The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-09-12
swlNpLlNe EXPRESS COMPANIES.
Detectives Would Like to Interview Ca
madam Scamp.

Detective Murphy, of the Montreal po-
lice force, was one of those who attended
the wild west show of Pawnee Bill yes
terday, not that he is interested in the
show, but that he thought Canadian,
who is supposed to be at this time on
this side of the line, might take it into
his headssto go there. Detective Murphy
is very anxious to find his fellow coun-
tryman and to have a prolonged inter
view with him. Deputy Hartnett, who
was with Mr.. Murphy, would also like to
meet the same party, and 1t is safe TO
say that having met him he would hard
ly return to Montreal with Detective
Murphy, but would first reside for some
years at Thomaston in this state.
The party both officers wanted to ind
is wanted for raising notes of the express
companies of Canada, and passing the
same. The operator who has made his
sspaper'' we'll known throughout large
portion of Canada hit upon what proved
to be, in his hands, a very successful
scheme He started in at Toronto. and
operated from that city to Portland,
finding one victim here.
He bought express notes payable to
various parties. For example, to John
Clark, Abel Floyd, John Floyd, ]. Dunn,
and so on. His original notes were all
for so cents, and were 'sraised" by the
expert scamp to $50 each.
He did not make the mistake OF pre-
senting his notes for payment himself.
AS is well known, the same system is in
practice on this side of the line, the
money orders of the American Express
Company passing without question any
where. In Canada, as here, the express
orders are money, in the important re-
spect that they are accepted anywhere
for their face value, and are payable to
anybody. No personal Identification of
the holder is required.
The plan followed by the bold Canadi-
an operator was to have his notes pre-
sented by some we'll known firm or per-
son, and he seems to have followed out
one course. He would make purchase
of some goods of nature to be taken
away with ease, and to be pawned when
out of danger, would tender one of his
superbly executed raised notes, get his
change and leave. He had to run GER
tain degree of risk, and had to work
rapidly. He took the risk, bought his so
cent orders at various points, and sold
them at an advance of $4,000 each.
He seems to have worked" Canada
for all it was worth, and to have then
dropped down on Portland. Represent
ed one of his ''orders' at the counter of
the jewelry store of Boynton & Co., and
it was accepted without objection. He
bought good bill of goods and received
$40 in change. Some three or four days
after, it was presented at the office of
the Canadian Express Company and was
paid without hesitation. 1t was sent to
the home Office at Montreal, and was re-
turned endorsed, ''raised from so cents"
It will be seen that so well did the
scamp do his work, that the home office
itself could only tell that the orders
were raised, by having the report of the
agent who had issued the original order.
For example, if the agent at Toronto
had issued an order for 30 cents the
home Office could see at a glance that it
had been raised to $50, otherwise the
notes would have passed as well at the
home Office as at the branch at Portland.
The Portland case was not reported at
the time, the authorities hoping to find
the party. Detective Murphy, who is
engaged on the case, is one of the best
officers of the Montreal force. The i'm
portance of capturing the much-wanted
criminal will be seen when it is recalled
that the same thing might be carried on
to almost any extent, even to the point Of
making radical changes in the method of
issuing the orders matter of absolute
necessity.