Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1905-08-18
BANKS N FORGERY
Considerable Vigilance on the
Part Of Paying Tellers

: Probably there Is no,hing which the
average banker breads more than HE
forgery by skilled operators Of the
names of depositors and the conNc-
quelt loss 10 the banks by payment Of
money on forged instruments, The
banker can guard against loss In loan,
by requiring adequate collateral secur'
H., the filing Of statements rs 10 TIE
C..ancial standing OF borrowers an
additional security In the shape Of oae
ties Of strong financial resources, H.
can exercise extra vigilance n u,
opening Of new accounts with his insti
tutioa by having new d. nos ,l.s
vouched for by men OF unluestioned
integrity and financial worth. but nc
care OF foresight on his part can pre-
vent skilled forgers from attempting al
least to defraud his Institution by for
geries. What a torpedo boat Is to the
fleet OF warsh!ps the forger is to the
banks and bankers. The public NJ
large seem to think that a forgery Is
generally a very close imitation Of the
genuine signature. While this may be
true, and, In fact, this Is the kind OF
| forgery that the bankers dread, In a
great many cases the forgery may be
! utterly unlike the writing Of the per
Sol whose name Is forged.
This kind of forgery Is practiced very
frequently. but is dangerous only to
the small tradesman who cashes
checks for strangers upon some plausi'
bic pretext. Frequently In such eases
the foeger selects the name Of a promi-
nent man in the community and sig IS
h.s name to a check on any bank and
cashes II by making some small pur-
chase, paving 70 ii with the forge
check aud taking the balance Of the
cheek In cash. Rut this is very cru q
work, and the areer Of the amateur
forger Is very short.
TO guard against the payment OF
I, forged checks the banks have adopted
all Of the precautions and ~expeaicnts
! known. Necessarily their chief reli-
nncc IS on the skill and care Of the
%tellcrs. whose duty it ia to pass upon
the checks and scrntinize them before
payment. Generally this duty de
wolves upon the paying teller or or
one or more Of his assistants. To q
natural aptitude for the memorizine
Of a handwriting must be added
vigilance which flags and 4
pa.nstaking care which never wearies
II will probably be a surprise to PEG
pie outside Of the banking business I.
learn that but n small percentage O
the forged checks are presented at thu
paying teller's window. The large pro
portion OF forged checks are cashed q
stores, hotels, railroad offices or a
banks other than the bank on whicl
the forged check Is drawn. The reason
for this 10 that to present the forge'
check at the bank on which It Is draw
would be to run too great a risk Of i'm
mediate detection and arrest. Al
Identification is necessary to get
large sum Of money from a bank, AM
the risk IS too great to undertake 70
a small sum-.
All careful bankers refuse to pa.
cash In large amounts to strangers
even though the check may be mad,
payable to bearer. So that in order I
minimize the danger Of apprehension
the willy forRer cashes his checks any
where else than at the drawee bank
Hence the bulk OF forged checks com
to the bank on which they are draw
, through the clearing house. As ha
been stated before, the teller who pass
es upon these checks possesses a natu
raj talent for carrying In his memor,
the impression of hundreds Of sigma
lures. To this natural aptitude
added an education OF years In the e1
animation and comparison Of sigma
lures. His ability to distinguish
forgery becomes greater from cOnstan
practice, so that In course Of time h
becomes very expert. To him the sif
natures become pictures which are Al
ed In his memory. SO that while
would seem to an onlooker that tn
teller was running over the checks to
rapidly to insure safety and that
would he impossible for him to pic
out a forgery while working Mt tn
speed with which ne IL compelled I
work, nevertheless II Il remarkabl
how unerringly he viii throw out
check which IL not ger..ine or whic
exhibits any change from a norm'
condition.
This same characteristic is shown b
expert counters OK Mo..c.. The cpar,
tors fingers fly through a bundle
bills OF various denominations, bills |
different stages Of newness, but sto
instantly when a counterfeit IS reaches
even though the counterfeit be on
which has for the first time made II
appearance and has not MS yet bee
} described or seer by the secret servic
men. He has no knowledge that such
counterfeit Is In existence, but he doe
know the genuine bills, and any thf
vary from the genuine must be coul