The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1895-01-16
THEIR WORK WAS FINE
Check MllipulatOFS Who ShOYld r.
maFkab.e CleYerleSS.
THEY USED SOME NEW ACID
II Removed the Ink. But Did Not At
foot the Paper and They Filled
In the Blanks-Butte Mer-
chants the Victims.

BUTTE, Jan. 16.-The police are hard at
work upon a couple of important cases of
check raising which have Just come to
light. The checks were Montana Central
pay checks, and were manipulated by the
use of acid in such an expert manner as
TO make detection absolutely impossible.
After being cashed here without a
shadow OF suspicion, they passed through
several banks and finally reached ST.
Paul, where they we're unhesItatingly
cashed by the treasurer of tue Great
Northern road. 1t was not until the inno-
cent looking pieces of paper, which car
RED lace value greatly in excess of their
actual worth, reached the auditors Office
that the fraud was discovered through a
comparison of the checks with the stubs,
which gave the snap away through their
inabiiIty to lie.
The fraud was undoubtedly the work of
experienced hands at crooked business of
this kind and their experiences is attested
to by the fact that IL was not until the
checks had been compared with the stubs
IN the regular routine work OF the audit
or's Office that there was even so much as
suspicion OF anything wrong.
One of the checks was for $3.50 and
was made payable to Robert knight, the
section foreman at Elk Park, and bears
his Endorsement on the back. The other
was for Sl3.75 and was originally made
payable to j. Ryan, a section hand at Elk
Park, but the name of &. Jones was sub
stituted for that of Ryan at the time the
check was raised. BY the judicious use
OF some powerful acid, XII ght's check
was raised to 1880, while the other one
was raised in the same way to Sl5G.75.
The Montana Central checks are of n
very delicate colorIng and have the words
Montana Central" across tho face in
large, light yellow letters, but the acid did
not affect the colors to the slightest de-
gree, although IL compile tely obiIterated
the ink. This left the manIpulators free
to fill in the checks for any amount they
pleased and they were not at ali stingy
about 1t, although they showed long and
well filled heads by not making tho
amount large enough to excite suspicion.
Both OF tho checks were passed here
Saturday night, Dec. %, and both were
accepted without question. Pete Hanson
of the Palace beer hail cashcd the largo
one and kaufman Brothers accepted the
one that ostensbly called for Sl56.75 IN
payment for S15 overcoat, returning the
difference in cash. The next morning
Hanson got his check cashed at Harm
holds liquor store aud it was afterwards
deposited with Hogo, Brownlee q Co. 1t
was sent by them to Helena,
where Il passed through the Mer-
chants and Montana National banks
and was then sent TO St. Paul,
where it was thrown out by the Great
Northern auditor, after it had passed
through the treasurer's hands. The other
check reached the general office about
the same time and met with like treat
ment, after having passed through a
similar experience. The checks were
then started back westward through thor
respective channels and reached the
parties who cashed them n day or two
ago. Tho police were called in and De-
tective Murphy left this evening for Elk
Park to ascertain, If possible, what dis
position had been made of the checks by
tho parties in whose favor they were
drawn.