Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1907-08-16
Told the Journal by One who
Has Made Study Of Il.
Over Ten Millions Lost by Check
Raising Crimes Of 1906.

and from him is now able to present to
the public few facts that are to say
the least rather startling. This gentle
man is P. Cutler of Boston who is
enjoying weeks outing at Applewood
Tavern.
1t has always been known that the
maker of a check was obliged to use
due care in SO writing his check that 1t
would not be easy to alter it, but until
the general use of chemical erasers the
alteration of checks was q rather rare
phase of crime. Some 25 years ago
the introduction of chemical erasjng
fluids put into the hands of evil dis
posed persons a means of sWindling
that was quickly awaited of and since
that time the raising of checks has
become a profession. In speaking of
great criminals in this line. Mr.. Cutler
told the story of AlonZo Whitcman, one
of those who have become noted in this
business and whose career is eXcep-
tionally remarkable.
Beginning about seventeen years ago
Whitman has stolen by means of raised
checks considerably over one million
dollars. He has been arrested AZ
| times, indicted 81 times and convicted
II times with penalties totalling 81
years in the penitentiary, and during
| all this time he has served a period of
| but one year. One of his steals was a
| draft bought of the National Hudson
River Bank on the Mechanics National
| or New York for $51 which was cashed
| for $4,000. A famous case was the
cashing for $4,000 of check
originally made out for ST.. This was
| done on the Pacific coast by Dutch
| Decker" who was a noted swindleI.
The fact that the reported losses by
| check raising amounted to something
| like $10,000,000 in the year 1906 with
the further fact that the very much
| larger proportion of such losses never
get into the public prints (being settled
out of courD suggests that means
should be taken to prevent this kind of
| thing and such a demand has of course
| been quickly responded to. The first
| practical device was a machine which
cut out the figures and for quite a long
| time this device was very effective and
| limited the operations of the thieves to
| unprotected checks. Later it was
| found out by some bright genius that
| the preforations could be filled in with
| pieces of paper cemented in place ana
| many checks We're So altered. Then
| came the idea of printing limiting
| line with indclible ink On tile f1a,;. ''
the check. This was foun! qi!it ,f;..-
| factory till the ever active i,;l4. j. I'LL
| crook discovered that tn n,. c1-I' ] y:
| removed by the aid Of an ulti a."
rubber eraser ana q Ecw an INT
printed with machine of tn ...ii-v
class.
At present Mr.. Cutler says that the
best known device which 50 far has
remained imprcgnible consists in a
machine which not only prints the
amount in in1clible ink but also cuts
the paper SO that any attempt to rub
out the lettering will at once destroy
| the paper
| 1t is said that the operations Of the
| nigh class crooks have become SO
| important that the Bankers ASSocia-
| ton now has some of the leading men
| under pension with the condition that
| they arc to report their place of sojourn
once in 50 often and are to refrain from
| their special line of work. This IS
denied, as Of course it would be, but
| there is some reason for believing 1t
may be true.
One Of the curious features of this
class Of swinjlers is the schemes
| employed to obtain possession of
! checks for their operations.
Naturally most business men arc
| rather particular about giving checks
to strangers and it might be suppose
that to get hold of check at all would
be a matter of difficulty. Not at all
! The methods are various but the
| difficulty is much less than might be
| supposed. One man (Who is nov
serving a long term) used to make a
speciality of working wholesale dealers
in this way He would come in
| dressed as a well-to-do country
merchant and get prices and talk about
a new store he intends to start in some
nearby small place. He would go
away without buying and later wouio
write on a regular country letterhead
a nice letter ordering say SIZE worm
| of goods. He would explain that he
| had been delayed in getting ready ana
was in a hurry for the goods. with
the letter would be a good bank draft
for some S25 more than the goods
would come to, and request to seno
him a check for the balance. This
rarely failed to bring him the check
| which Of course was promptly casheo
for several hundred or thousands OF
dollars and then he left for new fields
of effort.
Stealing the letters from letter boxes
has been for some time fruitful
source of supply to the check raiser
and it is still a mystery how the keys
are obtained. The fact that every
little while a man is caught with key
in his possession which will open the
boxes of the city he is working in is
J well known.
Sometimes two or more will work
together in working" a couple oi
banks. This was the case recently ir
Massachusetts where two men started
two bank accounts. One was in New
: Bedford and the other in Fall River
They exchanged checks and appeared
, to be buying and selling until the
banks had become accustomed to their
transactions when one Of them got the
New Bedford bank to certify a check
: for sS.16. This was then raised &c
nj y;