The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1893-06-06
YOUR NAME IN DANGER.
The New and Startling Science Of
Crime.


Chemistry Has Developed q High Grade
of Fsrgers Dangers That Alarm
Bankers and Business Men-No
Remedy as Yet Suggested.
1t used to occasion some comment
from those who received letters from
the late David Davis to see his name
subscribed so near the body of the
latter that it would have been inn
possible to have written anything be-
tween the signature and the letter it.
self. He left no white paper; the upper
parts of the letters of his name were
made to touch the last line of the
letter. Judge Davis used not to write
so many letters when he was a SUI
preme court justice as he did after
senate, and he was never a very active
correspondent
He explained to me one day why he
had adopted this rather unusual
custom. He said that when he was a
Judge in Illinois case was brought
before him of alleged forgery of a
note. The signature to the note was
admittedly genuine, but it was claimed
by the apparent maker of the note
that the body of it had been written
upon a piece of paper to which the
genuine signature had been attached.
The trial developed that some one had
secured letter written by the appar-
emit maker of the note. The mans
signature had been written at a consid-
cradle distance below the end of the
letter, leaving a sufficient space of
white paper to write the words consti-
tuting the note. The original letter
had, of course, been cut off.
This experience, Judge Davis said,
taught him a lesson, and he never
signed his name to any document with
out taking care to make it impossible
for anyone to make forgery over the
genuine signature.
But if Judge Davis were living now, he
would find that such precaution would
not be preventative to forgery. With
in the past two or three years the
methods of crime have very greatly
changed The craftsman is a criminal
of the past Bank burglary is almost
unknown. In the past six years not a
single robbery by professional Grim
inals has taken place in the Wall street
district Of New York city.
But it has been made apparent re-
Gently that crime has only changed its
methods. Criminals are now expert
and, to some degree. learned men.
Chemistry serves the villain Just as 1t
does the true scientist, and bank Off
GERS as well as the higher grade Of de-
tectives have been aware for some
time that an epoch Of dangerous for
gerry has succeeded the day of the ex-
pert safe breaker and masked burglar.
Within few days very remarkable
case has been on trial in Connecticut,
and one which would illustrate to
Judge Davis, if he were alive, that his
method of preventing forgery is no
longer of any value. merchant of
Rhode Island, a man of very high
business standing, named Peckham,
was amazed last fall when he received
notification that two notes, one for
eight thousand dollars and another for
two thousand dollars. were held by
banks for collection, and that he was
the maker of the n. MIR. Peckham re-
pudiated the notes, although he was
compelled to admit that his signature
was genuine. He declared that the
body of the notes were forgeries-
The payee of the note was a grain
merchant named Tritt, living in Con-
necticut, and criminal suit for
forgery was brought. The notes were
submitted to experts. They were writ
ten upon sheets of business paper, at
the top of which were the business
cards in one case of Mr. Peckham's
house and the other of Mr.. Tritt's. Mr.
Peckham claimed that in each case his
signature was signed by him to bust
ness letters and that the body of the
letters had been bleached out by chem
icals and then a note written in place
of the correspondence.
A few years ago it would have been
possible to have proven such bleaching
and alteration. Prof. Doremus, an ex-
pert authority, testified in court less
than a year ago that where original
writing had been removed it could be
reproduced by chemical reagents. But
if chemicals failed to restore any writ
ing, then it might be regarded as
established that the only writing upon
the paper was that which appeared to
the naked eye.
These two notes were submitted to
Frederick w. Slee, who is also an ex-
pert, and he subjected them to chem
ical treatment. The paper upon which
the note for SO, 600 was written under
this reagent revealed eRrlier writing,
and in Mr.. Peckham's handwriting
But no treatment of the paper upon
which the IS, 900 note had been written
brought to light any earlier writing.
AS the first trial was upon this note.
and as the only evidence of forgery
was Mr.. Peckham's uncorroborated tes-
timony that he had never made the
note, the case against the accused man
failed.
But the fact that Mr.. Slee was not
able to restore earlier writing is no
longer proof that no such writing was
ever made on that paper, and in this
advance in chemical knowledge lies
one OF the greatest dangers to business
men. A year or so ago firm doing
large insurance business in New York
signed three checks brought by the
cashier to them In the course of his
usual business The checks were made
payable to another insurance company.
Some time after that this cashier dis
appeared and no trace of him has ever
been discovered. 1t was then found by
the officers of the company that he had
by use of chemicals obliterated the
name of the payee ON these checks and
inserted his own, and In that way was
able to draw the money, amounting to
several thousand dollars.
The company brought suit against
the bank, claiming that it had paid
forged checks, and Prof. Doremus was
called as an expert for the bank. He
testified that If there had been oblit-
Grafton of the name of the original
payee it would be established by chem
ical treatment The checks were sub
mitted to such chemical treatment, but
there was no revelation OF alteration.
Mr.. Slice was called as an expert, and
he testified that while Prof. Doremus'
assertion would have been correct II
made some months before, yet that II
was now possible to obliterate the
names on commercial paper in such
way as to defy chemical reagentsi and
TO prove his assertion MIR. Slce. In this
presence OF the jury, wrote upon slips
Of paper. then obliterated the names
by chemicals. and Prot Dcremus waa