The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1912-10-03
A TRAIL OF INK
How q Clever Bank "kIter" Was Run
Down on a Slender Clue

The National Bankers Protective
by the bankers Of this country to pro-
tect themselves and the money In
their care from the onslaughts OF that
considerable class of sharp-witted and
reckless men who live by working
banks"
THE class is divided into two minor
classes-the trough workers" and the
"kiters." The former phrase Is used
In detective parlance TO designate the
gentlemen who travel around the
country and blow bank safes. The
"kiters" are the persons who obtain
money by forgery. raised checks, al
tered drafts. false identifications, and
other Misrepresentation. Although
the safeblowers get more space in the
papers, because of the spectacular
character of their achievements, they
are the least troublesome of these
two types Of criminals. A couple of
yeggmen will blow a safe in a coun-
try bank in Painted Post, Neb shoot
the town marshal in the leg, and get
the country Will ring with the news.
But all the time there is going on the
shrewd. silent work of the 'kiter,"
which seldom gets into the papers,
but which continually is costing bank
ers and depositors thousands of dol
lars.
To catch a ''yeggman"-a safe-blow-
er-is nothing more or less than
straight police work. To catch
"kiter" is a problem of intricate de-
tective work, for the 'kiter" is man
of brains, where the ''yegg" is merely
one of force, and the former knows
better than anyone in the world how
to cover his tracks to escape detec-
ton. There is living in California at
the present time an old gentleman
who retired on a pension granted him
several years ago by a combination of
bankers who calculated that 1t would
be better 70 pay him to remain honest
than to risk losses from his sk1ltul
methods of forgery.
1t is hardly likely that banking his
tory of this country will see such an
other incident. The National Bank
ers' Protective Agency employs the
Burns Detective Agency to do all its
work now, and no matter how shrewd
q forger may be. how scientific his
methods, the Burns system, backed by
the Bankers association, is sure to
get him in the long run At the same
time there are hundreds OF men-
mostly young fellows in desperate
financial straits-who tempt fate by
passing bad bank paper. Such Grim
inals are soon run to earth. 1t Is the
old scientific fox, the man who has
made "kiting" a profession, who
makes trouble; and the first one OF
these gentlemen that ran down while
working as a Burns detective was the
best of the lot
In Medallion, N Y, there are three
banks. the Old National, the First Ma
uonal and the Farmers and Mer-
chants. One Monday morning the Of
fee manager of our agency came down
to the office to find on his desk tel
egram from each of these banks re-
questing that man be sent up at
once.
"a Job for you, Cornell" said the
manager, handing me the messages.
BEAT it up there as soon as you can"
| caught a Lackawanna train at
1920, and at seven in the evening l
was registering in the best hotel In
Medallion, a town of $500 people.
After three days work I had unrav-
&aI Of hot ho6
happened to the banks of Medallion:
A month before a man named Claw
son, who conducted the most pros
porous coal yard of the town, had de-
cided to sell out and retire from busi-
ness. He had advertised the sale in
retail coal trade publication that Cir
culated among coal dealers through
out the country. In few days, or to
be precise, just three weeks before l
arrived in town, a prosperous, ener-
getic looking man had appeared in an
swer to the advertisement. He intro
duced himself as Milton K. Jenkins,
said he had been in the coal business
years before, in Chicago, had quit 1t
and gone to New York, where he had
been working as coal salesman for
the last five years. The death Of an
uncle, said he, recently had placed
him In possession of a little money.
He wanted to get into business for
himself. He wanted to get out Of the
grind and worry OF the city. He
wanted to be his own boss. He had
been in Medallion once before and
liked the town. AS soon as he had
seen Clawson's advertisement he had
said to his wife, There's the place for
us, Jennie, if the business Is any
good" and had hied himself straight
away to the town.
"Now," said he theoretically, "show
me what you've got to SELL"
The mans knowledge of the Goa
business was so complete as to as
sure Clawson at once that he was
talking to an old and shrewd hand In
that line. His bearing and address
had all the earmarks of success and
T. xr1k