immaterial, made fraudulently or innocently, avoids a note in the
hands of one who made the alteration. But in a later Missouri case, it
is held, that the addition of the signature of a married woman without
a separate estate to a note already issued was a nullity and without
legal effect and therefore to be considered as no alteration and not
to discharge the original parties.




CHAPTER V

HOW TO WRITE A CHECK TO PREVENT FORGING

How a Paying Teller Determines the Amount of a Check--Written Amount
and Amount in Figures Conflict--Depositor Protected by Paying
Teller--Chief Concern of Drawer of a Check--Transposing
Figures--Writing a Check That Cannot Be Raised--Writers Who Are
Easy Marks for Forgers--Safeguards for Those Who Write Checks--An
Example of Raised Checks--Payable "To Bearer" is Always a
Menace--Paying Teller and an Endorsement System Must Be Observed in
Writing Checks--How a Check Must Be Written to Be Absolutely Safe--A
Signature that Cannot Be Tampered with Without Detection--Paying
Tellers Always Vigilant.


Among the casual patrons of the average bank there is a superstition
that in presenting a check at a teller's window the amount of the
check shall be determined by the amount spelled out in the body of the
check, without regard to the figures written at the top or bottom of