The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1888-10-11
Thrifty Mrs. Becker.

In 1864 man named Becker came
drifting into Washington with his wife.
Those were the days of violence. One
morning Becker's left bis wife's side,
stepped into q cigar store TO get light,
and was shot down by "a blundering
provost guard in hot chase Of deserter.
His wife, left penniless and in debt, had
everybody's sympathy, Old Treasurer
Spinner, whose unreadable autograph has
given us all so much delight at different
times was then trying the experiment of
giving women, employment in the treas
:ury department. He was touched like
the rest, and promptly appointed Mrs.
Becker to q clerkship in bis Office. She
soon fell into the. hand of the cent-ptrl
cent men, and before long her salary was
;hypothecated every month. This ran on
for years.
Suddenly one day everything changed
with Ter. She paid all ber debts; she
bought fine piano and handsome furni.
ture; ahe moved into q pretty house she
thought its back yard too cramped and
bought house and lot running back to
it from side street-in short, she
launched out from penury into something
like luxury. Her former friends, most of
whom she cut for the sake of more pre-.
ten.ious compsny, could not account for
the sudden and startling prosperity ex-
cept as the result Of a lucky lottery vim
ming. They thought she was one of those
people who draw the $l0O, 600 prizes and
then refuse to let their names be publish
ed.
She did not offer TO solve the problem
for them: but proceeded to complicate it
by marrying again, only, however, to turn
off the young man she selected as soon as
she found him unsuitable. All this time
she was in the redemption division Of the
-treasurer's Office, where the worn national
bank notes come to be couted beforebeing
exchanged for new ones.
Last week it was discovered that she
was short 10 her account of notes handled
1914. She absented herself from the de-.
.partmept and was found at home sick in
bed. She paid over 1914 to the officers
of the department and lneekly accepted
her dismissal. Now the question that
distracls the department. is how much
more money did she get away with ? For
augbt they know she has 5000 or
5000, 900 piled up somewhere.
Her method of operations was simple
but ingenious. She made ten notes ont
of nine by cutting slice ont of each of
the nine for the tenth and then pasting
the pieces of each note together. 1t had
to be done dexterously and expeditiously,
for she was under the eyes of other
women and had only time enough to
count each bundle as it came to her.
She probably experimental a long time
before she became so expert as to perform
her little feas with success and without
detection. How long she has been steal
ing and how much she has stolen are
questions easier to ask than to answer.
There is unfortunately no way OF trac.
ing. the notes she has handled, since most
of them have found their way to the
mancerating machines and have once
more become pulp-perhaps paper-and
no one knows except herself what every.
body in her Office from the treasurer
down would like to know. And she
keeps her lips tightly closed. | do not
see how she can be prosecuted, since she
has made restitution, and if she we're
prosecuted she conld not be made to
crimiuate herself further. 1t is very
puZzlinp.