Forged Dr. Bates' Name

New York, 1895

George Carl, colored, of Hempstead, who is Dr. Bates' coachman, has been arrested for forging the doctor's name to a check for $25. Mrs. Silberg sold Carl $9 worth of clothes, accepted the check, and gave him $16 in change.

—The Long Island Farmer, Jamaica, NY, Feb. 1, 1895, p. 12.

Young Bride in Jail Warns Girls of Drug

1915

Tells of Ended Romance and Fight Against Morphine

And so, this story of the tragic ending of a happy romance and a forlorn fight against the use of drugs, is a story with a moral.

LOS ANGELES, Cal., Dec. 16. — A little wanderer in the gray land of drugs tossed and turned on a cot in a cell at the matron's department of the city jail.

"Never take the first dose," she sobbed. "It's grip is terrible."

She was Mrs. James Dellarocca, 19 years old, and a bride of but three months.

In a separate cell on the floor below was her husband, facing a charge of forgery.

But even in the torment of her soul, that "little wanderer" sobbed that her next fight against the use of morphine would be a successful one, and with tears rolling down her cheeks told the story of her life in the clutches of drug habit.

How She Started

"When did I start?" she sobbed. "Oh, that is the worst part of the story. It was a woman who started me — a woman who said she was my friend. That was about four months ago. I knew that she was 'queer' — that is, she was a drug user.

"One day I was very sick. I had been ill for several weeks. I was suffering terribly. Then this woman came to me and told me she could relieve my suffering. I knew what she meant and I refused.

"She kept right after me. I was in agony. She said I could take it once and then not again. Finally I gave in. The pain was numbed.

"Oh, it's the same old story from then on. I could not stop.

"I was compelled to increase the dose every day. Inside of a few weeks I was taking a grain and a half.

She Meets Jimmy

"Then I met Jimmy" — Dellarocca — "it was love at first sight. I loved him. He asked me to marry him. I was foolish and told him yes. He did not know I was taking morphine. I decided it was best to tell him before we were married and I did so — two days before.

"I remember he put his arm around me and said, 'Never mind, little girl, you and I will fight it out together, you'll be all right in a little while.'

"We were married and we started to fight. We begun saving our money so that I could be cured. I could not stop, tho. I would take a little each day. But we fought hard and we smiled as we fought, because we were going to win.

"Then his business went broke. Our money went fast. He could not bear to see me in agony without morphine. He would buy it altho it hurt him to do it and give it to me.

"I became worse. The fight seemed hopeless. I was taking 2 grains three or four times a day. Then we were arrested.

"I am glad I have been arrested. I will have another chance to fight morphine. They tell me I can be cured and I am going to try, oh, so hard, for Jimmy's sake and my sake.

"Oh, tell girls never to touch drugs. Tell them to run from it. Tell them to stop their ears every time it is mentioned. Please do, 'cause it may do some good."

The "little wanderer" declared that her husband was innocent of the charge of the forgery of counter signatures to nine $100 checks.

"I will stay by him until the end," she sobbed as she turned her face to the wall.

Forger Sentenced to Live As Hermit

March, 1914

SAN JOSE, Cal. — Frank E. Murray, convicted forger, was sentenced by Superior Judge William Beasly to serve two years as a hermit in the mountains forty miles from here. Because Murray is 58 years old the judge was not inclined to give him a jail sentence. A deputy sheriff took the prisoner to the mountains.

One of the conditions of the sentence is that Murray may accept employment, but he must not visit a city or town in two years. The court will keep in touch with him during that time.

"What this man needs is to be kept away from temptation for a while," said Judge Beasly.

Examining Great Paintings, Finding the Artist's Signature

1916

Difficult to Find Sometimes and Not Always Reliable

Many of the works of the old masters are not signed. Experts rarely rely on signatures alone in determining the authenticity of an old work, but trust rather to their knowledge of the painter's technique.

False signatures can be easily detected. Spirits of wine or turpentine will usually remove a name of later date than the painting. In the course of time signatures often become very difficult to find. Painted originally in a shade slightly lighter than the ground, perhaps, they sink in, darken and merge into the ground color or they are almost rubbed away by successive cleanings. Recognizable one day in a specially favorable light, they may not be visible again for weeks.

Experts speak of "will-o'-the-wisp" signatures, and many collectors have encountered accidental strokes and cracks that tantalizingly suggest a signature, though it can never be made definite. On the other hand, there have been remarkable cases of such marks, after careful study, resolving themselves into a famous name. Sometimes the painter's name is most conspicuous — as, for instance, in Raphael's "Sposalizio" at Milan. Proud of having surpassed his master, the youthful genius wrote on a frieze in the very center of the canvas "Raphael Urbinas."

Reynolds hardly ever signed his work. But upon the completion of the portrait of Mrs. Siddons as the "Tragic Muse" he wrote his name large on the gold embroidery of her dress. He was unable, he said, "to resist the temptation of sending my name to posterity on the hem of your garment."

With reference to unsigned paintings there is told in Germany an amusing story. Achenbach. the German artist, enjoyed a vogue about ten years ago. A certain collector had bought from an art dealer a marine represented as a genuine Achenbach. Afterward it was pronounced to be a copy. The buyer brought an action against the dealer, who turned the tables by declaring that his picture was genuine and the other was a copy.

Achenbach himself was summoned by the court to tell which was which. Amazed at the similarity of the two paintings, the artist gazed at them for a long time, inspected them closely front and back and then frankly admitted that he could not tell which was the original and which the copy.— Harper's Weekly.

—Stevens Point Daily Journal, Stevens Point, Wisconsin, July 29, 1916, page 7.

Dance Craze Blamed For Ruin of Youth

California, 1921

Nineteen-year-old George E. Nelson, confessed forger, owes his downfall to his craze for dancing, according to a letter written by his mother to Leonard Compton, probation officer, who has recommended that probation be denied to the youth. Nelson was scheduled to be sentenced to San Quentin late today.

The specific charge upon which Nelson is being held is that of passing a bad check for $112.79 on the First National Bank. According to the police records, Nelson is wanted in a number of other cities for forgery. He came here from Honolulu and by means of false credentials obtained large sums of money under false pretenses.

—Oakland Tribune, Oakland, California, May 17, 1921, page 20.

Wife Serving in Hotel After Husband Left Without Paying

1901

Wife Shoulders the Burden

Waterloo, Dec. 28.—A man registering at one of the hotels as Dr. L. D. Caswell of La Crosse. Wis., has departed from the city and his whereabouts are unknown. His wife, who was left without funds, has assumed the role of a servant girl in the hotel in order to meet the board bill. The doctor advertised extensively as a specialist, catarrh being his specialty.


Passed Forged Checks

Adair, Dec. 28—A stranger passed four forged checks of $9 each on the business men of Adair, claiming to be a farm hand working for a rich stock man near town and receiving the checks in payments. His description is: About 6 feet tall; weight, about 165 pounds; smooth, pale face; light brown hair; age, about 25 years; extra smooth hands; wore a dark ulster, light colored neck scarf, fedora hat; had the appearance of being an indoor worker.


Struck With Coal Shovel

Muscatine, Dec. 28.—Walter Kaiser, by his next friend, R. J. Kaiser, has begun a damage suit against M. O. Stanwood, defendant. Walter Kaiser is a minor of the age of 12 years, who sues by his next friend, R. J. Kaiser, and for cause of action against the defendant states that Stanwood struck him with a coal shovel, severely cutting his face. He wants $5,000 damages.

—Davenport Daily Republican, Davenport, Iowa, December 29, 1901, page 3.