National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1877-01-09
THE LATEST LARCENY
FROM UNCLE SANS GOLFERS

huOtnEr hOboeTy AT Ine treasury oi
the Thief and Recovery of Large Portion
of the Money-The Detectives Too Fast for
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. and Antecedents OF
the Culprit.
At 2 o'clock yesterday afternoon Ferdinand s.
winslow, clerk in the cash-room OF the Treasury
Department, was arrested, charged with having
stolen al 500 on the 5th Of December last. Since
the robbery took place the most profound secrecy
has covered the whole affair; in fact, so little
mention has been made about it that It wa
thought to have been a rumor; but the detectives
in whose hands the matter was placed, have
eyinced the greatest sagacity, and SO carefully
gathered their evidence and kept their counsels,
that the culprit was considerably surprised at his
arrest. The detectives, on starting their inyesti
cations. had theory as to the way in which the
robbery was accomplished, and an the links in
Secretary Morrill,, laid the case before him, and
he being satisfied, ordered the arrest
TEE WAY RKoU1sITIoNs FOR NEW BILLS ARB
MADE.
When q national bank has an accumulation Of
mutilated currency it is sent to the Treasury,
with an inventory, and a requistion made for new
bills, TO be circulated in place of those returned
wS fceee om tSe s al 0d
Chicago containing about FL, 500 with the neces-
sary requisition for new bills. On the evening Of
cash-room to send the amount required. This
order was in due course handed to Mr.. W. H.
Williams, the cashier, whose duty it is to count
with ticket specifying the amount, and to what
bank 1t fs TO be transmitted. He, on his part,
then hands the envelope and ticket to another
clerk, Mr.. Hayden, who
REcoUNTs THE MONEY
to verify its correctness, and to show that such
operation has been gone through puts q small
seal on the ticket, which he retains, and q round
seal on the middle Of the tongue Of the envelope.
1t is now passed on to clerk No. 3. Mr.. George
Rhuelling, whose duty it is to put a large square
seal on each end Of the envelope to thoroughly
N frrT ms ac tn No A
Ferdinand S. Winslow, in whose custody it re-
mains until the cash is balanced for the day,
and On the day the robbery took place the usual
routine was gone through with, the envelope
reaching Winslow at about O'Clock in the day.
Winslow, like
THE REST OF THE CLASSROOM OFFICIALS,
is seated inside of q screen OF iron wire. On the
packages reaching WinslOw 1t was his particular
duty TO assist Mr.. Woodruff In putting them into
a wire cage of which WinsIow had the key then
place the cage on the elevator and send it down
TO the Adams Express agents office below, which
was done in the usual way. Upon the cage
reaching the express office the clerks there count
the number of packages, among them the one for
Chicago. and sign for them. The duty OF the ex-
press clerks is then to enter the destination of
each envelope and the amount II contains in a
book and double check them, and advise each
party Of the amount coming to them, all of which
was done as usual. Tho regular receiving clerk,
Mr.. Bishop on the day the robbery was com,
mitted was not on duty, MIR. S. ]. Jones being In
his place.
hlbSI duQ GQeCkcu as QesCrlD6U
above the envelopes are placedin apoucu ,,..arked
with the names of their various destfna lions IN,
pouch is sealed, put into cage, and placed In a
10 dks ae On e tss GsPS all Of which
T. NJ ihe pouch for Chicago being treated
--vK TIE REST.
On the It'll of December the packaeA Contain ,bs
same bank, were received by the express agent
at Chicago and delivered to Mr.. Hammond, the
who found the envelope Of the larger sum to con:
tain nothing out tissue paper, cut into the size OF
currency and done up in four bundles. He In
formed the officers of the bank, who Immediately
brought it under the attention Of the express |
agent, he reporting 1t to Mr.. Benedict, Of the |
Treasury Department, the case finally being |
who Instructed Messrs. Benson and Brooks to in.
vestigate the matter. The detectives commenced
their operations in the Treasury Department,
and the first clue they got was the tact that the
envelope containing the waste paper was of the |
same size, but not Of the same color and quality
as those used in the transmission Of money to
banks, nor was
TIE ELSDwRITINe
that of the clerk who addresses envelopes ot W. I
particular kind. Several interviews we're had
with Winslow by both OF the detectives, they
being satisfied that the handwriting was his, but
this he stoutiy denied, and then II was resolved
instant, another interview was had with Wins
low as to his theory OF how the robbery was &C
ecmplished he giving it as his opinion that was
the appearance of having been resealed. Wins
low, becoming acquainted with the fact that both
the numbers and denominations Of the bills were
in the hands Of the detectives, found
THE MONEY AN ELEPHANT ON HIS HANDS,
and on Sunday last package was thrown into
the vestibule Of MI. WymanTs house containing
nearly the amount stolen
Col. Benson yesterday got an order from Judge
Smell for winslow's arrest, as stated above aud
tuo Of we
found on him, the numbers on them correspond
ing with those stolen. On his arrest Winslow,
placed in charge Of Warden Croker in the new
Jail.
This is considered by Judges of such things TO
as the square seals were quite good on the
bogus package, and tended to throw the sus-
pieon on those who handled the packages after
IL left the cash-room.
THE THEORY OF THE DETECTIVES
as to the way in which the robbery was so neatly
done is that Winslow had the dummy" en-
VelOpe all ready made up and the seals attached,
ages into the cage to 20 down to the express Of
fee he substituted 1t for the one containing the
money. /
WHO w1NsLow Is.
Ferdinand s. Winslow who is about ffty years
Of age, is q native of Copenhagen, Denmark, com
ing TO this country few years before the war.
During the late war he was a quartermaster
under Gen. Curtis. and furnished the transport |
for the expedition against Vicksburg. Before |
joining the army he lived in Marion and Dubuque,
Iowa, doing business as q banker, afterwards
going to Chicago and organizing the Scandina-
Wan National Bank. While thus engaged he |
returned to Copenhagen with some railroad
builders. having contracted to place $1,000, 900
worth of their bonds to be delivered after time.
During the time he was there he purchased
large quantity Of railroad iron in Weissenberg,
Germany.
THE SALE OF BONDS
fell through, and finding himself with the iron
on his hands drew on deposits of the Chicago
Bank to pay for 1t, causing that Institution to go
into liquidation. In 1873 he was in Milton, Va,
In the fruit-csnning business, staying there until
ISIS, when no came to Washington and got Do
sition in the War Office. Winslow is married, and
lie said to be man Of very hne culture and educs-
tioD, speaking several languages, and at the
time Of his arrest was living on street, between
Twelfth and Thirteenth. His arrest will be q
most profound relief to q great number of per-
9 'ns as all the employees of the cash-room have
been more or less suspected Of the robbery, and it
his kept them and their families in extreme
anxiety.