Western Carolina Democrat and French Broad hustler. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1913-1915, 1915-11-18
Gafney, S. c., Banker Looks for
Man who Forged Draft
for S 500
(New York world.l

A N. Wood, vice president of the
Merchants and Planters National
Bank of Carney, S.. c. was fat on
his back in a sanitarium at Charlotte.
N. c., last January when a prominent
Stock Exchange house of this city re-
eelved the following letter, written on
the stationery of the Hotel Breslin:
Gentlemen:
Inclosed find draft for $1,000
which you will place to my credit
and open orders as follows: Sell
5 October cotton at $780, but if not
executed by 1910 o'clock sell at
the market. Close out this cotton
at Is points decline and replace at
same price.
Send ali mail to this hotel. Am
going to Boston tomorrow and
hope to see you Saturday. If you
look up the bankers of S. c., you
will see who l am. Being Vice
President of a bank, never wire
me anything. l am not a specu-
lator but just thought would make :.
expenses while off in interest of
our cotton mills Yours truly,
A. N. WOOD,
Gaffney, S. G.
Signature Similar.
With a natural prejudice against
acceptance of speculative accounts
from bank officers, the broker looked
through the records and discovered
that the National Park Bank was
New York correspondent of the South
Carolina institution. They took the
check there and found that, though
the signature did not precisely tally
with the signature card in the Park
Bank, it was closely similar. The
brokers then requested their bankers,
the Bank of Manhattan Company, to
wire the Merchants and Planters Of
Gaffney and ask if Mr.. Wood was in
New York. This reply was received:
Mr. A. N. Wood is in Charlotte, N.
c., care Charlotte Sanitarium."
Satisfied now that the check was a
forgery, the brokers called up Police
Headquarters and Frederick F.
Franklin of the First Branch Detec-
tive Bureau was put on the case. He
found no A. N. Wood registered at the
Breslin but kept close watch over
the telephone in the hope that the
writer of the check might call up.
Market Not His Way.
But the cotton market ran counter
TO the orders in the ga. N. Wood
letter; else the brokers think they
would certainly have heard from the
writer with instructions to send back
the A. N. Wood check and mail to him
a check representing the profit on
the speculation
For cumulative evidence of the spu.
robustness of the check the brewers
sent it to the South Carolina bank,
asking that it be exchanged for a New
VnrlZ droff Tho honH conf II hoas<
without comment on the genuinenes3
of the check. but simply with the IN.
dorsement signature not authorized. I"
That the forgery was clever was also
shown by a letter from r. S. Liscomb,
cashier of the bank as follows:
Will you please let me know from
whom you got the draft made on us
for $1,5O0, signed by A. N. Wood and
returned to you with endorsement
Signature not authorized?' / am \
loss to know how you could have come
into possession of this draft?'
The brokers heard nothing more
from the police and had dismissed the
matter from their minds until yester-
day one of the partners raised his
brows in pleased surprise as there
was ushered into his Office a TALL 1.-THE,
square shouldered man, with gray
hair, goatee and mustache, and wear
ing a long, black coat, rundown col
1aI and black string tie. AS a South
EN- gentleman of the old school the
broker knew his caller even before
he introduced himself with the sono-
rous drawl:
"A. N. Wood, Vice President of the
: Merchants and Planters National
Bank of Gafney. South Carolina,
sab"
Mr.. Wood entirely recovered from
his illness and with spring in his step
and fire in his eye, was here to run
down the man who had uttered the
forgery He saw the false signature
for the first time, for he had previous
ly been unable to leave the South,
He took the check and letter away
with him.
''This has troubled be no little" he
said. ST don't know who did it wheth-
er it was some Northerner Dr. some
cracker down in my countryu but I'll
reckon I find out"
A GREAT CATTLE SHORTAGE.