The Monitor. [volume] (Woodstown, N.J.) 1884-1892, 1884-10-10
TREASURY THEFTS.
How One Was Perpetrated.

How One Was Perpetrated.
The new silver vault of the Treasury De
partment is at last completed, and within
few days will receive its first consignment
of standard dollars-about g. 900, 600 in all.
1t will require the better part of a week to
make this transfer from the old vault,
which is badly overcrowded to the new
one. The system of guarding the enor-
nous sums of money which are daily
handled by the department is SO thorough
and complete that only once in the last fifty
years have the repeated efforts of cracks
men and confidence men been successful in
defeating it. The particular incident re
ferred to occurred in 1870, when Spinner
was Treasurer The amount stolen was a
package of 1000 $40 notes. The objective
point of the thieves 1.-TWO in number) was
the division issue, the bureau to which the
freshly engraved notes are delivered, to be
counted and turned into the treasury.
Subsequent inquiry revealed the fact
that the scheme for the robbery had been
planned and matured several months pre-
vious. waiting in the meanwhile with the
most commendable patience for favorable
opportunity to accomplish it. One day
the wife of a prominent resident of Wash
ington, in company with another lady and
her husband were passing the upper door
of the room where the money packages
were piled on table to be counted. The
first-named lady and the chief of the
division were well acquainted. As she
came to the open door they recognized and
saluted each other, she with her friends adj
vancing into the room. While in the act
of doing so one of the thieves forced him.
self between the lady and her friends. He
Immediately entered into conversation with
Mr.. Root, the chief of the division, making
inquiry as to the manufacture, receipt, and
counting of the notes. Root supposed him
to belong to his friends party, and was
thus thrown entirely entirely off his guard.
The lady, in turn, supposed him to be an
acquaintance of Roots.
A moment later the two ladies, with
their gentleman escort, sauntered careless
ly to the further extremity of the room.
The principal thief, whose observations
were clever and pertinent, soon absorbed
Roots whole attention. His conversation
showed him to be a man of fine mind and
cultivated manners While chatting thus
his accomplice hastily entered and APP
preaching the messenger whose duty it was
to watch the money packages, made some
casual inquiries about clerk who had
long since been dead. The woman turned
about to answer his inquiries. At this
juncture thief No. / suddenly exclaimed,
"Ah. see my friends are leaving. must
join them" Root looked in the direction
indicated Sure enough, the party Were
moving toward the door. His eyes were
taken off the stranger for only an instant,
but in that time he had managed to secrete
the package within the crown of his wide
Panama hat, which he negligently swung
in his left hand.
The amazing GOODNESS and audaeity Of
the man was then shown by his polite
invitation to Root to go out and ''havt
something" The latter, however, declin
ed with thanks, and the thief made hi.
exit on the pretence of rejoining his friends
The money was missed within the houl
that it was taken, but there was no suspi
cion that it had been stolen. On the sup
position that it had not been received from
the bureau of engraving and printing
twenty-four hours were allowed to elapse
When the fact of the theft was fully es
tablshed, the aid of the telegraph and sc
cret service detectives were fully employed
The effort was futile. The thieves escape.
with their booty, and have never to thi
day been apprehended. The most singula
feature of the affair is that the stolen pack
age was the only one of probably scor
which contained notes of that denomina
ton. The contents of the others wer