Evening star., 1926-08-22
BY /. 4. FLEMING.

Business men should bo more than
ordinarily careful of their checks
cancelled or otherwise, especially OF
their signatures and of other personal
memoranda and matter that might be
used to establish their identity. Under
no circumstances should they carry
their own checks in their bill books
nor would it be wise to keep checks
of others.
Problems Of identification of stran.
gers are frequently solved by bank
cashiers and other officials through
personal effects, with caution always
dominant. increasingly so if the per.
SonaI appearance of the customer
suggests such action
Cashiers have been known to ac.
cept initials in Il mans hat as an
identiflcatiOn-an engraved name on
q watch and letters, although they
usually seek more than one apparent
proof.
One doesn't have to have a diagram
of the ease with which Il fraudulent
identification may be established
when one has cards, letters, identifi.
cation cards, checks. automobile
drivers permit and other evidences
of the authenticity of the check or
draft presented of the maker and
of the payee.
One of Washington's prominent
merchants, who shall be nameless but
with the statement he is positively
existent. after a round Of golf at one
OF the prominent clubs of the city
found that his pocketbook had been
lifted from his coat. The contents
were very much the same as indi-
Gated above-memberShip cards in
various clubs. identification card and
worst of all, one of his personal
checks drawn to the order of him
self and countersigned by himself
thus giving to the thief two perfect
Signatures of a highly rated business
man and also direct line on his
bank account
1t did not take the purloiner of the
purse long to discover that he was
possessed of information that might
readily be turned to use in the pro
duction of dishonest dollars-many of
them before the stern hand of the law
will put a stop to his depredations-
as it surely will in time.
Many Victims Everywhere.
The first victim was a local jcwcler
who did not hesitate to accept an
order the next morning. with the in
formation that the customer would
come in that evening for the purchase
which was to be engraved in the in
terim.
In the meantime the jewcler look ed
up the reference and found 1t O X
But the check came back
1t is presumed that the thief OBJ.
tanned a number of blank checks at
The merchants bank and~was then pre-
pared to cut loose over the country
Ip pyf
port. from Minneapolis. Detroit and
Buffalo. whence he crossed into Can
ada. where he purchased $4,000 auto
mobile. He will be some place else
this week.
OF course, the local merchant has
not been loser through the transac
tion except for the actual valuable in
the bill book, nor has the bank lost a
cent through the operation. but other
banks and business men have been
badly VictimiZed, nor is it pleasant tC
have ones reputation banded about in
that manner.
Penitentiary doors are yawning for
this thief and forGer.
And yet this criminal Is more hon
orable than the slick stock and bond
salesman and his employers, daily TAX
ing hundreds and thousands of dol
lars from widows and orphans. whose
husbands and fathers have left them
provided for, but not under the protec
ton of wise executors and trustees.
why I'll buy back the stock any
time you care to sell it, said one of
these statesmen to a woman purchaser
the other day. knowing full we'll that
he would not do any such thing.
Wolves in sleeps clothing were
never more numerous than they are