The Washington times., 1905-10-14

Lie pTO(ccliEe Drdncn OF the AMERICAN
Bankers Association will likely soon
abolish the practice of pensioning for
gers who refrain from that work 1t
is said by bankers that there is now
little lost by forgery. and that pension
ing men who can no longer ply their
trade because OF the caution exercised
In handling negotiable istruments is use
less
The pensioning system is seldom heard
of IN the East. In the West many con-
Ficted forgers are kept constantly under
surveillance. and paid Ito be good.
In the Eastern States the police pro-
lection is better than in the West, the
Bertillon system is more highly develop
ed. and the bureaus of identAAcation.
which contain the photographs OF every
man caught with forged check. are
open day and night. A forger who tries
TO work the same. game in two cities Is
usually picked up in the second town
where he presents a forged document,
and is extradited to the city which has
a prior claim on him. In the less thick
ly settled West a forger is often at lib
erty for months and keeps up his work.
Banks Were Helpless.
Many years ago. when 1t was easy for
men who could initiate the handwriting z
Of moneyed person 70 obtain as high
as $4,000 by means of a forgery, the
bankers of the country agreed that the
only way to keep forgeries out OF banks
was to get tc the root OF the evil. For
gers who were run down and sent to
penitentiaries for various terms OF years
were communicated with before their
terms expired. and they were told that
II they ceased ''kiting'' forged drafts they
would be placed on the pension rolls Of
the Bankers Association. and as long
as their behavior warranted IL the
money would be forthcoming
This proved efficacious in some cases
put In others the forgers Immediately
spent their pension and being pressed
Tor ready cash, thought II was about
time to drop back into the old rut.
Today the bankers and their cashiers
are more vigilant and careful, and al
though the forgers now operating are
far more shrewd than their predeces-
sors, their handiwork does not avail
them as much
About the. only person who gets
"stung IN these days is the corner
grocer or the proprietor OF some store
where a man with bogus check pre-
sents 1t in payment for some goods
purchased bv him. The bank iGs@s moth
ing by this transaction, and dc $ full
duty when the initials IN. are
marked on the face of the chec4S.
Case of Leonard.
The case in New York recently where
a young man employed in brokers
office obtained several thousands OF dol
lars on forgery, does not so the
bankers say Illustrate that the trick is
easily turned. First of all. the young
man was well acquainted with the in
side workings of banking and, second
ly, his face was good for the money"
because he was known as a model young
man, and again he had visited the
bank on so many occasions that when
he presented the draft which was signed
with rubber stamp he had manufac-
turn the securities over to him. 1t is
safe to say that not dozen persons in
New York could have applied for the
securities without arousing the sus-
picion OF the cashier. and the man who
got Ii was one of the twelve who could
pected.
The jewellers of the United States have
an association. which is as vigilant as
that of the bankers Today there are
at least twenty diamond statesmen
travelling through this countr- with
from $4,000 to 100000 worth % loose
diamonds lying loose in their inside
pockets. Each stone is carefully wrap
ped in paper with its weight and value
marked on II. and record of the stone
is kept at the establishment which the
drummer represents If one of these
statesmen should fall into the hands of
highway man on a train or elsewhere
and be relieved of all the precious stones
which he carried. IL would not be hard
matter to run down the thief and bring
him TO justice I'm short order
The thief is usually nabbed in the first