Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1897-01-14
RAISED BANK CHECKS
HOW sHREwD PROFESSIONALS
90 THEIR WORK.
state Of Affairs Long known to Bank
ere and Secret Service Men IL Made
KNOWN to the Public-All Safety
Devices Are "Beateu."
Great Skill shown.

The recent arrest of the ringleaders
of regular check-raising and forging
syndicates has been revelation to the
public, says the New York World, but
has made generally known state OF
affairs which bankers and secret-ser-
vice men have been aware OF for many
years.
The Government offered reward
many years ago for writing ink which
could not be removed by acids or other
chemicals. There were hundreds Of
inks offered and not one of them met
the requirement. Those that actually
were indelible were worthless for writ
ing and would not flow, while the best
of those that would flow were only in
dellble when allowed to lie long time
on porous paper.
What Is true as to ink Is true as to the
thousand and one mechanical devices
for protecting commercial paper which
have been put upon the market. There
are four or five firms In New York alone
which have made from million to four
million dollars each by the manufacture
and sale of articles Of this kind, not one
Of which but has been beaten" scores
of times, and not one of which is OF
the slightest value except as against
the efforts of the merest tyros in the
check-raising industry.
So profitable has become the forging
and check-raising industry that capt.
talized syndicates-such as the Valcn-
tine gang or the Becker gang-have de-
liberately engaged in 1t and have stolen
great sums in an incredibly short time.
Carelessness in making out checks is,
Of course, fruitful source of crime, rs
in many instances the possibility Of
making safe alteration is glaringly be-
fore the eye. The temptation has
brought many young man to ruin, but
compared with those from the regular
professional check-raisers. These gen.
try have an equipment Of tools and
chemicals as complete in their way rs
the tools used by burglars, and the
manufacture of these articles, especial
ly for criminal purposes, is quite as ex-
tensve as is the manufacture of burg
lar tOOlS. he OutHI cOISlStS Oh tHTee
or four kinds of acids for removing ink:
all the various cutting machines used
for cutting out figures in the body of
the check, device at one time suppos-
ed to be invulnerable, but one of the
easiest of all to beat; complete supply
of twenty different kinds of delicate
brushes and palette of artists colors.
These colors and brushes are used to
restore the lines in tinted paper after
the tint has been taken out by the acid
in removing the ink. Great sums OF
money, by the way, have been spent in
the manufacture of this tinted paper
money entirely thrown away, as the
knaves have processes which restore
the tint wherever their operations may
have destroyed it, and restoring 1t so
perfectly as to utterly defy detection.
The nippers are used especially to
beat the figures out Of the check or
draft by the various machines made for
that purpose. With the nippers which
are curiousiy and delicately pointed, the
minutest particle of paper can be picked
up and deftly handled. The width of
the figure is measured and then the