will pass as an errand boy, messenger, porter, or clerk, to the prosperous business man, horse trader, stock buyer, or farmer.  When a presenter enters a bank to “lay down” a forged paper, the “go-between” will sometimes enter the bank with him and stand outside the counter, noting carefully if there is any suspicious action on the part of the paying teller when the forged paper is presented to him, and whether the “presenter” carries himself properly and does his part well.  But usually the middleman prefers waiting outside the bank for the “presenter,” possibly watching him through a window from the street.  If the “presenter” is successful and gets the money on the forged paper, the middleman will follow him when he leaves the bank to some convenient spot where, without attracting attention, he receives the money.  He then gives the presenter another piece of forged paper, drawn on some neighboring bank.  They go from bank to bank, usually victimizing from three to five banks in each city, their work being completed generally in less than an hour’s time.  All money obtained from the various banks on the forged paper is immediately turned over to the middleman, who furnishes all the money for current expenses.  After the work is completed the presenters leave the city by different routes, first having agreed on a meeting point in some neighboring city.  The “presenters” frequently walk out of the city to some outlying station on the line of the road they propose to take to their next destination.  This precaution is taken to avoid arrest at the depot in case the forgery is discovered before they can leave the city.  At the next meeting-point the middleman, having deducted the expenses advanced, pays the “presenters” their percentage of the money obtained on the forged paper.

A band of professional forgers before starting out always agree on a basis of division of all moneys obtained on their forged paper.  This division might be about as follows:  For a presenter where the amount to be drawn does not exceed $2,000, 15 to 25 per cent; but where the amount to be drawn is from $3,000 to $5,000 and upwards, the “presenter” receives from 35 to 45 per cent.  The price is raised as the risk increases, and it is generally considered a greater risk to attempt to pass a check or draft of a large denomination than a smaller one.  The middleman gets from 15 to 25 per cent.  His work is more, and his responsibility is greater, but the risk is less.  There are plenty of middlemen to be had, but the “presenters” are scarce.  The “shadow,” when one accompanies the band, is sometimes paid a salary by the middleman and his expenses, but at other times, he is allowed a small percentage, not to exceed 5 per cent, and his expenses, as with ordinary care his risk is very slight.  The backer and forger get the balance, which usually amounts to from 50 to 60 per cent.  The expenses that have been advanced the men who go out on the road are usually deducted at the final division.