Fort Mill times. [volume] (Fort Mill, S.C.) 1892-current, 1908-06-18
MISTAKEN IDENTITY.
ROUGH EXPERIENCE OF MAN
WHO LOOKED LIKE ANOTHER.
He Spent Six Months i'm Jail. Fin. a
$500 and Got "Third begree" Be-
fore His Lack Turaed.

$500 and Got "Third beGree" BE
fore His Lack TurRed.
| For the one, simple reason that hi
looked like somebody else, F. n
Rush, Of New York city. has played
the tragic cart in one of the creates,
farce comedies that escaped the
boards of a theater. Entirely limo
cent OF all the charges brough,
! against him, he has been arrested
| for forgery in three different cities
been wrongly i'd ,tifed scores of
times. prosecuted by State and Fed
eral authorities. spent six month in
prison, fined $500, 'mugged" for the
Chicago rogues' gallery. and now Is
living in constant fear of further
arrest.
It was simply because of a chance
blance to forger that Rush
has been made to suffer every men
tai anguish the law can infiict short
of hanging. In face, figure, manner
and even voice, Mr.. Rush resembles a
forger, badly wanted by the police
of score of cities, who has been
travelling over the country for sew
eral years, leaving n trail of worth
less paper and duped victims. Up
wards of 100 persons have declared
on oath that they knew him, and
clamored for his conviction. His re-
latives and lawyers have grown sus-
picious in the face of the tremend-
Gus pile of circumstant'al evidence
that has piled up against him
Evangelists have prayed ever him in
prison, and then turned away in dis
gust, pronounced him hardened
sinner because he refused TO confess
to crimes Of which he knew nothing.
Yet in the end Rush has been &C
quilted by an alibi so certain that
his prosecutors have been made to
look ridiculous.
1t is nearly a year since Mr.. Rush
went West to find his remarkable
crime record awaiting him. 1t was
in Cincinnati that he was arrested
last September. and when he was
taken to jail the police told him, to
his astonishment. that he was John
f. Blair, alias John L. Baldwin, alias
Boyd c.. Clark. alias F. n. Rush.
alias s. S. Pickney, and that he was
wanted for forgery in Chicago and
several other cities.
He was actually taken to Chicago,
where his troubles began. Cast In
Jail, he was speedily overwhelmed
with such a mass OF identifications.
crimes and evidence that his bal was
set at a prohibitive figure, and he
langWshed FIVE month in his cell
while the prosecution was building
up a case against him. When the
trial finally arrived Rush was posi-
lively identified as the slick forger
by score of persons who had been
duped. The array of witnesses pro-
duccd against him proved SO cSn-
to the jury that he was actua''
ly found guilty But doubt had
been raised in the judges mind, and
he was let off with a months inn
prisonment and fine of $500.
But he was no sooner released
than he was re-arrested on warrents
from other cities and was cast into
iail again. He was confined in a
dungeon for three days with tho rats
u. ing over him and without bite
Il, 10, and wes th1.s put Il liu"r'
he tt Id deg .e.' by burly ooli1'
fccrs who sougu; to make him l
ie-s ., resortipS t, violence. Tut
Hush efused c.hfess, ana the
an n ,. tics were ~, ther perplexed.
Min mis- secon t'h DRAWN. near,
Rush set about to establish an alibi.
IA rebuttal of the Eve days evidence
submitted oY the district attorney
supplemented by four hour speech
from that official, Rush presented his
simple alibi TO the jury. and was ac-
quilted in Il minutes. Later he
showed to the entire satisfaction OF
the Chicago authorit,eS that he was
victim of the most remarkable case
OF mistaken identity on record In
that city. But he Is living in constant
fear of arrest in other cities which he
visits in his business Of travelling re
IRE sentative of prominent New
York drug firm.
| HExnt,cG W-EnS POOR CLERK.