The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1897-06-26
EXPERTS In WRITING
THE SPECIAL METHODS USED BY Ex-
PERTS IN HANDWRITING.

Authors Of Anonymous Letters How
These Experts start In the Business.
1t is doubtful if any Chicago expert
in handwriting is more widely known
among the members of the legal pro-
fession than Marshall ID. Ewell, who
is fellow Of the Royal Microscopical
society Of England, doctor of law
and of medicine and the author of sew
eral legal textbooks. He figured as an
expert witness in the famous Davis will
case in Montana, the not less celebrated
contest Of the alleged will of Senator
Joseph Z. Mcdonald of Indiana and the
Jerome will case tried in the probate
court of Cook county.
"Many of the most unique and anus
ing demands, said Mr.. Ewell recent
ly, (which are made upon the fraterni-
ty of experts never reach the public.
They are settled outside of the court
room and are not of record. Only few
weeks ago | was called upon by very
iignified and scholarly gentleman, and
| was not surprised to learn that he be-
longed to the faculty of one of Chicago's
most prominent educational institu-
tions. But on the occasion of his call
he was as angry as he was cultured. No
expert testimony was needed to estab-
| lish that fact in the mind Of any per-
son who saw him as he entered my Of
| flee and warmed TO the subject which
had inspired him to call for my profess
sional services.
"As he drew from his pocket man
uscript he said:
"'I have been made the object, sir,
| of a base, malicious and scurrilnus at
tack on the part of some mischievous
student, and propose to hunt down its
| author. cost what it may.
"'Is it in poetry l asked, thinking
to mollify his excitement little by that
| playful remark.
Ono, sir, was his spirited answer.
1t isn't. 1t only assumes to be-.
| "He then handed me the manuscript
u formidable array of verse-and
closely watched the expression of my
face as / read it, Byron, in his Eng
lish Bards and Scotch Reviewers, did
not give the critics of that day any
sharper thrusts in smooth rhyme than
the anonymous author of this metrical
epistle dealt the dignified professor. 1t
was really a very creditable perform
ance as caustic composition. OF course
my client had his suspicious regarding
the probable author of the oommunica-
ton and produced specimens of hand
writing by the suspected persons. l
made a thorough and judicial examina-
ton of the submitted documents and
was compelled to inform the professor
that l believed no two of the submitted
specimens had been executed by the
same person. 1t was bitter disappoint-
ment to him, as he was burning with
righteous Indignation, and, if l may
Judge from superficial appearances.
would have paid more than his fee fol-
the privilege of laying beechen ROD
upon the author of the verse, to the
time of q cut for every line.
Sometimes the consequences of an
investigation in this line Of work lead
where we least expect. This is partic
ularly true regarding anonymous com
munications and their authors. A ply
stefan living in western town sent me
a disgraceful letter which had been re
ceived through the mails by a member
of his family. Accompanying it were
: several letters and documents, the au
; thors of which were presumably oper
to the suspicion of having written the
offensive epistle / subjected the speci
2 mems to the usual comparisons and mi
1 croscopical examinations and fixed upor
Y one of them as being the work of thu
person whose disguised handwriting
constituted the principal letter
my report brought an immediate re
ply in which the physician protested
. | that my conclusion could not by any
: possibility be correct, az the writer o
the specimen which had selected wa
> his own professional associate, in who's
character he had the utmost confidence
He confessed that he had added his part
ner's letter to those written by the per
= sons whom he really suspected of tn
{ offense in question only to test my pow
Q ers of discrimination and to give Ju
i dicially impartial flavor to the entire
investigation.
"In my reply to him pointed out il
| Qetall Cn6 TedSOuS WuiCl hau ASu uP "
n my decision, placing particular stres
;. upon the fact that the formation of tn
e propositions, participates and other small
words was, despite the attempt at vari
alton, too nearly identical in the tw'
), specimens for any mistake as to thei
a common authorship. This reasoning s
q impressed the startled physician that h
determined to confront his professiona
partner with the accusation. This b
A did, with the result that the accuses
a man confessed his guilt. was not sur
prised, for the person who is coward
enough to write an Objectionable an
unsigned communication will seldom
, have the courage to deny his guilt whe
boldly charged with it.
u "We are quite frequently called {
e pass upon Matchmaking letters an
sometimes to determine if certal
Il. checks have been forged. However, tn
= latter demand is of rare occurrence, a