These radiating lines, too, may be used in the few cases where the forger is an expert penman depending upon an offhand duplication of a signature. This penman will have his inevitable natural slant to his letters. This characteristic slant never is the same in two individuals. In his free and easy forgery of a name written by another person this "Jim, the penman" exposes his acquired slant which disputes the original.
This slant of individual writing shows especially in any attempt to write a forged letter or document. When the pen scope of the original has been lined out, proving the characteristic common lengths between the lifting of the pen from the paper, the lines radiating from the points to individual letters in words or groups of words in authentic and bogus specimens, these radiations point at once to the fact that the same person did not write the matter.
These are some of the things upon which the handwriting expert works upon and brings to bear in proof of reproduced signatures and handwriting in general. How the more or less inexpert person discovers questionable showing in these duplications are many. His intuitions may suggest his doubts. Material evidences may have come to bear upon him. Likelihood of some one person's having self-interests in the matter may induce him to make sure.
In the case of a banker or business man, having large interests and required to affix his signature to many papers of moment, he ordinarily makes it certain that through adapted whorls and freehand sweeps of the pen, the signature will be least careless and inviting to the adventurous forger. In much of his personal correspondence with strangers, however, this adapted and unusual signature frequently becomes a source of loss to himself and irritation to his correspondents. In the case of hundreds of such individuals, the writing to a stranger in expectation of a reply becomes an absurdity for the reason that the person addressed is hopelessly barred from reading the name attached to the letter. A plain signature is always the best.
ERASURES, ALTERATIONS AND ADDITIONS
What Erasure Means—The English Law—What a Fraudulent Alteration Means—Altered or Erased Parts Considered—Memoranda of Alterations Should Always Accompany Paper Changed—How Added Words Should be Treated—How to Erase Words and Lines Without Creating Suspicion—Writing Over an Erasure—How to Determine Whether or Not Erasures or Alterations Have Been Made—Additions and Interlineations—What to Apply to the Suspected Document—The Alcohol Test Absolute—How to Tell which of Crossing Ink Lines were Made First—Ink and Pencil Alterations and Erasures—Treating Paper to Determine Erasures, Alterations and Additions—Appearance of Paper Treated as Directed—Paper That Does Not Reveal Tampering—How Removal of Characters From a Paper is Effected—Easy Means of Detecting Erasures—Washing With Chemical Reagents—Restoration of Original Marks—What Erasure on Paper Exhibits—Erasure in Parchments—Identifying Typewritten Matter—Immaterial Alterations—Altering Words in an Instrument—Alterations and Additions Are Immaterial When Interests of Parties Are Not Changed or Affected—Erasure of Words in an Instrument.
Erasure or erazuer, as it is more commonly called in England, from the Latin word "scrape or shave" is the scraping or shaving of a deed, note, signature, amount or of any formal writing. In England, except in the case of a will, the presumption, in the absence of rebutting testimony, is that the erasure was made at or before the execution thereof. If an alteration or erasure has been made in any instrument subsequent to its execution, that fact ought to be mentioned (in the abstract or epitome of the evidence of ownership) together with the circumstances under which it is done.
A fraudulent alteration, if made by the person himself, taking under it would vitiate his interest altogether. It was formerly considered that an alteration, erasure or interlineation would void the instrument entirely, even in those cases where it was made by a stranger; but the law is now otherwise, as it is clearly settled that no alterations made by a stranger will prevent the contents of an instrument from retaining its original effect and operation, where it can be plainly shown what that effect and operation actually was. To accomplish this the mutilated instrument may be given in evidence as far as its contents appear and evidence will be admitted to show what portions have been altered or erased, and also the words contained in such altered or erased parts; but if, for want of such evidence or any deficiency or uncertainty arising out of it the original contents of the instruments cannot be ascertained, then the old rule would become applicable or more correctly speaking, the mutilated instrument would become void for uncertainty. If a will contains any alterations or erasures, the attention of the witnesses ought to be directed to the particular parts in which such alterations occur, and they ought to place their initials in the margin opposite, before the will is executed, etc., notice this having been done by a memorandum added to the attestation clause at the end of the will.
In Scotland the rule as to erasure is somewhat stricter than in England and the United States, the legal inferences being that such alterations were made after execution. As to necessary or bona-fide alterations which may be desired by the parties, corrections or clerical errors and the like after a paper is written out but before signature, the rule usually followed is that the deed must show that they have been advisedly adopted by the party; and this will be effected by mentioning them in the body of the writing. Thus if some words are erased and others superinduced, you mention that the superinduced words were written over an erasure; if words are simply delite that fact is noticed, if words are added it ought to be on the margin and such additions signed by the party with his Christian name on one side and his surname on the other; and such marginal addition must be noticed in the body of the work so as to specify the page on which it occurs, the writer of it and that it is subscribed by the attesting witness.