Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1889-05-18
UNCLAIMED AND LOST.
ARTICLES THAT ARE DEPOSITED AND
NEVER CALLED Foa.

A BANK Cashiers Chat About Property
That II Placed In Charge cf fnstita.
tions end Never Reclaimed - unre.
deemed Pledges That Make sad stories.
Speaking 10 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 somc people inn
agine when property Is placed In
charge Of hank or safe deposit com
pany 1t Is generally put there by people
Of pretty strict business habits, and
careful record Is kept, not only by the
depositor. but also by the parties into
whose charge It Is given. That reduces
the chance Of valuables being overlooked,
but still very large quantity docs re-
main unclaimed. All the custodians Of
such property can do Is to preserve It In.
tact and hope for its redemption In the
course of time"
"Is there q limit to such timer"
asked.
Legally there may be, but nm not
prepared to say what II Is, since every
case has to be settled upon its own mer-
its. Sometimes the boxes which have
been regarded for long time as contain
ing valuables turn out to be mere collec-
tions OF rubbish. and the wonder Is why
they were ever preserved But bank
official never expresses surprise, because
he meets so many peculiar people and
his whole time il occupied In keeping
things straight"
"But surely list Is kept Of the con-
tents Of packages left on depositY'
"When desired, yes; but when sealed
parcel or box is deposited the 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 am inclined 10 think that
as far as banks and safe deposit COM
panies are concerned the 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-
ables Of any description In the hands Of
public bodies, and q very faint clew 10
sufficient to start them of upon sue
cessful hunt. They often como upon rich
possessions while searching for wills,
and the first places, after counscrs offices,
they start for, are the banks and safe do
posits.
The desire 70 hoard In some form or an
other Is a very widespread one, and every
one could enumerate among friends and
acquaintance considerable number In
whom the boarding spirit Is distinguish
able. Tho difficulty Of accumulating 10
as often rewarded by loss as by posses-
sion, but the knowledge OF that fact does
not diminish tho desire to hoard. In the
case Of a miser, TO whose heir the accu-
mulated property goes. the very opposite
motives arc found to exist. The miser
shudders at the idea Of his coveted pos.
sessions falling into other hands than his
own, even when those hands are merely
bundle Of dry bones, while tho heir is
all eagerness to clutch the property In
order to disperse II.
Misery habits, II they ever prove to be
hereditary, only become fully developed
with age and q certain kind OF expert.
ence, although a sort Of avariciousness
may always be traced In the progeny Of
one who has boarded. IL does not al
ways take tho form Of grasping for
wealth, but, as often rs not, takes shape
In n desire for superiority Of position.
power Of dictation or uncommon popu-
larity.
THE AiIsER's WAY.
II is your miser who rummages out a
place OF hiding. to avoid any Of those
things he loved so well on earth being
handled even by those legally and equi-
tably entitled to what he Is compelled to
leave behind him. Tho hiding Of treas
ure by mere miscr does not long re-
main n m, stery, because II his habitation
| Is carefully searched 1t will surely be
| found. He could not In life bear to be
| far away from it, and In his last mo-
ments 1t IL morally certain II was the
thing his fingers with their clammy
touch turned over before no said good
by to II forever.
The nisapthrope who breads TO trust
his fellow man, and Is distrustful Of him
self, Is u great factor among the creators
of unclaimed property. Even when
making will, rs sort Of posthumous
expression Of hate toward humanity he
places It in some spot whero not even q
lawyer can find 1t. When his bones have
been whitening a decade or two some
workman stumblcs on his Grabbed writ
ings and nine days wonder is the re-
suit. Those to whom his property should
have descended have suffered poverty
and have joined the great majority, and
his after death revenge OH society has
been grati6ed.
Then there are those who go down te
the sea in ships. who. before the last
voyage, deposit valuables whero they
alone could claim them. The dishonest
Appropriation Of others goods must moi
be forgotten. Ile breads to carry the
possessions no has stolen about his per
son, and hides them from prying eyes
He takes Aight, hoping at q future dat,
to claim them, but either some new ad
venture secludes him forever from soci
ETY., or he ends his worthless life, undel
fictitious name, In some distant land
New York Star.