Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1899-04-08
HANDWRITING CASES
The Experts Methods Of Identification.

experts in questioned handwriting al
ready have played in the now-famous
poisoning case in New York, and the
fact that it was chiefly on the evidence
Of 2 number Of the leaders in this pro-
fession that an arrest recently has been
effected. little light on this little
known business" of expert chiros-
raphy may be opportune.
One often hears a man boast of his
ability To successfully duplicate an
other persons signature or hand
writing. and to the casual observer the
| counterfeit really will bear striking
resemblance to the original However,
let the two be placed in the hands OF an
expert on questioned handwriting and
| he will pretty quickly determine which
| IL the original and which the forgery
Furthermore. he will tell you what
| process was used to make the dupli-
! cate. for there are several methods in
use among forgers. and can even tell
the composition of the ink.
From one Of the beSt-known experts
on handwriting. and who has figured
conspicuously in this celebrated New
York case. some interesting facts rela-
| tive to this subject recently were
learned. To the question. What is the
primary requisite for a conscientious
opinion on the genuineness of any sub
mitted handwriting" this expert UNI
hesitatingly replied. An utter and en-
tire absence Of either feeling or preJu-
! dice: in other words. one should ne
perfectly dispassionate when engaged
| in such work
| It frequently happens that docu-
ment. perhaps a will. is written III
several different times and by different
people, and possibly with various KINDS
of ink It also is possible that SucH
| a thing could be done without occasion
ing any suspicion: the eXigencleS 81 tie
occasion may have called Tor Su'h
means Of completing the document
but in the case of a disputed VIII Waefr
fol gerry is suspected the services 81 an
exncrt are called into play. To detect
these inaccuracies the expert should
have an eve So trained as 70 instantly
] recognize those portions OF manu-
script which appear to be out OF mar
nonv with the document as a whole.
To make his analysis the expert uses
nagnifying glass Of great power. ana
by strict and close attention to the sun
| iect matter ne can determine the eX3ct
means 81 methods employed in makin-:
| the individual letters and the forma-
ton of the words. and also the several
I inks that were used.
Handwriting as defined by this cX-
bert is mechanical operation pure
and simple. Its general excellence or
the reverse is largely dependent on the
education which the hand has received.
| When man sits down to write he
/
what is in his mind. and this may be
| said to be his natural handwriting.
! should he stop to think. even for q M
ment. not Of what he is transposinG to
paper but Of the writing itself. he in
Stantlv ceases to write his natural
hand. the transcription becoming only
a copy or drawing from memory. In
the opinion Of the expert, emphatically
EXPRESSED. a person never writes twice
exactly alike This is stated to be the
point around which all his subsequent
Developments revolve when examining
a manuscript Let several examples of
the natural handwriting Of an inIjvid-
ual be compared. 1t is true that there
! will be a general similarity hut. rs has
been asserted. when placed in juXtapo-
| Sition or subjected to q careful COM
parison, no two words or letters will he
/ found to be alike. Thus it is not the
similarity between two pieces Of VII
| ing that would arouse suspicion with
some experts. but rather the natural
| dissmilarity. Based on this point
| such experts occupy distinct position
| by themselves. since other experts
take what is called the positive side
! With the first-named class. however
| handwriting is a science of negatives.
! The average forger rarely daShas off
a counterfeit signature; he does not
dare to do 50. for he knows that he
| could not make a good copy. Hence
he must give considerable thought and
attention to his writing. and it is this
very drawing propensity that conVlcts
him. The fOrgers great aim IS TO IN
troduce some of the prominent char
acteristicS and peCuiiaritieS of that
hand which he is endeaVOring TO imi-
tate. which, in fact, is comparatively
easy thing TO do. ParadoXical as 1t
may seem. his greatest obstacle is him.
self. for to obliterate every trace of his
own natural hand is almost an impos-
siblity. That he cannot altogether
disguise his identity shows that he IS
not perfectly able to control his nerves
and muscles. So when lack of unison
is detected. for forged signature may
be said TO be made up of two sets Of
characteristics. the expert investigates
more closely and soon finds enough
: evidence to arouse suspicion.
In the determination of any hand
U writing there is no actual rule to guide
an expert, as each case must be a law
: unto itself. The time of day that the
signature was made and the condition
| for the moment of the individual have
| considerable bearing on the case, as
has also the writer's general physical
condition. Whether he was standing
! or sitting when the signature was
nlade is matter of Importance. The
quality Of the paper and the make OF
pcn also have TO be taken into cOnSid-
Grafton. Where the forger has en-
, ploved finger movement, writing with
the muscles and apparently without
education. there is scarcely any diff
Guilty in arriving al a conclusion. The
; long flowing hand is easy to detect
} When. however. the writing is finical
a large mass af material has to be ex-
amined before a decision can be
reached.