Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1905-05-10
FIRST STEPS In CRIME
TRIVIAL INCIDENTS WHICH LED TO
CAREERS OF. IMEAMY.

The Way Some Notorious Englssi,
haNbrcaiScrs Were Started ON the
Hroad and Downward Patr-Eint
Tina; Tcu,pted jim, the penmnn.
Druscovitch, the famous detective,
once declared that, while 1t was Won
dcrful how some of the famous crimi-
nails he captured had become crini-
nails, there We're others who appeared
as if they could never have been any
thing else. The first step In crime was
made by persons of the first class un.
der the most various circumstances
passion, temptation, despair-but by
the persons of the second class through
what seemed sheer criminal instinct.
Many of the most notorious wrong
doers have, il their own impressions
are to be relied on, been tempted to
launch into crime by the most acct
dental circumstances. Jim the Pen
man, the great forger, whose forgeries
created panic among London bank
ers for scvteai years and who was at
itst bLouSlil ~ JuStiSC ny
sions of two of his accomplices, when
he was condemned to penal servitude
for life said that the idea of forgery
never occurred to him till it was sug-
gested by the chance remark of
casual acquaintance whom he met in
IL London restaurant where he was
dining.
Tho n flo ia al l,,fln Ia,
forgery that had been committed and
remarked how clever penman must
be to be able to initiate a signature so
closely that n skilled bank clerk could
| not distinguish the forgery from the
real one. Jim thought it would be
easy, and pen, ink and paper were
brought for him to Try his hand ut
initiating the strangers signature. The
result was SO wonderful that the
stranger remarked:
You possess n dangerous gift, sir.
| a man might be tempted with 1t to do
much ut pinch"
| Till that moment Jim the Pcnman-
then james Saward. the barristcr,
desperately in want OF money-dc-
clared he had never thought Of forgery
as Il means of livelihood. The words
rang in his cars as n revelation of how
he might gain thousands. He became
the cleverest forger of modern times.
| A man does not become a coiner all
at once. 1t requires long, laborlous and
constant practice to acquire the pro-
ficiency to turn out base money which
| will pass undetected from hand to
hand. But the most casual chance has
led men to adopt coming as means
Il of preying on their fellows.
Woodstock, the coiner, samples of
whose marvellous work are to be seen
in the Black museum at Scotland Yard,
was, as n young fellow, tailor's as
sistant. One Saturday afternoon he
was in a public house in the south of
London with the girl to whom he was
engaged. Upon her leaving stranger
remarked to Woodstock how pretty
she was and joliingly asked when the
wedding was to be. Woodstock Ia
mented that there was not much chance
of that happening for long time. His
meager wages forbade the hope. The
stranger was Draker, a coiner, and he
limited that If Woodstocli-such a nice
faced, respectable looking young fell
low-was poor 1t was his own fault.
Draker had heaps of bad money he
wanted passed. Woodstock was tempt
ed and, after struggle witt. himself
consented to take some of the coins.
He found them 50 defective, however,
that they were G;t2cu!t 10 pass. and he
criticised Draker's work so severely
that Dralier invited him to "see IL he
could do better himself" and he would
teach him all he knew Woodstock
easily surpassed his master. He had a
wonderful gift for delicate manual
work and brain to discover new
methods. His "den," when he was at
last run down by Inspector Fox. was
found fitted with all the latest scien-
tiflc machines that could be applied to
counterfeit coming.
In the famous case of Martin Guerre
the launching on criminal course was
the result Of an extraordinary chance
and sudden resolve. Martin Guerrc
was II soldier and was mortally wound
ed In a skirnish in the north of France.
Among his comrades was man re-
markably like him and with whom
Guerre had contracted Il great friend
ship. The two used to be always to-
gether and enjoyed the joke of their
strange resemblance. Queries double
was with him when he was dying, and
Guerre with his last breath begged
his comrade to carry some little trim
kets he had to his wife at home The
double assented and proceeded to full
fill his promise faithfully. When he ar
rived at the village on his mission he
learned that Queries wife had during
her husbands absence in the war come
into some little property through the
death of relation. He began to envy
Martin Queries lot IL he had lived.
When the villagers saw him they be-
gan to exclaim, Here's Martin
Guerre" BY the time he arrived at the
cottage door he had decided to act Mar
tins part, provided the dead mans
wife was deceived by his similarity to
her husband. She was, and the lmpos-
tor took Martin Queries place. The
wife only discovered the truth some
twelve months later by the absence
from the impostor's arm of scar
which Martin had borne.
Alice Grey, the girl impostor, who
used to make livelihood by accusing
men of robbing her and melting all the
spectators, the police, the bar and peo-
pie in court to make subscriptions for
her, while by her false accusations in
nocent persons were branded as thieves
and condemned to Jail, said that 1t
was pure accident which launched
her on her horrible career She really
lost her purse one day at railway
station and burst into tears on discov-
ering her loss. Alice Grey was so pref
ty and sobbed SO nicely that score of
people We're at once anxious to assist
her. 10 her profound establishment she
discovered her loss made up to her over
and over again by charitable specta-
tors.
The incident Sl1prpStpd n m,1rh on ciar.