The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1914-08-21
ON LOOKOUT FOR
CLEVER F0RGER
SwIndIer Operating in Marquette
May Be Headed Northward

Copper country businessmen have
been warned to be on the lookout for
forger who has been operating in
Marquette recently when he swindled
various merchants OF sums Of money.
Because he, apparently. is acquainted
with vesselmen, and uses that to aid
him in his transactions, II is believed
he may be headed for this district.
Pertaining to his operations, the
Marquette Journal says:
Before Marquette businessmen have
forgotten the last occurrence of the
kind another clever forger has con-
Quoted operations in the city and
| has cleaned up several hundred dollars,
| leaving fully a week In advance of the
time of the discovery of the crime.
| There is no clue to the identity Of the
crook, other than meagre descriptions
given by some of the persons swind
led. He posed as a sailor OF the steam-
err Zenith City, vessel OF the Pitts
burgh Steamship company, under a
variety OF aliases, and carried out his
| work undisturbed, the forgeries not
having been noted until the bad checks
were returned from Cleveland TO two
OF the Marquette banks. ''.)
Reports have been received that
man. believed to he the same person
| wanted here. has operated in Escanaba
and other upper peninsula cities.
Cashed Numerous Checks.
AT its best, the work of the strang-
| err was crude and, II appears, should
| have been discovered before it was.
| All checks were signed with the name
OF Henry Walper, master Of the Zen
| ity City, and none of the signatures
seen in any way resemble that Of Mr..
| Walper as written on the register at
| the South Shore dock Office To date
four checks. each for $40, have been
returned here, and II is known that
other Marquette businessmen accepted
checks for a like amount. The four
checks were cashed by william Rice,
of Rice & Jaworski, Frank LaBonte,
ST.. Andrew Hartvigh and Martin
Rustenhoven. The descriptions Of the
man from each OF the places taflles
THE steamer Zenith City loaded ore
in Marquette on the 10th. The checks
were cashed on the 18th! mt time that
the steamer was stiilgin port. anu at
the first glance they appear genuine.
Each is a printed check purportihg to
be of the Great Lakes Steamship com
pany, and the name of the Zenith City
had been stamped thereon. ON the
| n ~ ha 10 TO OF ~ "hnnk G.
at which the checks are payable. In
quiry has disclosed the fact that there
are no such banks as those named.
one of the discrepancies IS the fact
that the steamer Zenith city is not
lowned by the Great Lakes Steamship
company. All OF the checks were
drawn on the Peoples Sa .ings & Trust
bank. of Cleveland. a note attached
to one Of the checks returned under
protest states that there is no such in
stitution n Cleveland. There is a Peo-
pies Savings bank but not Peoples
Savings & Trust.
Signed Different Names.
In each OF the forgeries in Mar
quette, the stranger Endorsed the check
with a different name. In one case he
signed S. w. Burk, and in another he
posed as n Mr.. Brown. The name of
the payee in each case was stamped
with n rubber stamp. AS 1t is reported
from Escanaba that the forgeries there
were executed in similar manner, the
work in the two cities is believed to be
that of the same person. The Mar
quette businessmen sent in the checks
with their regular deposits, and the
checks went through to Cleveland, full
lily a weeks time thus elapsing before
1t was found they were worthless.
How the blank checks were obtain
ed is a mystery to the officers, as they
appear bonafide until the list of fic-
titious banks on the back is noted
They appear to have been printed by a
IDrOfpSsional fOrEpr