Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1883-06-27
SOAKED PENSION PAPERs.

A Philadelphia special says The
pawn-brokers of this city are excited
tonight over novel raid made upon
them by Detective Gray and George ID.
Mills, special agents of the interior de-
partment. The captured property con-
sists of three hundred pension papers
upon which money had been advanced
to poverty stricken old soldiers. This
raid is the first of its kind ever made
in this country, and was instituted by
direction of Gen. Sickel, the chief of
the Philadelphia pension office, in con
formity with the regulations of a bill
passed by congress on the 28th OF last
February that "any pledge, mortgage,
sale, assignment or traffic of any right,
claim or interest in any pension which
had been or may hereafter be granted
shall be void and of no effect, and any
person who shall pledge, or receive as
Il pledge, mortgage, sale, assignment
or transfer of any right, claim or inter-
est in any pension or pension certificate
which has been, or may hereafter be,
granted or Issued, or who shall hold
the same as collateral security for any
debt or promise, or upon any preteXt
OF such security or promise shall be
guilty OF q miSdemeanOr, and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined in 4
sum not exceeding 800 and the costs
Of the prosecution. ANY person who
shall retain the certificate of pension
er, and refuse to surrender the same
upon the demand of the commissioner
of pensions, or q United States pension
agent, or any other person authorized
by the commissioner of pensions or the
pensioner to receive the same, shall be
guilty of misdemeanor, and upon
conviction thereof shall be fined in a
sum not to exceed 500 and the costs
Of prosecution. "
81 tell YOU" said Special Agent Mills
TO a reporter, 1--WE had an awful lot OF
trouble in getting some OF these papers.
The pawn brokers kicked like every
thing. They cried and hoWled for the
money they had advanced upon them.
and wanted to know how they were to
recompense their loss. | told them /
didn't know; that my business was
simply to get The papers, and when they
appeared unusually stubborn | showed
them the law. When they declared
that they had no pension papers, AZ q |
Imagined that they were lying, | made
them produce their books. I visited
every pawnshop in the city nearly,
eighty in all"
Some Of the pawnbrokers had ac-
cumulated large number of papers.
Mr.. Mills recovered from Drehr 4
Scholleld seventy-iiyo papers, upon
which the firm assured the detectives.
with tears In their eyes, they had adj
vanced about $500. Tears and prOtes-
tations were Of no avail, and Mr.. Mills
quietly pockcted the documents and
passed ON to the shop of S. Nathan.
where, after prOtracted search. ONLY
two papers were found Jacob Saloer
was fortunate in having accumulated
only onepension paper, which promptly
went to swell the collection in Gray's
coat-tail pocket.
From Robert Baird they got but one
paper, and from Edward Levin a round
dozen, all Of them soiled and careworn
IN appearance. Abram Long contrib
uted as his unwilling share of the
peremptory collection three pension
papers, and Thomas Boyle only one
paper. Gustavus Rosenbaum was
forced to disgorge sixteen of the docu-
ments after much fearful expostulation
upon his part, and second descent
upon Carver Reed succeeded in bring
ing TO light siXty-two additional papers.
q. w. Kendrick gave ~ forty-eight
papers, and Rheuben Jacobs forty
nine. Single papers were also eot
from the establishments of various
other pawnprokers.
The chief clerk said in conversation
that there are in ali in the eastern dis
tricts of Pennsylvania about twenty