The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-09-01
A FORGER HAS LUCK.
He Passes Four Bogus Checks
on Confiding Merchants.
DISGUISED AS a woRkINoMAN.
Gotten Up ~ Lfneman. He Bays
Clothes and whisky and Gets Cash
The Police ON His Trail,

man succeeded In passing <is7 worth of
forged checks and securing about SOL IN
cash. good check for SIS and PCS worth
OF clothing Wednesday evening and took
fight for parts unknown. The victims. as
far az reported, are Isaac Buxnaum & Co,
the T. VI. Rasin Clothing Company and
Dayids & CO.. all clothing firms. and
William Efer, q saloonkeeper at 1206
Front street
About o'clock in the evening q young
fellow with smooth, thin face, appar.
emily about y years of age. giving his
name IS Archie victers, entered Buxbaum
Il Co. s store and told Mr.. Buxbaum that
he had been employed by the Union Eiec-
trio Company. but had just quit work and
was going 10 San Francisco. He intended
TO start in the morning and wanted to buy
suit of clothes, but had no cash,
the company havine given him q
check for $50 too late TO get it cashed. He
showed him the check, which was
drawn on the First National bank, made
PAYABLE 10 .Arcaie Victers" and signed
Union Electric Company. by E. c. Kill
bourne" In the corner was written in q
fine hand: paid in full to date" The
fellow said he was lineman and light
tender and his appearance confirmed his
statement. for his face and hands were
black as If he had just quit work. while
in one hand he had coil Of wire. the other
holding q pair of rubber gloves. and in
the side pocket of his coat he had two
sticks of carbon. Mr.. Buxbaum never
suspected anything wrong and told him TO
pick out what he wanted and he would
cash his check. He purchased about $50
worth of goods, received $50 in cash and
departed.
He must have gone direct across the street
to the store of the i. NJ. Rasin Clothing
Company, for il was little before O'Clock
when he entered the store and told the
head salesman, C. ID. Stedeiin, similar
story, but gave his name as John /.
DeveliE and said nothing about going
away He showed a lump on his wrist,
which he said resulted from the breakin 9
of his arm by falling from an electric pole
in consequence of a shock from the wire.
lie wanted to buy a cheap suit of clothes
and showed $50 check, like the other
with the exception that il was mace pay
able to John T. Develin." Mr.. Stedeiin
believed his storv, as did also Manager
Virtue, and he was given So worth OF
clothes, SO in cash and Mr.. Rasin's pri-
vate check for SIS.
From there he went direct to Davids Il
Co., at the corner of Front and Cherry
streets, a block and half farther down
Front STREET. and on similar representa-
tions got $25.75 worth of clothing and
$39 % in cash on check for s65. the same
as the one given at Rasin's store. He first
made some purchases here before pro-
duclng the check, and when Manager /.
J. Lewis said he would accept it, he 1.-THE
forgery turned around, evidently 20 throw
him more completely off his guard, and
began buying some more goods. He had
| no carbon in his pocket here and he varied
| his story by saying that he was going to
| San Francisco to join the Odd Fellows.
| Mr. Lewis asked why he did not join here,
| to which he replied that his folks lived in
| San Francisco. A circumstance that
| would probably have aroused Mr.. Lewis
| suspicion, had he noticed it was the fact
| that in indorsing the check the forger
| wrote his name .Devlin."
1t was not quite O'Clock when he left
| the latter store. so the whole Job must
/ have been done inside of two hours. With
the delays in making explanations, pur-
chasing and making change he could have
had but very little time 10 spare between
| stores, and the dealers think he must have
had confederate to take the package from
| him as he came ont of each. One of Bux-
baum's clerks saw him go by the store
| just as they were about to close at {
\ O'Clock, but this must have been after he
| finished the job.
| Earlier in the evening he had been to
Rindal & Heiseth's grocery store, at 1908
| Front street, and rendered a $40 check on
| the Puget Sound National bank. drawn in
favor of u. r. Wilson," and signed the
same as the others. A member of the firm
telepnoned to DR.. Kilbourne's Office in
| quiring about the authenticity of the
| check and received an answer that the
| company had issued a check to no such
person. The firm then declined to accep,
the check. but did not take any steps 70
have the man arrested.
From there he went TO William Efer,s
saloon, told the barkeeper he wanted a
| drink, showed him the $40 check and
asked him If he would cash il for him.
The bartender said he would, and the
man treated 10 the amount of 50 cents, in.
viting the bartender to drink also. He
received $3.50 in change aud walked out.
Efer evidently feels very sore over the
| matter, for when a Posr-INrELLrGEScEs
| reporter called TO ask him about the cir
cnmstanees last night all he would saw
was: ION. don't say anything about il.
Let some other sucker get taken in"
The checks were all presented for de.
posit yesterday. but as soon as they
reached the banks on which they were
drawn. through the clearing house, they
were Immediately returned with the in
formation that they were forged and the
case was at once placed in the hands OF
| the police.
They were indeed clumsy forgeries. De-
tectiye Cudihee said last night that he
thought he had clue. and sent q dispatch
to the quarter in which he thinks the man
likely 10 turn up. lie thinks the forger is
man who came here from San Francisco
about month ago, and had been mixed
up with snugglers there.