l
ear, Ryan"
At police headquarters Ryan at first pro-
tested that he had lost all the money. He
was searched and $195 taken from him.. He
gave Herman fans $50 of this, $3.50 more
was attached ut the instance of the hotel He
lena, where he had numerous checks Dashed,
and the other $15 was attached by Wood
man a. Sanders, who likewise got possession
of Ryan's trunk and will keep 1t to indem-
nifty themselves.
There are others, however, who are not
go fortunate, and if they still have checks
forged by Ryan in their possession, they
are losers. All the afternoon new cases
known that Ryan had obtained about $500
on checks, to which he had forged the
name of Mcconnell & Clayberg, or on
those to which he had put his own name
with nothing in bank to make them good.
Altogether his operations, it il thought,
will foot up $1,000. The checks bearing
Mcdonnell q Clay berg's name we're all on
the Merchants bank. Those signed with
Ryan's name we're on the same sbank
where he did at one time have an account.
The limitations of Mcdonnell d
done. In fact, had it not been known that
no such checks were issued by the firm it Is
doubtful whether either one of the mem.
hers could have told the difference between
the genuine and the counterfeit. The best
evidence of this is the fact that before
Herman Cans became suspicious of the two
checks passed on his house, many of thu
worthless pieces of paper, with Mcdonnell
d Clayberg" signed to them. had passed
through the Merchants bank without ques
ton. One of the forged checks was mad.
out to the order of Isaac Hamburger, ane
Ryan put that name on the back SO %cleverl,
thai the check passed through bank. Ry-
ans operations are said to cover ONLY
a period of about ten days. Mo
Cornell d ClayberR's check bool
shows twenty-one stubs in thu
D0Ck part, anu IL ID IIOm tnIs pOEVlOu tuA
Ryan doubtless got the checks to which III
put the firms name. He admits that h.
lost the money in gambling.
Ryan belongs in New York, where he hat
been in the employ Of a lawyer as a stsnog'
rapher. The lawyer gave him q first-clas
Recommendation. He wont from New
York to Chicago. thence to st. Paul ant
then to San Francisco. At the latte
place he says he was in the emplo.
of a banking firm. He declares that the.
trusted him to such an extent that they sen
him to Astoria, Ore, to take charge of
branch office. From Astoria he went t.
Great Falls and then came to Helena
Ryan declares that he never committe'
any crime until he went broke on cards an,
high living here. His efforts to rails
enough money in one day to take him ava,
from Helena is what led to his detection.
The best 30 cent dinner in the city at the Crysta
restaurant every day from II to five.
DIR. j. w. Essig, dentist, has removed I
fha Power block. rooms go aud Oil Gft