Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-10-19
UNCLAIMED WEALTH.
Billions in the Postofhce Departm
and in Banking Houses whose own
Nra are Unknown

The New York Na1l and Express ha
interviewed a gentleman whose busines
Is the settling OF estates, who makes tn
following sta ements;
''In The POstoince Department in Wash
ington there are over 100000 whict
have been taken from registered letters
and also money orders. Neither the per
sons to whom the letters We're addressed
nor the senders coHld be found ~ tho
time. and the cash was turned into Uncle
Sans deep pocket In the TREASURY
Department are untold millions when
belong Of right to private citizens
and would be paid them il they came
forward and proved their claims. 1t con-
sists mainly OF awards. deposits. and ac-
crued interest There is one OF them OF
$50 09A. coo in the treasury, being the
money paid bv the French government TO
indemnify the owners 0f the American
vessels illegally seized during the Napo-
leOnic wars. Tie descendants OF the
owners Of these ships are entitled TO
this money. J. is hard to find the amount
ofunclaimed funds i'm the pen sion Office,
but ii is safe to say that it runs up into
The millions"
"What efforts have been made to find
owners for the moneys which lie I'M
claimed ia these departments p
CAL that has been done in this direc-
ton has been done by private parties. In
the last few years over twenty claim
agents, who were formerly government
clerks. have started business in Washing
ton. While at work in the public service
these men made notes OF names and dates
for future use, and nearly all OF them are
now doing business on the Information
thus cleaned"
lis it considered legitimate or honor
able to use Information thus acquiredW
"Most decidedly so. Ii there is a sum
Of money living hidden IN an obscure place
for John Smith. it is proper to tell Smith
of the fact, aud it is but fair and just that
Smith should pay for the information.
Here is a copy Of an advertisement which
Insert from time to time in the papers:
NOR particulars Of unclaimed dividends,
n deposits of money of any ate or descrlp-
ton. liberal terms viii be made 10y - -.
"Yes," continued the lawyer, II have
paid as high as s. 600 for a sing piece of
information, and my informant took no
risks, for there was no necessity OF giving
his name. and If there had been / would
not have given it. Many Of the clerks in
Washington make treble the amount of
their salaries by giving points to lawyers,
and in the banks and trust companies in
this city clerks consider it legitimate to
turn an honest dollar in the same way.
Claims hang fire, in the Pension Office es-
pecially. for n long time, and when the
award is made the claimant has grown so
sick of the whole business that he has
blotted it out of his mind. Such persons
esteem il a privilege 10 pay for piece
Of good news and get the exact inside
facts"
do the unclaimed moneys in the banks
amount to any considerable sum -
10 has Of l1 col
named savings banks OF this city there are
upwards Of S1,0O0.000 Of unclaimed depos-
It's which have lain here for years: The
Bank for Savings Of New York, the Sea-
mems Bank for Savings. the Bowery saw
1ngs bank, the Emigrant Industrial saw
ings bank. the Bleecker Street savings
bank, the Greenwich savings bank. and
the Citizens savings bank. These de-
posits represent persons many Of whom
are dead, and whose heirs know moth
ing about the money. Instead OF allow
ing these deposits TO so on aecumu-
lating, particulars should be published
al periodical intervals, but this is not
done. The uncla med dividends in the
hands OF receivers Of bankrupt savings
banks amount 70 over S65 coo. In the
vaults OF the safe deposit companies there
lie plate, jewelry and family heirlOoms on
which it is impossible to place a value,
aud which probably never will be claimed.
Year by year the store increases. 1t is
SAID that there is one account Of $4,000 in
the Emigrant Industrial savings bank,
on which interest has been accommodating
for ten years. its owners have not been
heard from i'm that time.
SOME REMARKABLE CASES.
"There lives near Allegheny, Pa,
shoemaker named John O'Brien, who
works hard for his daily bread. A rela.
ton OF his died some years ago and left
him $4,000, which is now in the hands OF
the Accountant General OF Ireland. /
WAS engaged TO prosecute the claim and
was successful, and so notified O'Brien,
who had merely 10 sign a receipt and re-
lease 20 get his money. He refused TO
sign the papers, and has perslstently de-
elined, on priAciple, as he says, to receive
the money"
edY, f'"''
''When the news reached the district in
which he lives that he mad fallen heir 20 a
handsome fortune. Molly MAGNETISM
was rampant, and somebody circulated
the report that the money be was to re-
ceive was the pay for his treason to the
order. OF course this was absurd, but
q Brien took IL seriously, and TO this day
he VIII not touch penny OF the legacy"
THAT is the strangest case within your
experienceW
Il have another on my hands almost as
bad, but the amount involved is not so
large. There is q man in this city named
Malone, who works as helper in a bar
room AZ Sc week. His uncle died in
Canada, leaving him nice legacy
While the claim was under adjudication
he came here and stoned such papers "a
were necessary. Well. the claim was
passed, and I 80 notified him, but he failed
70 appear and execute the necessary re-
celpts and release and get a check for his
money. have sent after him scores uf
times, but for some uufathOmable reason
ne stays away, although the money has
been waiting for him Tor three years.
PERHAPS he is insane or dead -
mot al all. He Is alive and well. Nv
messenger has seen him City times. and
my self a dozen times since that periodn
Another very peculiar case. A man
named J0nu Lawrence came TO this coun-
try from England in 1915, and was muir
dered near Seneca Falls, In this State.
lie left amarri q daughter surviving him.
VINO is now conducting small store ia a
town IN Connec icut. This lady came
% me and said abe was troubled with
constant dreams, in which she
was told that she was entitled b.
money IN England. am not believer Ina
creama. and so paid no attention 10 her
story. But she wa persistent, and came
again and agsin. Finally made her ton
me all she knew Of her family history.
and on looking over some old files ] found
the names she spoke Of. The family came
60. Hs.Hs -. L. a.