Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1894-07-13
FORGED A JUDGES NAME.
NO D..Br ABOUT IT. THINKS THE
GRAND JURY.
Nine Indictments Found Against C
w. TaSior of Deiton, In jail
nere-who Did the EorginEs
the Question Now.

Inc grand JURY, which adjourned yes
terday afternoon. returned nine indict-
ments against W. s. Taylor Of Bolton,
now Imprisoned in the county jail.
The indictments charge that Taylor
forged the name OF Judge $. z. Green
and District Clerk H. II. McNatt on
nine separate witness fee bills and at
tempted to collect the amounts from
the state.
There is no room TO doubt that the
bills are forgeries. They purport to be
fee bills OF witnesses In case, criminal
docket. No. 777s. the State Of Texas VS..
j. II. Ray. charged with the murder
Of Henry Hitson.
That there was such case is a mat
ter OF easy recollection. The witnesses
whose bills were presented TO the
comptroller at Austin. apparently APP
proved by the county Judge ana clerk
OF this district. never testified in the
case, however, and there IS no record OF
their ever having been summoned.
These imaginary people, or astral mir
It's. who have poked their bills NJ the
states nose. curiousiy enough all come
long distances and so had to pay
cents for each OF considerable num-
Der Of miles Travelled.
Whether or not these witnesses exist
at all Is not known by District Clerk
McNatt. whose records show That they
were neither summoned nor did they
actually come and testify. Their
names, however. are as follows: II. l..
Noteworthy. c. c. jackson $50 signed.
but summoned as "Lum' Jackson,
c. II. Giles and NJ. f. Irby OF Wash
burn. j. stafford OF I'll Paso II. NJ.
Raymond. of Leila. Tom Moody OF
washburn. c. +. Seay of FL Paso and
John Avery Of Sanburn.
The fee bills which these people are
represented 20 have made out for their
services to society In testlfying In the
murder case OF the State Of Texas vs..
| j. II. Ray are all endorsed by them In
| their own hand and bear what pur-
/ ports TO be- the signatures OF Judge
I Green and Clerk McNatt, endorsing
! them as just and reasonable. Judge
GREEN'S signature Is Initiated with con-
| siderable accuracy. but McNattts
curves were slightly misleading, No
/ comparison could be made with the
] signatures OF the states creditors.
The official seals are not well forged.
| The one which has been in use I'm the
I clerks office here Is smaller than that
| which stamped these fee bills. What
] hAttAE Nftl II NNE ~ hlAhluNllf us Ailt
| party took care TO was the seal over
the letters and number betraying this
! secret They produce the impression
OF having been carelessly imprinted.
Had the furgeries succeeded the state
would have been swindled out OF
S2aSiG. What awakened Comptroller
McCalfs suspicion IL not known. An
mdcfnable similarity In the writing OF
the witnesses WIS probably what
caught his eye. He sent them back to
the district clerk, who realized that he
had never seen them and his records
bore no trace Of them. Upon this dis
closure Taylor, who had sent them for
collection, was arrested
After the return OF the indictments
Gazette reporter called upon Taylor
In the jail and asked from whom and
under what circumstances he had OBJ
tanned the fee bills. He replied that
his attorneys. Furman and Bowlin.
had positively forbidden him To- say
word on the subject. Many Of the
people Of Bolton his home are indiE-
nant at his incarceration and cannot
but believe It a terrible mistake, Tay-
lor's genteel and honest looking ap-
pearauce incline Il person readily to
that belief: and vet the fact that the
bills are forgeries all the way through
seems established beyond attack
Taylor was once n deputy sheriff OF
bell county, lie mas been conducting
n brokerage In witness fer bills be
suid for the past ten years, He de-
nlcs that he "a wealthy, as reported In
a Dnllns paper Among his friends IN
Bolton Attorney u, r, Pendletou writes
to bc commanded by him In any way
he can serve him,
II was said by District Clerk McNatt
yesterday that Comptroller Mccall has
seventeen forged bills from Gtayson
ga .utV received fpnut u'uVtpr mud sew
en- more from some other county. tho
entire amount reaching over $1,000.
brokerage In fee bills Is said to be
profitable by reason OF the leisure
the atntc OF Texas takes IN paying this
class of debts, Shaving can be done
at tremendous Interest.