Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1897-11-02
COUNTING! The SILVER COIN
The Task VIA Not Be 0mplsted Before
i Next Spring.
Treasury Omcials Surprised at the
stantial Evidence Against Him.

Treasury officials are surprised at the
light sentences nne Of s50imposed upon
Thomas Martin, the former treasury en-
ploye convicted of stealing silver dollars
during the count of money by substituting
pieces of lead Of about the same weight.
The treasury officials. as heretofore stat
ed In The Star, hold circumstantial evil
oence that Martin stole puch more money
than he admitted. He was convicted CT
stealing $2S silver dollars. After his ar
rest, and pending his trial. the discovery
was made that lead had been substituted
Tor more dollars than twenty-e.ght. Treas
urer Roberts did not know how much the
shortage might aggregate. and ordered
that the count in vault No. l should be
made by hand instead of by the process CT
weighing, which has been used for years.
This hand counting in vault No. / has
been going on for about two months and
it Is estimated that 1t will not be COM
LIST of April.
up TO week ago the aggregate of lead
disks discovered was 200 or 800 represent
ing that many dollars which have been abb
stracted by somebody The handiwork Ct
the lead substituted points to Martin. The
pieces are like those found in the bags
with which Martin was known to have
tampered. The trouble now, however, is
That there is no evidence to convict Mar
TIN Nobody can swear that he did the
work as nobody saw him
treasury officials will not say exactly
EcW much money is missing. but admit
n fnat 1t tn amounts to 500 or 500 1t is
be found gone, as less than one-fourth of
the money in vault No. has been counted.
Some days the count reveals no shortage,
while other days few of the lead subsi-
tutes are found in sacks. 1t is not i'm
prohapie that Martin began MS work of
tneft during the count four years ago. but
II was not discovered. He had no oppor-
tunity again until the cout began this
year Four years ago he worked in vault
NO: l. Nobody suspected him then. He
hao been at work some time on the pres
ent count before suspicion fell upon him
~, ma s,a,a mas never worked in vault No. >,
the smaller of the two vaults. That vault
Contains 4S.O0O,000 silver ollars 1t was
counted by the weighing process several
months ago, and will not be recounted by
hand.
The big vault, where the shortage has
been discovered contained S1O4 900 600
When the present treasurer went into Of
nee. Inc count of this vault by weighing
was more than half through when Mar
t1n's theft was discovered Since the hand
count began $2S,OOO,0O0 have been counted.
Inc count proceeds at the average rate of
$'oo0oO day. This will give an idea of
how long will be consumed in counting the
remainder, $176,OOO.OOO.
About twenty more persons are EMPLOYED
In the hand countothan was necessary bv
the weighing process. Most of these extra
people have been drafted from different bu-
reaus. but ten additional laborers had to
De employed at cost of $50 per day. 1t is
estimated that the count will cost the gov
eminent over $20,00U as result of Martins
theft. IL
Twenty-eight ladies do the counting Of
the silver dollars They sit at four long
tables, and the Jingle of silver is heard in
all directioLs.d Each lady hes a tray be-
lore her. With dollars stacked twenty high,
this tray holds one thousand As tray
is filed seaier takes charge, puts TIE
dollars In bags and sends them to the
Weigners Tobprevent anything happening,
each bag Is weighed. any discrepancy call
ing for another count
Besides the ladies' and the !aborers, there
arc eight persons employed in a supervis-
ing capacity. several representing the
former treasurer. D. N. Morgan What
ever loss Is revealed at the conclusion of
tne count VIII fall upon Mr.. Morgan, who,
as known, is still resr onsible through his
bondsmen. '