The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1899-07-26
BOGUS CHECKS.
Several Passed on Local Merchants
During Past Week.
Were All for Small Amounts No Good
Description Of the Crooks.

Two dashing young men OF smooth
appearance. glib tongues and fertile re-
sources. succeeded during the past
week in passing among dozen lead
ing Providence business men forged
checks amounting In the aggregate To
quite sum. The swindle was not dis
covered until yesterday, when some ct
the checks. all for small amounts.
reached the National Exchange bank,
through the Providence clearing house.
Detective Parker holds some OF the
cfS,cks. while some OF the merchants,
ashamed to acknowledge that they
have been victimized hold others, gen.
orally for small sums. In most cases
the men presented the checks in pay
ment of goods purchased and took the
balance in change, always from So TO
$l2 more than the value OF the articles
obtained. There is no good clew TO the
Identity OF the forgers. All OF the
checks are on the paper Of the Nation
al Exchange bank and bear various in
dorsements. Most OF them are for $l2
although some are for $13. They look
all right on their face, and their value
is stamped in the checks in the usual
fashion with a stamping machine
The majority Of the checks purpeFt
10 have been drawn by the James A.
Potter Lumber company" James A.
Potter, treasurer, and deceived mer-
chants who make an almost invariable
rule not 10 cash checks at any time.
Some OF them purport 10 be drawn on
the Phoenix iron foundry, Charles A.
Earle, treasurer. SHE firm OF James
a. Potter * Co. Is well known and few
merchants would notice the difference
IN i~nes. AT the bottom Of these
checks at the lower left hand corner
the words pay check" appear in large
type. with Saw exceptions they are
numbered 04. the number being stamp
ed with a small rubber stencil. They
are drawn to the order OF Robert Page
and OF Georis. Dorsey. are dated July
y. and are signed James A Potter,
Treas"
The signature on the Potter checks
like that on the checks Of the Phoenix
iron foundry, is not an attempt at the
forgery of the name. The writing does
not resemble in any degree csther that
OF Mr.. Potter or in the other checks
that OF Mr. Earle. on the checks OF the
Phoenix iron foundry is signed
Charles A. Earle, Treas" The name
or this corporation is the Phoenix iron
foundry company. and the treasurer is
Charles X. Earle. These differences
have all been noticed since the passage
VI Aiit iHtthr dilu dlltI lntlf ltluSdA
at the National Exchange bank. where
the parties on whom the checks are /
drawn have no account.
Six OF the checks came I'm the bank
through the clearing house yesterday
and went back dlshonored. OF these
four were Potter checks. the other two
beiiE Phoenix checks. The bank has
knOwtedge or four more, and Detective
Parker has three or more in his posses.
sion. Two were presented at the Ma
tional Exchange bank yesterday.
Among the firms victimized were
those NJ Ira G.. Whittier, +. T.. Ballou.
"A. S. Anderson. Browning, King & Co.
Iygolf Shoe company and some others.
The description of the men obtained
In the stores is rather meagre. In every
case the smallness of the check. its
To the apparent means of
the men who offered IL and their per-
sonal appearance agreed to such an ex-
tent that few, questions were asked and
little notice as taken or the men.