The Savannah morning news., 1904-08-04
NEGRO RAISED
MONEY ORDERS
SLICK SCHEME WAS WORKED.
MANY MERCHANTS JUMPED AT
PROPOSITION TO CASH THE
ORDERS.

Bottles of Ernsing Fluid and other
FOrEer's Devices Seized-POst-
office, of Course, Only PAID
Amount for Which Order Was
Actually Issued-Arrest Made by
Detective Wall and Charge of As
sauIt and Battery Put Up to De-
ceive NeErO-Identifed by Man on
whom He Passed Order for $40.
At the police station on the very
innocent charge of assault and bat
terry there is a negro--name undivulged
locked UP at the instance of the
United States postal authorities on
the charge of passing raised postal
money orders.
The arrest was made Monday by De-
tective Frank T. Wall, and in order to
prevent the negro from suspecting the
real object of his arrest, he was told
he was wanted on a charge of assault
and battery. AS the negro has been
a frequent inmate of the police cells
the charge was not such as to brighten
him in any way.
With the negro locked up, the police
and government officials have been
looking for his pal, of the same ebony
hue. Alarmed by the "pinching" of
the negro his companion has fled.
Erasing Fluids Found.
When the negro under arrest was
taken there was found in his house
a number of bottles of erasing fluid
and other paraphernalia of the forger's
trade. These were seized.
At the police station yesterday the
negro was identified by Mr.. Geo.
Levin as the same one who had pass
ed a raised money order for $40 on
him recently. The money order was
also identified. 1t was originally
drawn for 40 cents.
While the government has not lost
anything by the forgeries, if they con-
tinued it would have a tendency to
discredit the postal money order sys-
tenn, so that there is ample reason
why the government officials should
put forth every effort to get the Of
fender.
Going on for Some Time.
For the last eight months the rails
ing of money orders has been going on
in this section of the country. Some
times the orders were raised from
cents to an equal number of dollars,
while again the original writing and
figures would be erased with chemicals
and an entirely different sum entered.
For very evident reason the money
orders were not presented by the ne
grOes to the postoffices on which they
were drawn. The scheme was for one
OF the negroes to go to a merchant
and purchase a bill of goods, invari-
ably after the money order office was
closed.
The merchant would be asked to lay
aside the goods until the following day
as the negro wanted to get a money
order cashed, as he casually an
nounced.
Jumped at the Trade.
Fearful of losing the order and
knowing the gilt-edged value of an or
der on Uncle Sam. the merchants al
most invariably offered to cash the or
ders. Backing up the order the negro
would exhibit a letter, usually written
to My Dear Son." expressing the pa
rental grief at learning that his
son was sick and in hard luck and
winding up by stating that a money
order was enclosed, the amount corre-s
spending to the figures to which it had
been raised.
AS result of the smooth scheme
merchants in different cities and towns
in Georgia and South Carolina were
greatly enriched in experience at the
expense of their cash balance.
In response to the complaints the
Postoffice Department has been MAX
ing Investigations. In one case an in
spector was in the postoffice where a
negro presented a forged order, and
had an exciting. but fruitless, chase
over the streets. This was the only
time one of the orders was presented
to postoffice window.
To Disarm Suspicion.
Another plan used to disarm sus-
picion was for the negro to wear over
alls and a jumper like a railroad fire.
man, presenting the appearance of
hard working negro.
Though the authorities would be
highly pleased to bag" the partner
of the negro under arrest they will
probably have the prisoner transfer
red to the federal courts and to the
county jail without waiting further.
The evidence against the negro is be-
lieved to be convincing.