The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-05-18
INGENIOUS MEANS
TO TRAP FORGERS
Experiments Made in London Hos
pital to Record Pulsebeats
as a Cure

From the Baltimore Sun.
Most ingenious means are nowadays
employed in the detection of forgery 1t
is very clever forger, indeed, who can
deceive the most up-to-date expert in
chirography.
AS has been pointed out by Sandberg
the expert may put a juror to the proof
that out of dozen signatures of his own
name no two will be alike in general
form. Then the expert may turn to the
authentic and forged signatures in al
most any case and show to the layman
that the first question of forgery arose
from the fact that these two signatures
are at hrst glance identically alike, al
most to the minutest detail.
The forger has been too skillful. He
has held to the old principle of copying
the authentic signature that he has at
nand, and the consequence is that the
more nearly he can reproduce the sigma
ture in every proportion the more read
lily can the forgery be proved
A most significant fact upon which the
expert may base his Investigations of
possible forgery is that every one has his
pen scope. This technical term de-
scribes the average stretch of paper that
one may cover without lifting the pen
from paper and shifting the hand to con-
tinue the line.
In the case of a signature It should be
one OF the easiest and least studied group
of words that the writer should be called
upon TO put upon paper. In writing a
letter, for instance the penscope through
out may exhibit an average stretch of
one inch for the text of the letter. while
IN the signature the whole length of the
name, twice as long, may be covered
But II the writer covers the full stretch
of his name In this way the expert NAV
prove by the shorter pen scope of the
eopylst that the studied copy is forgery
on Its face. For, however free of stroke
the forger may naturally be, his efforts
TO produce fac-simile of another sigma
ture will render his scope shorter than
that of the original signer.
common means of reproducing sir-
nature is to place the original sigma ture
on piece of glass. lay another piece OF
glass on top of 1t, and fasten the paper
that Is to receive the forgery on TOP of
that. Then by holding the glass strips
to bright light the original sigma ture
casts shadow through, and this NAV
be traced in pencil. From this the ink
forgery Is made
Wnen, however. a forgery ACCOMPLISHED
by this means is placed under a stronc
magnifying glass it will not pass muster
IL the original has strong down stroke
on the capital letters the movement will
De rree and will leave the pen lines with
tracing such letters cannot trust himself
to the same free movement of the pen.
and the result shows under the ela ss
hesitancy and uncertainty
new means of detecting forgery has
neen suggested. A doctor has advanced
the theory that the pen invthe hand of
writer serves in modified degree the
same end as the sphygmograph which
traces the hearts action, and that In
persons handwriting one can see by pro
Jecting the letters greatly magnified on
screen the scarcely perceptible turns and
quivers made in the lines by the action
OF that persons peculiar pulsation.
10 demonstrate this an experiment wa $
MADE at Charing Cross hospital A num-
Der OF persons suffering from heart dis
ease wrote an article in their ordinary
handwriting. The different manuscripts
We're tnen taken and examined microscop-
ically. BY throwing them highly mag
nined on screen the jerks or invoIun-
tary motions due to the patients pec,,liar r
pulsation We're distinctly visible.
the handwriting of persons in normal
health does not. however, always show
tneir pulse beats. What one can saw is
that when document purporting to be
written by a certain person contained
traces OF pulse beats and the normal
handwriting Of that person does not show
them. then clearly the document il q
forgery