The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1909-12-24
years ago and which led undoubtedly 7
to certain number of reforms in our
nriS0n system

prison system.
Adolph Beck was Norwegian of
education, who travelled about the
world for many years, and notably in
South America where he was in 1877.
subsequently he came to this country
and endeavored to do business as a
company promoter and concession VEN
dor. In pursuit of this he spent much
time in London. In 1896 on the occa-
sion of one of his visits the police az
rested him on the charge of swindling
women of the town, the alleged
methods being to obtain loans of mon
ey or pewelry, more especially rings,
in exchange for which he gave them
worthless checks on the Union bank.
Police Establish Case
He protested his innocence, but the
evidence of identification was thought
to be overwhelming and he was con-
victed. The police then came forward
and said that he was the same mana
.Iew-who, under the name of John
Smith, had been convicted under pre-
cisely similar circumstances in 1877,
and had been sentenced to five years
penal servitude. To the meanest in
telligence it must have been obvious
that the frauds of 1S77--when Beck
was in South America-and in 1896
were committed by the same person,
as the methods were identical, even to
the Hse of the same names, such as
Union bank and ST. Johns Wood. The
police jumped to the conclusion that
Beck was Smith and although they
did not put this forward at the Old
Bailey, classified him as Smith in the
prison records after his sentence of
seven years penal servitude.
Beck had protested his innocence in
court but without avail. and he serv-
ed his sentence despite innumerable
appeals to the home secretary, few
of which ever seemed to reach that
gentleman. He came out of Jail early
in 1900 and he was doing his best to
reestablish himself in public conf
dence when the police found that the
John Smith frauds were again being
worked OH women under absolutely
the same circumstances as on the two
previous occasions. Obviously the
same man was responsible. The po-
lice again concluded that the criminal
was Beck and rearrested him and he
was actually brought up at the Old
Bailey and convicted and sent back
after passionate protestations of his
innocence. to enable the Judge to con-
slider the whole question. At this
very moment when Beck was in Jail
a man giving the name of William
with committing another of these pre-
cisely similar crimes: he. too. was
identified by all the women he was al
%x. i1ks ri
it could not nave been Beck as he was
in prison; the question then arose:
Who was the man?
Solve the Mystery
To a police officer, Inspector Kane,
belongs the credit Of ever having solv-
ed the mystery at all. Entertaining
the feeling that Beck was innocent
and knowing of the new arrest. he
proceeded to trace back the career of
William Thomas and by means of
identification marks speedily convinc-
| ed himself that he was the man who
| in 1877 had suffered the first sentence
1t was then very speedily established
that Smith must have been the man
who had committed all the other
frauds and who had been Adolph
Beck's fatal double, though how any
one could have been deceived by such
double is a matter of mystery for
the two were not remotely alike and
the warders of Parkhurst prison, who
had had both men through their
hands, laid stress on the fact that
there was very little in common be-
tween them. The police, however,
having started with the conviction Of
Beck must be Smith, the theory was
kept up to the end until the error,
no more glaring at the end than at
the start, had to be openly and pub
licly admitted.
Makes ReparatiOn
Under extreme pressure of public
opinion. largely conducted by George
r. Sims, the then home secretary,
Mr.. Akers-Douglas. gave way Beck
was granted two free pardons and
1000 pounds consolation which was
afterwards raised to 5000 pounds
With this sum he lived on in London,
still employed in concession vending;
but there seems to be no doubt that
he was coming to the end of his
money when death overlook him.
The episode is certainly one of the
most remarkable from the point of
view of police methods. 1t establish
ed the futility of the police system
of identification. threw light on the
slipshod methods of the police and the
casual system in jails. whereby no
prisoner even if provided with new
light on his case. can ever hope to get
it properly considered. 1t again DEM
onstrated that handwriting experts
evidence was quite unreliable and it
was one Of the most powerful argu-
ments possible for the prisoner CIV
ing evidence on his own behalf. Had
this been done, Beck would never have
gone to jail at all, for he had a very
clear appreciation Of his position, but
being a foreigner and speaking the
language somewhat indffferently. he
was too confused and too bewildered