Frazer.] -t4 4: [Dec. 20, 



For the present he leaves lliis problem untouched, admitting that the 

 chances seem against its ever being successfully solved, and addresses 

 himself to the less complex question, "Can a mark made by one person 

 while another is touching the penholder be distinguished from a mark made 

 freely and without external hindrance?" 



Without theorizing on the subject, it can best be introduced by the state- 

 ment of an actual investigation of marks made by a certain man while the 

 penholder was touched by a blind woman. 



The simple question was whether or not the marks attached to certain 

 documents were made while the hands of two persons touched the same 

 penholder. 



By a cursory examination of the signature marks of some documents 

 (of which the genuineness was disputed) with the signature marks ad- 

 mitted as genuine joint marks, a notable difference was observable. 

 Whereas the former appeared well formed and shaded and gave evidence 

 of having proceeded from a hand skilled in the use of the pen, the latter 

 were ill-formed and ragged, neither symmetrical nor indicating the free 

 movement of an experienced writer. The lines of the admitted signature 

 marks were thin, and Cfepccially the cross stroke (which was drawn from 

 the upper left hand to the lower right hand), longer than the similar lines 

 in the disputed signatures. A superficial observation, while plainly in- 

 dicating differences between the disputed and undisputed signatures failed 

 to establish their respective degrees o'f importance. 



Before further study an examination was made of a list of twenty odd 

 names, among which was what was claimed to be an unauthorized and 

 fraudulent signature-cross. An inspection of both names and cross en- 

 abled the undersigned to select the signature which was written by the 

 hand that made the disputed name-cross. The slant of the lines and the 

 spread of the pen nibs corresponded so closely in tlie two cases that the 

 careful measurements, which were immediately undertaken, were not 

 needed to reveal the connection. This preliminary fact having been 

 substantiated, a meeting between the persons who made the joint marks 

 was arranged in order that their method of proceeding might be wit- 

 nessed. 



As there was a difference of statement between the two as to this 

 method, specimens were taken under the conditions described by each. 



The blind woman insisted that she grasped the top of the pen firmly. 

 The guider of the pen maintained that his collaborator merely touched 

 the top of the pen lightly while he wrote. 



Joint marks were made by the two persons concerned under observa- 

 tion and were carefully measured. The tabulated results will be found 

 elsewhere (see Table I). Similar measurements were made of other ad- 

 mitted and disputed signature marks and similarly tabulated. 



These results also will be found in their appropriate places. The meas- 

 urements are divided into measures of length and measures of angles, 

 with scrutiny of the manner in which each stroke began and ended. 



