Atlanta Georgian. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, 1912-07-31
AShe Makes Study
Of Typed Letters

H M. Ashe, the typewriter agent-ev-
pert who went on the stand for the
prosecution in the Grace case yester-
day and testified that two letters whic5
promise to figure sensationallv in ths
| case were struck off by the same ma.
chine, said today that he could not onlr
have told they were written by the
same machine. but by the same person
if he'd had his glasses
"A typewriter letter displays iust u
much the individuality of its author as
letter written with pen" said Asbn
Il didn't have my glasses on yes
terday when 1 testified. But even with
out them | could tell that those two
letters We're struck off on a Smith Pre-
mier. One of them had been written
| about three weeks before the other
could tell that from the blur of the
letters imprint. which showed how the
ribbon had been worn and cut by 9TH
ers pounding on it in the meantime
Then l could see that they We're Smith
Premier letters from the clean cut type
and the especial curves of the ms and
RS that no other machine made has
like the old Smith Premier No. 2
How He Tells Time.
Even without my glasses, could
swear that the same machine had been
ribbon worn Just about enough to ae-
count for the time that 1 had said
elapsed between the two letters. l know
a Smith Premier like I'd know my own
baby. I've been operator and agent of
that machine for a good many years
until l took up the L. c. Smith type
writer. a little time ago. can't only
take 'em apart and put 'em together,
but l can make EN- And l can tell
whichever one of my stenographers
wrote letter on one-just from seeing
the letter.
The lawyer for the defense got me
yesterday because I said letter he
pulled from his pocket was written on
an Underwood when it hadn't been
That was because l didn't have my
glasses to show the little curves and
blurs and letter lines that ought to
make any typewriter's name a simple
matter to an expert. When l go upon
the stand today, I'M going to ask the
judge to show me those two letters
again. I'LL have my glasses with me
then I'll be able to see whether the
person or persons that wrote those two
letters hit the keys harder with their
left hands or with their right hands
"Pl know whether the same person
wrote both those letters from the way
he imprints the period at the end Of
the sentence; and. after finding out
whether he hits "a s. r and e harder
or softer than he hits f. II and p That
first series Of letters he strikes on the
keyboard with his left hand fingers, and
F, the others with his right.
Also Tells by Margins.
Then I'll know, too, by the kind of
margins the writer made on those let
tiers. You can tell typist by his mar
gins as well as by his strokes
Il have never been in court as an
expert typist, but I've been consulted
in many cases. Lawyers have used me
many times to tell them the authorship
of typewriter letters. and they've used
the opinion I've given them in proving
witnesses liars When I've got my
glasses 1 defy anybody to fool me about
the make of typewriter that was used
to write the letter. l think that with
the same opportunity handwriting eX
pert has to study certain piece Of
penmanship, l can tell the author of
typewriter letter just as well as he
Ashe goes upon the stand again in
the Grace trial today to prove his abil-
ity to distinguish typewriter makes
and authorship without mistake.