The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1909-07-28
SOME GOOD ADVICE,
By Z. nLAIR EAroN.
fcopyright. 1905. BY American Press Asso.
ciation.l

Glass enc "a my pfeceplOrss VINO ndu
taken an interest In me. said:
'-Tom, you have learned a lot OF law
here, but in the world you don't want
10 practice law. You want to practice
common sense. At least common
sense Is three quarters of the fight
There are all sorts OF things in the
profession that certain lawyers set
great et@re by, such as decisions, deli
cate differences In law principles, ex-
pert testimony, etc. Such men. il they
have any success. usually land on the
bench, while the practical attorney
gets rich"
Soon AFTER entering upon my pro-
fesssion q Mr.. Arbuckle, a very rich
man. gave me one Of his small cases.
involving $500. Peter Winfield had
sued him for the amount as part OF
an account due, and Arbuckle claimed
that he had never ordered the goods
It represented. Winfield was a small
dealer, Arbuckle prominent capital
ist. When the case came to trial all
/ could do was to ask for a voucher.
TO my surprise. plaintiffs counsel pro-
duced letter from Mr.. Arbuckle or
dering the goods. When | informed
my client Of the fact he was as much
surprised rs l. He did not remember
writing such letter and was sure
he had not written it. After consuIta-
tion we became convinced that It was
forgery, and claimed in court that
1t wars q forgery. Winfield thereupon
hired the best handwriting expert to
be had, who pronounced the document
genuine.
How do You know that it is genu-
fneT' I asked the expert.
The question" replied the expert,
looking at me patronizingly. involves
q statement Of how reach my pro-
fessional conclusions. When the doc
ument was submitted 70 me / sought
to determine its dissimilarities from
conventional standard. Every person
writes with one Of a class OF move
ments we call forearm, wrist ana fin
ger movements. can tell at a glance
under what general system the writ
Ing has been penned.
Il analysed the letter before the
court, dissected every letter and not
ed each departure from the standard.
Such dissimilaritfes are invariably
found to be characteristic of the writ
er. He cannot depart from them.
After analysing the letter | took up
other bits Of Writing Of bis as fur
nished by my client and dissected
them Just AZ IN the case Of the letter
submitted 70 me for my opinion. !
found IN avery one OF these other speci-
mems The characteristics OF the letter
before the court"
iaow about disguised writing7" !
asked.
SIN such cases the difficulty is not
greatly increased. A person may sue
cessfully disguise a few letters but
in the main his natural variations
from the accepted standard viii be
unmistakable. In cases Of disguised
handwriting must first determine the
method Of the disguise. separating the
real from the unreal features OF the
disguiser's natural handwriting. Hav-
ing determined this, the rest Is easy"
took from my pocket a package Of
letters.
Here are specimens Of chirogra-
ply" / said, presumed to have been
written by my client WIN you please
examine them and tell me If they are
genuine27
The expert asked for time and was
given till the next morning. Then he
came into court and testified that Of
three letters / had given him one was
genuine and two were not asked
MIN to mark the letters. ana he did
SO. / took them and, selecting the one
that he had pronounced in Arbuckle's
handwriting. examined it carefully.
Then / called Henry Harley.
'sWhat is your profession, Mr.. Har-
leyT' ! asked.
'Engraver."
| handed him the letter held, told
him to examine It and asked him II he
wrote 1t.
He replied that be did.
The court, the Jury and the specta-
tors pricked up their ears.
Dismisglng the witness, ! called Ja-
rob Untermeyer.
.'What Is your business, Mr.. Inter
meyerg | asked.
paper manufacturer"
examine the paper on which that
latter is written aud tell me If you rec
0gnize It"
eIt ii from small lot we have had
In a loft for many years, an old water
mark OF our firm not now used
furnished 1t to you a week ago"
seThat viii do. Call stephen Munger
Mr.. Munger, did you see Henry Harley
write that letterg'
Il did
srWhen and where?"
"Three days ago IN your Office"
@rhat viii do. Gentlemen of the
snry. hearing Of an engrayer who could
initiate any ones handwriting, I found
Mr. Harley and employed him to
write this letter, which has been pro-
nounced by the expert for the plaintiff
Is having been written by my client,
10 clineh the matter / secured some
paper not In the market for years and
ibe die Of which has been destroyed. /
have shown you how much reliance is
q be placed on the experts opinion"
The jury gave a verdict IN Mr. Ar
buckles favor, and the case was closed.
NV client was 50 delighted a the
practical manner IN which I bad ham