, 1897-03-06
GOLD COIN SWEATERS"
A Peculiar but Profitable Industry" on
the Pacific Coast.


the Pacific Coast.
The sweating of gold coin is rather
an unknown industry at the east, but OF
form the universal currency. il is com
mon enough. Il was Introduced there
by the Chinese. who are adopts in the
art of levying infinitesimal tribute upon
gold coinage. The United States off
Gals in Oakland. Cal. have just I'M
earthed a gang of 'coin-sweaters.' and
this, according to The San Francisco
Chronicle. is the way they operated. The
three men implicated rented a room in
a lodging house at 379 franklin street,
conducted by II. ID. Hougham, and car.
sary in their business. Most OF the
drugs were purchased al a drug store at
Seventh and Broadway. Dickie had
nine s. gold pieces on his person when
arrested. all o: which had been reduced
by their process.
The authorities have Mr.. Hougham to
thank for the early apprehension of The
men. He became suspicious OF them
soon after they became tenants in his
house. and put the police in the way OF
looking them up. He tells the story In
the following Interesting Of
their operations and maneuvers:
These men came to my house about
six weeks ago. My wife rented them
TWO rooms upstairs. | paid no particu-
lar attention to them at first and did
not know what business they were in.
| know that they brought n lot of pans
and other things there.
Pretty soon my wife began to COM
plain about the bad smells which came
from the rooms occupied by the men. !
went up and saw that they were appar-
emily cooking something on a coal oil
stove. | asked them what they were
about, and they said they were making
a preparation for photographers. Final
ly the odors from the rooms became SO
Ddu tldl 4 tpli tlltLl tlltS "Oulu nave "
take their stove and cool their prepara-
ton out on the back porch. They agreed
TO this. and after that did their work
out there. soon | began to suspect That
they were engaged in some illegal bust
ness. About three weeks ago Mrs.
White, who keeps the grocery store jus,
across the street remarked that the men
always changed II s. gold piece when
they bought anything at the place.
Then ! made up my mind that the
men were sweating coin, and | nform-
ed Chief Lylod OF my suspicious, and he
said that he would notify Secret Service
Agent Harris. The government agents
did not come right away, and as my
wife, who has since died, was very sick,
| could not do anything about the mat
ter then. However, | felt very much
put out that these men should come in
10 my house to do such work.
A soon as | could, | went over TO see
Mr.. Harris myself, and he put a detec-
tive to work to shadow the men. Short
ly afterward another man came and
place, where he could watch the men all
the time.
This morning | heard the men at
work, and knew by the sound that they
were cleaning coins that had been
sweated. | had watched them and saw
how they did the business. They would
put the coins in Il solution OF various
acids. including sulphuric and nitric
acids, and, after they were allowed TO
cook for awhile, were taken out and the
residue was boiled down until the metal
was left in the bottom. After the men
had cooked several patches. they would
melt the whole up into a button and sell
it nj some pawnshop.
AFTER the coins were taken out OF the
solution they were cleaned with sapolio
soap. l heard the men at this work this
morning. and when Mr.. Harris came ov-
er today I told him that If he would ar
rest the men right away he would prob,
ably find some of the sweated coin on
them
This nitric acid bath is by no means
n new method of Shaving coin, but i.
is a slow one and almost undesirable,
except the treated coin is put upon the
scales. when its short weight is At once
revealed. The first method OF sweating
introduced by the Chinese was rubbing
large gold pieces upon leather straps
but this smoOthed down the coins 50
much that the work OF the sweaters wa
easily distinguishable. But it was prof.
liable, and the secret service agents haC
a good deal OF trouble in breaking uT
the business. The nitric acid bath is the
newest process of the sweaters"
DIDN'T IMPRESS THEM.
Now and then Chicago draws a chap
!, pie in the great shuttle of life. The 9th
err day one arrived here from an inland
town who had a few points to spare in