New-York tribune., 1907-12-03
LIEUT.. LEFORT'S STORY.
all EVIDENCE NOW IN.
accused Says He Wos Looking TOR
FOrger When Arrested.

First Lieutenant Alan Lefort told his stofS
yesterday to the members Of the court IIlar'iai
that is sitting at Governors Island 10 decioe
whether he is guiltysof having lorsed 'i'e
names Of officers in the army TO pay VouhcelS
and other nane-s bv which he is alleged TO have
secured something like $1,000 II the olii0s.s
believe his story he will be sent back 10 MS
cor,nanv with a clean name; IL they do not
Fort Leavenworth or some state penltenuar*
will be his home for the next several years. Al
the close of the session yesterday the luose
advocate Captain Johnson. announced that ne
had no further testimony 10 offer, and Captain
Wickham the prisoners counsel. SAID lhete
would be no more for the defence These olii-
Gers will sum up to-day, the court Will hoi1
several sessions when the testimony Will De
read 10 them and then their decision VIII oe
sent 20 washington where il will be mace
public.
Lieutenant Lefort in his story yesterday, en-
deavored to convince the court that his arrest
when he went to the Grand Union Hotel TO get
decoy letters addressed 10 Major Frank H.
Hodges, was due TO his zeal in searching I0i
information that would lead 10 the detection oE
the nan-not hinnself-who had been guilty o.
the forgeries He testified that Lieutenant
Lewis F. Buck deserter from Fortress Mon
roe had asked him 10 call for such letter. and
forgeries. said he went To the hotel in the nope
Of finally obtaining the necessary evidence. TINS
letter followed one offered in evidence also
sent from Buck to Iefort. inclosing handbook
~ the American Savings Bank of this city,
made out in Bucks name That made LeIort
feel certain Buck was the man. but he said ne
did not consider that il was sufficient eVldeics-
This statement Of the witness also was lntended
10 offset the testimony of the cashier or the
hank that Lefort looked like the man who
opened the account in the name OF hodges
Later in his cross ss-exanlination. Lieutenant
Tefort testified that he and Buck looked very
much alike.
Wien arrested. Lieutenant Lefort testneo ne
told the policeman that a mistake had oeeH
made as evidently both were there for the
same purpose. He denied that he had told 'h.'
clerk of the hotel that he was Hodges He said
he dtd not read the letter, as he was arrested
while he was pulling il out Of the envelope
In the cross-exauination Captain Johnson laid
stress on the fact in Lefort's testimony that
he did not at that time tell the police that ne
had. as later shown. letter from BUCK showing
that he had used the name Of Hodges he oid
testify. however, that he told Police Lieutenant
McConviIle that g discharged and dsgraceo
officer frAr the army had been forging ofhcers
names and that he was endeavoring TO capture
him. He showed the Buck letter to a lawyer
who called on him in the Tombs when 1t was
thought the case would be tried by the civil
authorities.
Lieutenant Lefort said that, after getting the
Hodges letter. he intended TO lay the matter be-
fore the Department of the East Asked why
with the one letter from Buck. practically con-
Tossing the crime and the Hodges handbook in
his possession he thought II necessary 10 get
further evidence. the witness answered: i
wanted to see the contents OF the letter he had
asked me TO call for, and then planned to lay
the whole matter before the military aUthori-
ties"
The witness explained the fact that he had
considerably more money than usual about the
time the forgeries were being committed by say
ing that men to whom he had loaned money at
various times paid him. He testified that an
effort had been made TO obtain specimen of
Bucks handwriting other than that contained
in the alleged Buck letters offered in evidence
One OF these the prisoner testified. received
from Canada while he was in the Tonlbs, on
November 5 of this year. II is in this letter
that Buck explains that he Is also Hodges.
Lieutenant Lefort disputed the testimony Of
the cashier of the New Rochelle Trust Company.
sdying that he had not offered notes there for dis
count with Endorsements, The cashier had testi
fed that the Lefort notes held by the bank had
been indorsed.
Captain c. z. Hawkins, who at that time was
stationed at Fort Slocun1. was recalled and testi-
fed that he had never indorsed a note for Lefort
and had never been asked 10 do One of the
notes the cashier testified. bore Captain Haw-
kins's Endorsement. He said the bank should be
familiar with his signature, as many papers
bearing IL go through the bank. That closed the
evidence.