Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-07-20
THE POOR TOY DEALERS HOARD.
Nearly Ten Thor sand Dollars in Cash
Found Under the Bed.

Nearly Ten Thor sand Dollars in Cash
Found Under the Bed.
From the New York Sun.
For nearly twenty years Frank Coghin
kept little shop on the Bowery. 1t was
dirty, stuffy place, filed with a confusion
of all manner of toys. to which was added,
on occasion, a stock of fireworks. Coghill
did a jobbing business. The first floor of
the building was his sales room. the second
his store room, ard on the third he lived
with his aged mother and his clerk, wo-
man named Cohen.
When he first opened the shop he did
business on a small scale, but never as
a retailer. When asked one day why he
preferred to be jobber, he said:
ITS just as easy to sell $40 worth of
goods as 10 cents worth, and the man who
hugs the larger quantity is usually the bet
ter able 10 pay for them"
When anybody asked how business was
his hvariable reply would be:
Business! There is no business. I'm get
ting poorer every day. Ii L could get rid
of the store and my goods L could make
more money sweeping the Streets
1t was noticed, however that whenever
he replenished his stock, no matter to what
extent, he always had the cash to pay for
his purchases. But even his mother
thought he was just managing to live.
He never was known to take vacation,
or indeed to leave the city. He worked
early and late on week days, and so the
story goes. he spent his Sundays in taking
an inventory of his stock. For over a year
his health had been failing. His heart
seemed to be affected, and he had promised
his mother to take a two months vacation
this summer, although when he made tie
promise he said he didn't know where the
money was coming from to pay his ex-
penses. Three weeks ago Wednesday just
after he got up in the morning the old
ai,1S in ha1r a
standing near his bed partly dressed Sud
denly he gave cry which brought Miss
Cohen to the room. Coghill was tottering
when the woman reached the door. AS he
fell backward Miss Cohen caught him il
her arms. He died few moments after
ward.
After the funeral a search was made of
his effects to see what there was to go on
with. An old black satchel was found un-
der the bed. 1t was so heavy his mother
could hardly lift it, and she called Miss
Cohen. The two women opened the Vailse.
1t was nearly full of packages done up in
writing paper, most of the packages about
the length of a bank note. There We're
others which, in size and shape, resembled
the large firecrackers Ccghill had sold SO
long.
The women opened one of the larger
packages. 1t contained greenbacks, with
$40 bill on top. They counted the bills and
found nearly $500 in the package. The bills
were mostly fves and tens, with few ones.
The women concluded that the yalise was
filled with greenbacks and coin, and took
1t down stairs and locked it in the safe that
night. The next day Mrs. Coghill consulted
a lawyer and then took out letters of ad-
ministra ton The valise and its contents
were taken down to the United States Trust
Company, where the money was counted
and deposited. 1t was found that the ac-
cumulations of the toy merchant amounted
to D,954.50.
Some of the bills were nearly fifty years
old Some were badly torn and most were
widowed. They were done up chiefly in
packages of $500 each. Most of the bills
were fives and tens, but there were a few
fifties and hundreds. What else may be
discovered among the effects Of this poor
man who couldn't make living out of his
on the part of his mother and the few
relatives who may come into the estate
after the old lady.