New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1905-09-30
DEEP PLOT TN BIG THEFT.
MYSTERY BATTLES BANK.
No Cleo to Nan Who Got Securities
from National City.

n
hou- yesterday of the securities. aggregating
.sso GOO IN market value which were obtained
rrorn the National City Bank on Wednesday by
stranger, who gave in exchange a forged
,beck for s5O0.037 so. purporting TO be drawn
nv the Stock Exchange firm OF Pearl & Co. who
RAJ delivered the securities TO the bank on
7-r.sday as collateral for q $500, 600 call loan
As far as could be learned no clew has been
found 10 the identity Of the thief No ernploye
If the City Bank is under suspicion, it is de-
cIsred. and no blame is attached to the loan
clerk who accepted the check and delivered over
the securities The swindle. bank officers say
Is the first Of its kind in the history of Wall
Street and they add that it will not be easy for
another thief 10 duplicate the exploit Of Wednes-
Jay Frank A Vanderlip. one of the vice-presi-
dents Of the National City Bank. said yesterday,
IN discussing the theft;
Pearl & Co. made a loan here in the ordinary
way On Wednesday a check apparently OF Inc
firm OF Pearl q Co. was presented here, drawn
on the Hanover National Bank. and with a
ce-rifcatioa made for the exact amount Of the
lace OF the loan. plus the interest for one day.
This shows that the person who made the
forgery had known the details Of the loan-the
arm the rate Of interest and the amount
The check was. Of course, forgery It had
the name OF Pearl & Co. printed across the emo
Of Il the check being one of the regular Han
over Bank checks The forgery OF the name OF
Mr.. Burns, paying teller OF lhe hanover bd--h;
was especially good. The Certifcation stamped
on the face of the check is made, apparently,
with stamp which is an exact copy or the
Hanover stamp The name Of Pearl & Co is not
80 good, but IL is the ceTtihcation that a teller
looks Al Fully three-quarters Of the n1essen-
ger work is done by boys from fifteen 70
eighteen years old. Millions and millions IN
securities and checks, and sometimes in actual
cash. are sent along with just such boys Ihey
come with an envelope fuI OF SecurlLes ana Ply
them through the window. Sometimes there are
g dozen boys in line It would be a compare
lively. easy thing for bright young fellow 70
look over the shoulder of another messenger and
read on the back OF the envelope he IS carrying
all TIE details Of the transaction
We do not say that such a thing was done IN
This case. but do not suspect anybody In
this bank We think IL is very likely
that the thing was done in just some such way
We do not believe that there can be any loss
resulting from this transaction. The transfer
Offices of all the companies have been warned
% the theft Of the securities. and we have not
heard OF any attempt TO negotiate them. we
would without doubt have heard OF II by this
time II anybody had bought these securities or
received them in any way
Even II through the cOnntvance OF broker
age house they had been taken IN, we shoulo
NOT lose anything, because these were stolen
securities
= f sIavback, Of the firm OF Pearl & Co.
@ooJz q slightly different view Of the situation
from that taken by the bank officials The firm
cannot lose anything, for the City Bank has al
ready adjusted with Pearl & Co. But MI STAY
hack thinks that there is a chance that the
thief nav have realized something on the Sc
cUr3ties- He said;
y ,s mysterious case, and think II IS Up
- +ba P1nkertons I do not think it is the
work of any boy. although boy may nave
presented the check. at the WINDOW "A . tl.1e.
1-7uId have hard time getting rid Of the STOCKS
stolen especially down here IN Wal4 Street puI
don't think II impossible for him TO have ne
rotigted the Tobacco and Wabash bonds me
Tobacco As sre coupon bonds. anend they are
worth over $4,000. If he could negotiate them
alone he could throw the rest away. nose 2se
bonds have coupons payable on ScVoOe' L nc
could sell the coupons
think that the fact that our signature is
forged SO poorly and that the interest rate on
o1I- hooks is g different one from that or the
books Of the bank shows that the thleI olo not
get his data from our once
Inquiry at the United States sub-TTeasury
and among leading Stock Exchange firms
showed that under the customary usage ths
American Tobacco bonds could be readily ne
rorfated. being made payable to bearer and
the ownership passing without the fornality or
q rrsnsSer on the books Of the company. with
his tweuty-four hours start the thief coulo
have reached Boston or Philadelphia and sold
the bonds or obtained loan on them before the
news OF the theft became public. By shrewdIy
altering the numbers on the other securities ne
NAV even have realized on them before the rob
r.ary became known. according TO the freely eX-
pressed opinion Of several we'll known STOCK
Exchange members z - -.
ago. the perpetrators first step must have been
"a get possession of q check which had peen Ger
he must have held long enough TO enable Ger
Vacation stamp TO be uRde-rhe work was skill
411llv done and took tjme-and the signature or
The having teller. Burns, to be SO accurately
coined that II could be successfully forged When
the moment for action arrived Il would not be
dfN7c71Ir 10 get a blank check OF the Hanover
Bank but the forger, TO obtain the Feari q %
collateral had 70 print across the END OF the
Cherk the name Of Pearl & Co, who are not Gus
TONERS Of the Hanover National Bank. AS Lhe
C4+v Bank officers point out, ii would be easy for
s7V one In the line before the loan VlTldoW 70
learn what the messenger ahead or INN IN the
line carried IN his hand in the way OF collateral,
As the messenger bears to the bank a large oo-
long envelope containing the collateral, ana
having on its outside the printed name OF the
firm making the loan, the amount OF the Ioan,
The -sre Of interest and q list OF the securities
IN the parcel. With the Hanover bank cnecK IN
hand and the cer1fication stamp ana Jhe supp4e-
nentarv signature Of the paying IeIIer forged
the thief would still have had 10 nave d cL7II'7
70 initiate the signature Of Pearl & Co, out TOT
this the getting possession OF q signed Ietter or
memorandum would have answered as Wen a. q
check drawn by Pearl & Co II is believed oE
some that the thief may have taken copies OF the
signatures OF other firms in the Street ana tha1
II he had seen the loan envelope Of one OF those
houses, representing larger sum than the Fedri
loan. he might have forged the name OF that
firm instead Of Pearl & Co.'S on the prepared
Hanover Bank check which the City Bank loan
clerk accepted from him