The Lake County times. [volume] (Hammond, Ind.) 1906-1933, 1909-08-12
DON'T WEAR A
BLUE SHIRT THERE
Especial to THE TIMES. }

East Chicago. Aug. 12.-Citizens of
East Chicago and Indiana Harbor who
wish to pursue the even tenor of their
way, without being bounced upon by
some arm of the law. would better con-
fine themselves to the wearing of pink
shirts or yellow shirts or white shirts
or black shirts, in fact to any old shirt
excepting plain blue shirts. A plain blue
shirt is the only scrap Of evidence the
police have to go on in an attempt to
locate a man who passed fraudulent
checks a few days ago in Indiana Har-
Dor.
The victim of the forgery, Peter Nj
rovich. who conducts a clothing store
in Cedar street, could not give a de-
seription of the man who defrauded
him, but remembered that among other
things he had purchased before pre-
senting a check of $3.50. which was
later returned to him unhonored, was
blue shirt So he fetched a blue
shirt similar in color and pattern in to
Sergeant Quinlan yesterday and laid it
on his desk, as a clue to the identity
of the culprit
And must we arrest every man we
see wearing a blue shirt them" COM
planned Sergeant Quinlin. 1T looks
So"
Chief Higgins had something to say
yesterday morning with reference to
this same bad check man." which it
might be well for business men to pay
heed to. Preliminary to his remarks
along this line, the chief drew forth
/ from one of the pigeon holes in his
desk parcel of papers from which he
extracted several, laying them one
above the other on the desk. Each Of
the papers was a check, made out in
the same handwriting, in the same ex-
act style, with the same perforated
figure specifying the amount and signed
in many instances by the same COM
pany The dates of these checks COW
cred period from Feb. 10, 1906, to
Aug. Z, 1909. There were seven of them
the amounts in each case being in the
neighborhood of SIS. The checks were
drawn on various banks, and while
they were in several instances signed
by the Western Construction company
I the counterstgnature was In two cases
alike, excepting as to the chirography
There could be no mistaking the fac
that all We're written by the same hand
lou can see DS the QaEe Oh LueSt
checks how long this party has beer
operating In this region" said thu
chief. Here is one issued early fl
1906. And yet he remains at large.
say he, but mean they I am con
WINGED that there is a gang working
together. This system of defraudinl
would not be profitable enough to war
rant its pursuit. If the business mel
were less gullable. or if they woul,
give the police department the leas
little bit of help. over and over
have issued the warning. if strange
offers you a check in payment for
bill of goods. call UP the police sta
ton"
The circumstances Of a man offerinl
a check to any one whom he does no
know in itself should arouse suspicion
And nine times out Of ten the suspicio
would prove we'll founded. But n
one ever does that The best he viii
do, is to turn down the check. an
allow the defrauder to leave his stor,
only to perpetrate his fraud on som
one gullable. If he would take stock G
the appearance Of the man. and Motif
us Immediately we would undoubtedl
be able to apprehend him.
But just as an instance of how VI
terly We are left to our own resource
in tracing UP such criminals, I wi
cite the case Of a certain saloonkeepe
who was done some time ago by on
of these same checks. He reported tn
case to me, too late to do any good. an
! got him to promise me that in Ii
future if any man unknown to him oil
fered him a check. to notify me. 81
weeks later he came to me again. af1
er having eashed check issued by II
same party, in the same hand writin
and for practically the same amour
and wanted me TO find the guilty ma
4 This was after the check had gor
through the clearing house and ha
q come back to him unhtnored. Whs
can we do when business men will L
8 the like of that? Nothing. And yet v
j bear the brunt Of the cussing while
] follows the putting over Of every sue
deal. and no arrests follow.