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R IIPE for making an examiner of questioried documents: take a cbpp who ini bis youtb was R.a camera fan and loved to experimceit, and flux hum with a court reporter who was interested in handwriting., Add 20 years of court reporting and let simmer. Serve hiun in Portland, Ore., under the aforesaid court reporter wbo .*a d become an estab- lished experteqon questioneëddocumets, Ja# Fordyce Wood, and later move bim to Cbicago for',a perma- nent business setting. This. recipe bas, worked out very wvell ini the case of Vernon Vaxon, *bo lives ýir kWiltte and bas bis office at 134 N. La -Salle street, in tbe, Loop.' He is a mild-mannered cbap, witb proniinent'blue eysbehindhorn-immed, spectacles. His physical make-up je perfect for the work he is in.' Cross-exam- mners seldom. guess that bebind that quiet exterior lies a knowledge of evidénce and court procedure equal- ledby few lawyers. and few judges. Mr. Faxon- in bisý 20 years Of court reporting sat througb more cases than any judge, or Ilawyrer,' probably. He knows cross-examina- tion from both angesand in his trial work now he can be of much assistance to the attorney.. Questioned documents' include everything that people tbink of coin- monly in tbis connection, plus tbings that they do flot know. Not only bandwriting, but typewriting is analyzed. Promissory nlotes, wills, receipts, insurance papers, checks, paper, water marks, anonymous let- ters, and similar documents ail corne w,1hin th e scoue. of Mr.. Paxon's But why? Mr. Faxon thinks the motive for'sucb an. unusual act is good stuif for tbe fiction writers. H4e bas neyer heard whether tbe. fa mily discovered the. whereabouts ,of the girl or wby, abe faked ber own deatb outice. Another'case involving several.'4eeds to property wbich was left to an Illinois college turned UP an unusual circumstance, according to Mr. Faxop, Wbo served as tbe, expert. An aged 'woman,,bad: died, leaving property covered by four ded ote strong box, and started to go up after the records, but the stenographer suggested tbat, since she had ail the data on file at the office, she would type them in later. Tbe stenographer then. took the deeds to be. notarized. The notary,. because be knew ber, per- formed an illegal act byr simPly. signing b i.s namle and stampinginil!bis seal and letting ber fi11 in the dates. She was. accordingly able. to return to the office and fi11 in four-deeds with 1935 dates and the fifth with a 1931l date.. *Tbis, fifth, deed, c',uriously enougb, bad, a peculiar look in » that, the typing« had1 been done over a, very carefully erased surface.. Wbatever bad been on the deed at hrst, bad been erased' cowpletely.. Obviously the signature t'tbe first deed. was genuine, but thé deed itself had, been, changed. Mr. Faxon was, able, by .bis knowl- edge, of mnicroscope- and chenxicals, to read the origin al typing. He proved ton that the signature on the fifth deed was Written at: the same tîme as the four. dated 19351 He was able. to get- letters and'docu- ments signed'by the client written in 193 1 and in 1935 and by compari- son sbowed that her signature bad cbarged . a little between 1931 and 1935 and that tbedeed in question bad been signed like tbe other 1935 papers. Signature anialv,;is bringç up many. interesting possibilities. Mr. Faxon once bad a case in wbich a woman traced a signature over carbon paper and then used a pen t.o 611 in the carbon outline. UHe m-nved Ito the Wilniette Rotary and Uptinust clubs) because be believes be je educating prospective jurors on how to evaluaté testimony and exhibits. One of the nlany criminal cases on whicb Mr. Faxon bas served was the Hammn kidnapping trial in St. Paul Mucb to bis embarrassinent, after be arrived in St. Paul, lue found that be had been called in by the gangsters'. attorneys. He pre- fers to be- on the state's attorney's unscas ine juIC JWIr FCuseU to jet tbe ink be renuoved, but tbe Jury filed by Mr. Faxon's microsc 1ope. and saw tbe carbon traces for tbem- selves and voted the woman guilty. It is impossible for anyone to Write bis signature exactly the sanie way twice, avers Mr. Faxon. Wben- ever two signatures are found to be identical, one bas been traced. If the reader does flot believe this,, let bim Write bis naine twice and super- esiuaiugn wriuen in a backhand slant, sn, :othe hrified family that it,- t"Ocw ber daughter. She. show.d the letters bher bad gone to ture on the deeds Tbe client bad upstairs in * er ing. note naKIa been wr sum, to be left in an i school. Tbe, police Ieft the 'ae rom tears or losig dIentification of bandwrit- tten asking for a ransom rance of the junior bigb (Contisued oit Page 69)