The Saint Paul globe., 1896-11-01

Uncle Sam lost $150,000 at the San
Francisco mint. When one of the set
Elements was made it was found that
this much was short. The melter and
refiner claimed that this was waste,
that it had been lost in refining or had
escaped up the f1ues. 1t is a question
in my mind whether he did not tell the
truth. At any rate, he was arrested,
but not convicted Shortly after his
trial he left the United States and went
/ to South America He was drowned
there.
Another curious case in connection
with the San Francisco mint" Mr.
Preston went on, occurred just about
the close of the war, or about 1865. The
cashier of the mint, whose name was
William Macy, was the brother-in-lay
of the treasurer of the United States
During one operation the coiner of the
mint claimed to have delivered 100000
in gold double eagles to the cashier.
The cashier credited his books with
100000, and swore that this was all
the coiner had given him. The result
was that there was $4,000 missing.
About this same time it was discovered
that Macy, the cashier. had embezzled
$4,000 of the mint funds set aside for
wages. He acknowledged the stealing
of this, but not the other. He hap
| pened to have many influential friends,
and in some way or other he escaped
the mint and came East. On his way
| through Omaha he deposited 81, 500 in
| one of the banks there He put it in
under an assumed name, and was given
| a certificate of deposit. He lost this
certificate and the bank refused to re-
| turn the money. He never got it.
$4,000 IN sPOoNFULs.
There was a queer robbery at San
Francisco in 1878, by which a. colored
night watchman stole $4,000 in gold.
! It was known that gold was in some
way or other being taken out Of the
mint, but it could not be traced. The
| detectives finally discovered that Henry
| Smith, the negro night watchman, had
| been selling bullion. They arrested
| him and charged him with taking it
from the mint. He denied the crime
| They then went to his house and
thoroughly investigated it. They took
UP the floors and broke the furniture,
but could find nothing. They next at
tackled the yard. They dug the soil
| over with spades, and found a little
furnace in which gold had evidently
at some time been melted. This was
shown to the watchman, but he said
he knew nothing about it. They then
went back and dug up a flower bed,
which they had not touched on ac-
count of its beauty. It was filled with
| pansies, and the ground about 1t was
covered with rose bushes and gerani-
ums. They had dug about two feet
down into this bed when they found
big earthern pot which was covered
at the top with melted wax Break
ing this, they discovered a saucer
| beneath it, and under this there were
seven cones Of yellow gold worth, all
told, about $4,000. They took this to
Smith, and he at once confessed. He
had stolen about $4,000 in less than
three years. He had taken the gold
from the separating tanks by means
Of q spoon. The bullion was placed in
| such tanks and treated with acid and
water to remove the silver By the ac-
ton of the acid, the gold fell to the
| bottom in the shape Of q fine black
precipitate, and the silver solution was
washed away. The tanks were covered
| and locked at night, but there was
hole in the bottom of them in which
a hose was inserted for the washing
of the precipitate. The watchman lun-
screwed the hose, and then, by means
of a spoon, ladled out a few spoon
fuls day and took them home. Each
spoonful was worth about $40, and he
laid the precipitate aside until he could
buy a furnace and crucibles. With
these he turned the black powder into
yellow gold by melting it. and he sold
the product to the bullion dealers of
San Francisco
What was done with this man. I
asked.
''He was arrested, tried and sent to
prison." replied Mr.. Preston; "but his
fate was rather an exception to that
of the mint rObber of the past Many
Of them have escaped punishment
do not believe in this at all 1 think
they should be prosecuted and punish
ed to the full extent of the law, and
think the sentence Of Cochran was
just. Take the case Of Negus. He
confessed to the stealing Of Sic, 900 and
was allowed to go free. Macy, the
cashier of whom I spoke as stealing
$4,000, was not prosecuted. The
melter and refiner who was $150, 900
short was not convicted, and there
have been several other cases of like
nature. In 1865 there was change in
the mint at San Francisco. The coiner
and melter and refiner delivered all
the bullion to the superintendent. and
the wastage was declared. 1t was a
month however before a new melter
and refner was appointed In the
meantime there was no work done.
and when the new coiner came to be
appointed the bullion was found to
be $4,000 short No suit was ever
brought for this crime, and Uncle Sam
lost the money.
another steal at San Francisco. the
perpetrators of which escaped punish
ment, occurred in the sixties. The as
say clerk had confederate outside
and he raised the mint figures on all
the bullion brought by this confederate
fer sale. If the gold was put at 9.95
fine he would raise it to 996 or 997
1t would then go to the melter and re-
finer, and, under ordinary circum-
stances, it would have passed all right
and the difference would have been
credited to waste.
1.-THE melter and refiner in this case
however, was an old assayer, and he
saw that he was losing gold. The re-
suit was that he reaSsayed some of the
gold and discovered the fraud 1t was
then found that the assay clerk had
changed the reports of the assayer
enough to have made $4,000 by doing
So This mans name was James H
ellis. He was tried, but the jury dis
agreed and Uncle Sam never got a
penny back.
E'It was the same in the burning Of
the mint at New Orleans a few years
ago. A fire broke out in the cashiers
vault between Saturday night and
Monday morning, and when it was dis
covered $24,0 600 worth of Uncle Sam S
currency was not to be found. The
cashier was the only man who had the
keys of the vault. He shut it UP Sat
urday night and he opened it Monday
morning. The vault was lighted by
electricity, and there was no possible
: honest way of the fire being kindIed.
Jas. Nj. Bowling, the cashier, was ar
rested on the suspicion of robbery and
CT having embezzled the fund and then
kindled the fire to cover his crime
He was smart enough to employ a
nephew of the judge who tried the