The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1897-10-22
TREASURY ROBBED.
Silver Dollars Abstracted from
Bags and Lead Substituted.
Force OF Fifty Clerks Counting Ioo.-
100000 Pieces to Ascertain the Extent
OF the Steaiing-How the Short
age Was Discovered.

lot OF its silver dollars. The nations
strong box has been tampered with.
just how much money has been
taken has not yet been ascertained.
but 1t may reach into the thousands.
The trouble is that the thefts, each
small in amount, have been going on
for years; how long nobody knows.
The probable seriousness of the rob
berry may be imagined from the fact
that force of so clerks is now engaged
in counting piece by piece the entire
contents of vault in which 100 0O0 600
silver dollars were stored, for the sole
purpose of finding out how many of
them have been stolen. This work was
commenced week ago, and the force
has averaged count of roo. 900 coins q
day. AT this rate the job will last
about six months, and will cost at least
S25, 900.
Rumors Of the robbery have been
floating about the treasury corridors
for several days, but, while admitting
the fact. the officials affect to make
light of the affair. and say that but q
small amount OF money is missing.
Further.questioning developed the fact,
however, that they do not yet know
how much has gone, and that they
fear that the amount may be swelled
to considerable proportions. There is
an air OF great uneasiness about the
treasurer's office. Mr.. Roberts, of New
York, who recently succeeded ID. III.
Morgan, OF Connecticut, as treasurer Of
the United States, has refused To give
his predecessor a receipt for the ma
tion's money until after the new count
shall have been completed.
HOW THE THEFTs BECAME KNOWN.
The way in which the robbery was
discovered was this: When q new
United States treasurer is appointed
it is always deemed necessary that
the amount of money on hand
should be counted and receipt given
by the new man to the retiring treas
urer. The bags of silver dollars are
each supposed to contain 1000 coins,
and they are usually counted by weigh
ing each sack on pair of scales. This
method was at first used in the present
case, and for the last four months a
force of trusted clerks and laborers
have been employed in handling the
heavy bags. One of the colored labor
ers would get on top of the piled-up
heaps of bags of coin and pass the
sacks from the rear to his assistants in
front. The man who did this work
was John Martin, one of the most
| trusted employees in the office. One
day he was discovered in the act Of
opening one of the bags, abstracting
! handful of silver dollars aud SUBJ
stituting few Jumps of lead of the
same weight in their place. A short
| investigation disclosed the fact that he
had performed the same operation on
several of the bags in the compartment
upon which the gang was then at
work. When searched SO silver dollars
were found upon him. Martin was
| questioned closely. but he strenuously
| denied having taken more than that
amount saying that he had yielded to
temptation for the first time on the day
he was caught in the act. This state
ment appeared to satisfy those in
| charge of the count. and the work
progressed. but without Martins as
sistance. He was indicted, and is now
out on bail pending trial.
All this occurred two months ago,
and since then the count by weight
has been completed, apparently show
ing that everything was all right But
Treasurer Roberts was not quite salts
fed. Some one recalled the fact that
Martin had been engaged on two or
three previous occasions in handling
the bags of silver during the counting
process, and there was no telling but
that for years he had been helping
himself to Uncle Sans silver. Assist
ant Treasurer Meline said "A thiefs
word can not be trusted and on his
suggestion sample bag was taken at
random out of the heap and opened.
1t was found to contain pieces of
lead instead of some of the coins that
should have been there. Several other
bags were then tried, and more evil
dences of theft were discovered. Some
of the sacks were found to be lacking
in the necessary amount of coin, but
without the pieces of lead to make up
the necessary weight This fact re-
called the robberies of white man
named Anderson, who was caught q
year and a half ago opening bags in
the vaults with a long steel wire, and
raking out silver dollars under the iron
grating with which the compartments
in the vaults are closed. He returned
$500, which, at the time, he said was
the total amount of his peculations.
These discoveries caused Treasurer
Roberts to call Secretary Gage into
consultation, and it was decided that
every bag should he opened. and every
piece of money in that particular vault
counted, to be absolutely sure of the
real amount of money on hand. So
the work of counting 100, 600, 900 silver
dollars, piece by piece, was commenced.
and Treasurer Roberts is now congrat-
ulating himself upon the fact. Already
there have been found large number
of bags containing lead pieces instead
Of silver. aud it is said that the amount
missing is over 81, 600.