, 1889-05-30
UNCLAIMED AND LOST.
ARTICLES THAT ARE DEPOSITED AND
NEVER CALLED FOR.

Speaking to an old bank cashier the
other day, / asked him whether there
was not an enormous amount of property
lying unclaimed in bank cellars and in
safe deposit vaults.
"a very large amount" said he, ''but
not nearly rs much as some people i'm
agine. When property is placed in
charge of n bank or a safe deposit COM
pany 1t is generally put there by people
Of pretty strict business habits, and a
careful record Is kept, not only by the
deposition. but also by the parties into
whose charge 1t is given That reduces
the chance of valuables being overlooked,
but still a very large quantity does re
main unclaimed. All the custodians of
such property can do is to preserve 1t in
tact and hope for its redemption in the
course of time"
is there a limit to such a timer l
asked.
Legally there may be, but / am not
prepared to say what It Is, since every
case has to be settled upon its own mer-
its. Sometimes the boxes which have
been regarded for a long time rs contain
ing valuables turn out to be mere collec-
tions of rubbish, and the wonder Is why
they wcro ever preserved. But n bank
official never expresses surprise, because
he meets s many peculiar people and
his whole time is occupied in keeping
things straight"
But surely n list is kept of the con-
tents of packages left on deposity'
"When desired, yes; but when a sealed
parcel or box Is deposited tho bank does
exactly what common carriers do; signs,
Contents unknown and unknown they
remain, whether delivered to the owner
or awaiting reclamation. OF course
every place of deposit has stories to tell
about mysterious boxes. strange parcels
and odd packages which have been lying
In secure corners of their strong rooms
for years., but / nm inclined 10 think that
us far rs banks and safe deposit COM
panies arc concerned, tho vast bulk Of
such property is redeemed soon or later.
Lawyers nowadays are very apt to dig
up every possible form Of claim to valu-
ablcs of any description in the hands OF
public bodies, and n very faint clew Is
sufficient to start them off upon n suc-
cessful hunt. They often como upon rich
possessions while searching for wills,
and the first places, after counsel's offices,
they start for, are the banks and safe de
posits."
h desire to hoard in some form or IN
other is a very widespread one, and every
one could cnumerate among friends and
acquaintance n considerable number in
whom tho boarding spirit is distinguish
able. The difficulty of accommodating Ia
as often rewarded by loss as by posses
sion, but the knowledge of that fact does
not diminish the desire to hoard. In the
case of miser, to whose heir the accu-
mulated property goes, the very opposite
motives are found to exist. The miser
shoulders Mt the idea of his coveted DOS
sessions falling into other hands than his
own, even when those hands aro merely
n bundle of dry bones, while the heir Is
all eagerness to clutch tho property in
order TO disperse it.
Misery habits, If they ever prove to be
hereditary, only become fully developed
with age and n certain kind of expert
ence, although n sort of righteousness
may always DO traced in the progeny of
one who has boarded. 1t docs not al
why's take the form of grasping for
wealth, but, Us often ms not, takes shape
in a desire for superiority of position,
power of dictation or popu-
larity.
THE MsER's WAY.
1t is your miser who rummages out a
place OF hiding, TO avoid any of those
things no loved so well on earth being
handled, even by those legally and equi-
tably entitled to what no Is compelled to
leave behind him The hiding of treas
ure by n mere miser does not long re-
main n mystery, because If his habitation
Is carefully searched it will surely DO
found. lie could not in life bear to be
far away from it, md in his last mo-
ments it is morally certain 1t was the
thing his fingers with their clammy
touch turned over before he said good
by to it forever.
The misanthrope who breads to trust
his fellow man, and is distrustful of him
self, is n great factor among tho creators
of unclaimed property. Even when
making u will, us n sort of posthumous
expression Of hate toward humanity he
places it in some spot where not even n
lawyer car find it. When his bones have
been whitening n decade or two some
workman stumbles ON his grabbed writ
ings and q nino days wonder is the re-
sult. Those to whom his property should
have descended have suffered poverty
and have joined the great majority, and
his after death revenge on society has
been gratified.
Then there are those who go down to
the sea in ships, who, before the last
voyage, deposit valuables where they
alone could claim them. The dishonest
appropriation of others goods must not
be forgotten. He breads to carry the
possessions he has stolen about his per-
son, and hides them from prying ewes.
He takes flight, hoping at a future date
to claim them, but either some new nd
venture secludes him forever from soci-
ETY., or he ends his worthless life, under
q fictitious name, in some distant land
New York Star.
She Knew.