New-York tribune., 1890-04-15
A CHASTITY CONSIGNMENT
SHIPPING A MURDERED MAN IN O1Aon'
,onv uMBEppEp IN PLAsTER-sENT FROM
COPENHAGEN TO THIS PORT-THE BARREL
LAY IN THE CELLAR OF THE

APPRAISERS STORES.

rs,n,,cbes from Conenhagcn Yesterday said that
., .,orv of a murder committed there had Just
.u, ord tbat tho bodv of the murdered man
", u. found in This city The prediction OF
~ s;s,o,obas uas realized. for the body of man
~ to,rd !, . cask of plaster al the Appraiser
s,o,es whore il had been lying since the iirst
~ - rohruarv The mcagrc details sent by
IN. cable gave the information that one fhihpseh'
..,d n he a wealthy soap manufacturer. had com
nit,cd some business swndle which had become
- 20 = clerk or messenger named Meyer
ro cave himself from exposure, Philipsen stranged
uarsr and Skinned the body in a cask TO America
hut ,vas arrested AT Hamburg, where he was ABOUT
70 sail for South Africa.
Tho nolice authorities of Copenhagen appear
n have informed the agents of the Ihinsvalla
transatlantic Steamship Company. who immedi-
,,.lv sent the following dispatch 10 their agents
s.,e Finch. Edye & Co., and the Danish Consul,
II NJ Braem:
investigate one barrel of plaster sent to New York
fsty Oh the steamer Thngvalla. which sailed rom
S.p1snnsse'R Racine. Wis. still in Custom House
opposed to contain body of killed man. If found
nae necessary arrangements TO secure II. Wanted
rrssnned Wire result quick possible.
The dispatches were transmitted TO Deputy
Collector Dudley f. Phelps, of the Law Division
of the Custom House, who Immediately began an
investigation. Charles 5. Wilbur, chief of the
special agents of the Treasury Department at this
port. was instructed TO search the Appraiser
Stores After some difficulty Mr.. Wilbur found
the cask in the cellar Of the Public Stores. 1t
was large and strongly made. On the top was
card bearing the address Beresford Brothers,
Racine Wis" There was nothing about
the cask TO indicate that il contained anything
more than plaster, which the examiner had found
when he bored a hole in its side TO sample the
contents of the barrel.
Mr.. Wilbur broke in the head of the caSS and
there saw the evidences of a CHASTITY murder.
The head Of man protruded from mass OF thin
plaster. The face was sneaTed with the sticky
rUn, but >lr. Wilbur was able 10 make out that
the face fair, had light whiskcrs and was
that of man about thlrty-four or thrty-iiVe
years old. The head was turned over toward the
LETT shoulder, while the right hand was held up
almost in front of the face. The fingers were
cencbed, and on one of them was a ring. Wien
The plaster was scraped away the shoulders were
seen Their great breadth indicated that the
nsn was large, probably over SIN feet in height
The body had been doubled up and thus forced
into the cask and plaster had been filled IN
around it, which had kept the body in good
state of preservation.
Mr.. Wilbur sealed the cask and informed In
spector Byrnes and Special Deputy Collector
Couch of the results of his investigation II was
next learned that man. who said that his name
was Smith, had shipped the barrel from Copen-
hagen as plaster, the fOrwardels being Wells,
Fargo Co. The Thngvalla arrived here
on February 4. and Oh February the
barrel was entered at the Custom House On
February o il was transferred from the sample
room, where il had been examined by George w.
Jewett. 10 the Appraisers Stores, whore II was
passed upon by Assistant Appraiser Charles f.
Soll as plaster worth about $40 Wells, Fargo
4 Co. wrote at once to the ALLEGED consignees in
Racine Receiving reply, they wrote sec
ond letter informing " Beresford Brothers that
their barrel of plaster had arrived Subsequent
n tie letters were returned by the postmaster
Of Racine who informed Wells Fargo q Co fi,As
sues, u firm as Bcresford Brothers did not exist
In Racine Wells Fargo d Co. paid the charges,
about 50, and let the barrel remain unclaimed in
the Appraisers Stores. where eventually il would
have been sold at auction had not Philipsen been
crested
Special Deputy Collector Couch tolegraphed the
tews 10 Secretaries Blaine and Window. He
also gave permission to the Danish Consul 10
view TIE body. Mr.. Bracm telegraplcd 10 Copen
hagen Yesterday for Instructions. and il Is un-
dersfood that the State Department AT Washing
ton will direct the body 10 be turned over -
the Danish authorities when they shall formally
claim II 10 have thc body sent 10 Copenhagen for
Identification.
Old employees az the Custom House say that
such case has not happened Al this port within
tier recol lection. hut they remember that other
ports in the country have received such ghastly
eonsignments from European countries.