The Portland daily press., 1892-10-26

frequently been employed in the United
States and other courts, and a recent
case in which he has figured is the
famous Trefethen case in Massachusetts
When Mr.. French took the stand he
| was shown the three anonymous letters,
of May Ia and 81, 1891 and July 90 1892
| 1.-THE one containing the scrlptural
referencesl Then his testimony began.
He had seen the letters before. Sew
eral months ago two gentlemen whom he
did not know, but since known to him
as Messrs. Rand and Larrabee, called at
his Office and submitted these letters and
with them some papers which they said
were standards They wanted to know
if the handwriting in the anonymous and
standard letters was the same. He told
them that considerable study would be
needed After some study they called
again. He told them that further study
might be needed; but that his impress
sion was that they were written by the
same person.
He was then asked whether, having
examined the letters fully, he had
formed an opinion as to whether they
were written by the same person.
Witness replied that he had.
He was requested to state his opinion,
and said: ''It is my honest belief that
they were all written by the same party"
He then went on to give his reasons. He
said that in the first place these letters
in dispute were evidently a labored effort
at disguise, and this effort had been car
ried through to a wonderful degree.
When such disguise had been made, the
only way to determine whether the writ
ing is by the same hand as standard,
was to look for habits and Characters
tics in the forms of letters and parts of
letters. The witness said he found, in
dissecting the anonymous and the stand
ard letters sufficient number of what
he called characteristics. There were
some of these characteristics which he
found it impossible to get over. He had
made use of photographs in making his
study.
Mr.. Rand here asked leave to place in
the hands of the jury photo-engravings of
of the letters in order that they might
follow the testimony of the expert.
The fac-simile cuts of the engravings
were then distributed to the jury.
Then the expert began saying that in
the first place the envelope marked ssB''
1.-THE envelope in which the letter of May
IA, 1891, camel, would be produced. He
first called attention to the small R on
the envelope, referring it to the word
nal letter of Mr.. Burrowes. These two
letters, with the exception of blind
loop, were the same. The witness then
pointed out other RS which he thought
were similar. The letter S was written
in several times with the same up-stroke
and the same right curve. The letter Y
was also written with the same fOrma-
ton and same down stroke in several
cases. The S in ssstreet' on the envelope
was the same as $50 in said in one
of the standards, in important particu-
lars. The expert then went on to point
out what he considered resemblances in
4 large number of letters throughout the
writing, calling especial attention to the
letters r, S, A, F, Y, and E, which in
their formation seemed alike in the let
tiers and the standard.
Two forms of small R were found in
the standard, and these two forms were
found running through the anonymous
letters. He found also running through
the anonymous letters and the standards
two forms of the small 0. Two forms
of w were also found running through
the letters and standards. The expert not
ed that in his opinion many of the small
AS were disguised by making them in
two parts.
The expert said he found that the hab-
it of emitting to dot the ran through
all the letters, both in the anonymous
and standard letters.
This brief reference to resemblance
which the expert testified that he found,
will only show the nature of his testimo-
ny. 1t was very long, and included the
scrutiny of many letters. No descrip-
ton could, without elaborate illustra-
tons, give the reader any idea of the
merits Of this testimony.
OF the Cross-Examination
it is likewise hard to give any accurate
idea beyond disclosing the general trend
of counsel's purpose.
This is sample, although not strictly
verbatim, of the cross-examination be-
gun by Judge Symonds
Q.-When were these papers submitted
to you?
A.-Along in the summer some time,
probably about, July or August?
Q.-Upon their being presented to
you did you say that it would be a mat
ter of considerable difficulty to arrive at
an opinion?
Al saw there were matters requir-
ing considerable study.
Q.-After having studied them day
were you in doubt?
Al suppose it might be said that I
was.
Q.-You say great deal of study was
required to satisfy yourself.
Ayes, sir.
Q.-During the progress of the examin-
alton how many papers were given to
you?
Al cannot Say.
Q.-The papers here presented do not
include all then that were presented?
A.-There were some standards not
included here, but no anonymous let
tiers.
Q.-Who first submitted these pa
pers?
A.-Messrs. Rand and Larrabee.
Q.-Had your attention been called to
any of these papers before?
Al couldn't tell. do not know.
Some weeks previous to the visit of
Messrs. Rand and Larrabee gentleman
came into my office with some letters and
papers. He asked what my charge was
for examination. 1 told him. He said
he did not wish to pay for an examina-
ton unfavorable to him.
Q.-How much time have ysu spent
on this?
E;vo or CIV dovc