Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1893-11-09

1Qefe was the NeS1lS case III Phlla- 7
lelphia in 1851 he said 'sNeeus was
The weighing clerk and Cochran was at
that time his assistant 1t was during
the great gold influx following the
opening of the gold beds in California
in 1910. So much gold dust was COM
ing around the Horn TO New York and
coming to the mint for coinage that
it was sometimes five or six weeks be-
fore Il depositor received his money.
In the meantime all that the depoSitor
had was 4 receipt from the weighing
clerk. There were not so many checks
on the weighing clerk then as there |
are now, and there was so long Il peri /
Cd between the time when the gold |
was received and the time when it was |
coined that there was plenty of oppor-
tunity for NagIlS to help himself He
took about $4,000 worth of gold. Coch-
ran suspected him and set Il watch on
him and he and another man reported
the case to the superintendent
'SNeg1ls fled and I believe he was
never punished After this theft the
melter and refiner and the register were
made to check on the weighing clerk
for greater safety. We improve the
service gradually as faults are brought
to our notice. A change which | made
very recently requires the weighing
clerk to turn over his receipts of bull
: lion every day instead of monthly
as was the rule. Under the old system
half million dollars worth of bullion
: sometimes accumulates III the hands
Of the weighing clerk before he turned
it over
''I'he next robbery after the NeguS
case, i think. was in San Francisco
in 1864 or 1865. The cashier of the
San Francisco mint, William Macy, re-
ceived from the cOiner one day S120,-
, 600 in double eagles. and credited the
coiner with only 100000. The other
$4,000 he kept. He also stole about
$4,000 from the ordinary funds of the
mint-the funds used in paying current
; expenses. He was caught and the sec
ond amount was recovered. But the
:, $4,000 in double eagles was never re-
! covered. Suit was begun on his bond
but for some reaSOn-I know not what
! Attorney General Williams instructed
the district attorney at San Francisco
to quash the Indictment against Macy
and to dismiss the suit against his
bOndSmen. So he too, escaped without
: punishment.
3 In 1875 a workman at the Philadel
+ phia mint stole quantity of silver
= and possibly a little gold. The govern
= ment did not recover any thing, and
! believe the man was not punished. II
: 1885 another silver robbery occurred a
= the Philadelphia mint. There were Ok
- vaults for silver at that time and thu
- silver bars were piled in the court
: yard. Of course no one from withOu
. could get into the courtyard WithOu
: breaking into the mint when the min
!, building was closed. But the employs
:, of the mint had free access to tn,
:, courtyard through the day and visitors
- were coming and going all the time
! One day four silver bars were missed
;, 1t was never proved to the SatisfaC
:, ton of one man that they were stolen
- This was Professor James C. Booth
. the melter and refiner of the mint
- He had receipted for bullion and wa.
- responsible for it. One bar was recOv
= cred and Booth always claimed tina
- the others had been melted. But HI
had to make good about 81 800. Boot
= is dead, but there is q bill now be
- fore congress to reimburse his family
- The bar that was recovered was sol,
- to a bullion broker in New York BY
= remarkable coincidence he was th
y bullion broker who had sold the bar t
= the mint. These bullion brokers waite,
- bullion very closely. Something
- aroused the suspicious of this one, an
~ he looked up the record and found tina
~ this bar had been sold to the mint
y He reported the matter to us, and w
:, caught the man in New York frod
. whom the bar had been bought Blu
;, he was a man of some influence an
:, he was not punished. / think that the
- have the bar now in the Philadelphi
- mint. 1t will weigh perhaps 800 ounces
- A strong man could carry it ava
- without much trouble"
:, [ asked Mr. Preston what was tn
-" weight of the silver in the vaults a
I Philadelphia.
!, There are about 100000 ounce
HOW III Ilc IIllldUeIpDla mint. IL WI
take four or five months to weigh
out when the transfer of the mint j
T. made to a new superintendent. An,
y after the developments of last mont
e I suppose that the new superintendent
" will want to have a count made Al
Il of the silver in the mint now is KEEP
e id vaults. We do not pile it in tn
e courtyard any more"
It There was a small robbery in tn
New Orleans mint in 1880. The coli
o in one of the vaults was being counted
S carry the bags from the vault Eacl
It bag contained 1000 silver dollars. TIL
It men who were keeping tally at th
d vault door disagreed about the coun
IL and the bags of silver were taken bacl
), into the vault When they were count
I ed again one bag was missing. 1t wa!
e never accounted for, but the genera
e belief was that one of the WorkmeI
t had carried it away under his coat
T Since the robbery of 1885, Mr.. Pres
/ ton said. there had been no theft from
5 the mints so far as he knew until the
e Cochran case, except the case of the
!. cashier of the New Orleans mint, James
Y NJ. Bowling, who was arrested recently
4 on suspicion of having robbed the
e government of $4,000 in currency
n There was a fire in the vault Of the