The times., 1899-12-31

Il Is more or less surprising thrrs should
he some man, VIII rather than do their
snare cf honest work on this mundane
sphere. prefer y earn livelihood ly dis
honest methods. involving the exercise Of
she uazeet talents, and mos perverted
faculties. There are. however. many VIC
study how 10 reap golden ha-v.5s not
only without work. bus dishonesty
0t an these feiouiously incliaeI pes MS
tbert Is none who has discovered a method
OF robbery less likely to he detected than
lhe sweater Of CCld " CT he 5cho man
ages 90 GbJain metal from the coins Of
rho rcalIu without tbs theft being found
cut
The professional sweater has an exc
for I'D coin unless &c De ot gold There Is
not enough propoTtiouate value iu silver
coins 10 repay the labor. Hence sweating
IS D1- at aH In vogue in those countries
where paper money is used exclusively,
nor ia a country like England. where the
largest coin is sovereign. Eastern
America, having q circulation almost en-
tirely 0G paper money. is likewise free
from the sweater" but it is in the great
West. where gold IS almost exclusively
used that he puts into almost daily prac-
tice his nelariCUs SCHEMES.
Upon the twenty. zen. and even i've dol
lar gold pieces does he fix bis greedy eye
and grin IL contemplation Of the ddiuon0I
gain TO be procured 10y his Illegal methods.
BY q process simple enough ne GrS<
prepares a solution made up of nitric ana
hydrCehloTic acids. called aqua regis. Into
this be piunEes the gold coin, which is aU
once vitslIy attacked by the acid. After a
few minutes the coin is removed il taking
but q short while to eat Of enough from
a lWeut y-GGliar piece 10 make 81 When
then boiled down To evaporation, dua aL
the bottom Of the kettle is found q button
of pure gold. purer than any WinCr may
find with all his dciYing. To hide tle in
Gyitahle marks Of the acids work upon the
face Of The coins be washes them in whit
ing. giving them a thorough polishing, and
the eve Of au expert Is needed to detect
the change. The sweated coins are now
exchanged for silver. which Is again cS-
changed for gold and rhe latter Is puJ
through the sweating process. and 50 on
ad iHfnitum. And hence UEcle sam is
daily robbed OF q part OF his wealth by Un-
uriuciplei, Ehrewd sc0undrels. who could
uor turn an honest penny IL they tried.
But as secret as the sweaters and as un-
reientiEc as Nemesis. are The Government
agents. who have wagcd long aud bitter
war against the sWindIers in san Fran
cisco and other parts Of the West. Some OF
the sweaters have escaped. owing 10 the
lack Of evidence; others have been sent
over the road 10 a place where they might
DO another kind OF sweating. ana whence
they may not emerge for long years 10
come.
The Capture of a SSveRter.
Among the latter number was man who
had long practiced the sweating business:
the agents had suspected him for some
time. but could find nothing tangible which
Would warrant an arrest. He was q quiet
UHassuming chap. ana lived in small
house ia a modest quarter OF san Francisco
his workshop was on the roof and there
unbeknoWn 10 the busy world about him,
did be cheat the Government Out ~ many
a dollar. He was finally run to earth,
however. and caught with his whole work
ing apparatus. de had artfully made
place behind some bricks in the chimney
and there concealed his instruments when
he was not working little bottle OF
greeHish fluid was found. also, which Weld
ed, upon being boiled down about SIS
worth Of pure gold. some coins we're dis
covered TOO. and these. 10 the casual OBJ
server. looked normal, but under the mi
cr0sc0De they showed unmistakahle signs
OF polishing
More dangsEous and difficult vas a p-o-
cess employed by clever swind-ers former
gutted, 50 10 speak A hole WAS bored In
the edge OF the piece, and the worker
would patiently dig and dig until he had
extracted q good dea! OF the metal ON
the inside; he would then iii up the hole
Win baser metal. and few could Cetect the
theft. This practice has become obsolete.
since the sweating method has been ia
vogue
But more clever and Ear less daugerors
than al this Is the practice adopted by
John Cllnaman In San Francisco. II IS
told that the heather Chiuee" performs
scores o. tricks. They say IL san Franc g
CO that there are thousands OF 9luaer-
ground dwellings occupied by Cinnamon.
where they live like rats in a hole TIE
Wlly Celestial, IN r0bDing the Govern
meut. places q number Of gold coins iu a
cloth bag. and then begins to shake and
agllale the latter, which be keeps uB ga-
tienty Tor days and even we =ks uuLu. by
abrasion, lie has worn Of "a quantity ol
gold dust, sometimes many dollars worth (
Abrasion IS OF course. accou- ted for by h.
Government, and IS q uecez ary TesuI. Of
the daily use Of gold 60 Us.
Chiuamal knows the value of gold:
lie manages 10 tEiue his long sinuoug
fingers about many q golden bird " and
when be has gotten a sufficient quantity.
he places them in a sack. which be pro
ceeds 10 shake, and no dairy maid ever
cAlrucd more faithfully than does John.
shaking shaking until one would think
his arm wouid fall on
At length he stops and takes the coins
cut q the bag, and there Is lclt. sticking
adj over The Interior o. the latter. lne gold
dust tc the amount - $40 or $50 and 81
ls safe 10 say that no one VIII ever ques
rO1 JCaHE right 30 The same. or enquire
whence ib came. The coins present the
appearance Of having been worn in the
usaai aally circulation, and Il Is quite inn
possible 10 detect the swindle. 10 fact
NO Chinuman was ever known TO Be- caught
~ this clever game
In England clipping the coin of the
realm s. 2 felony: in America tl Uutilate 4
coin In any manner s. unlawful but The
sweater ana John Chinamau have beaten
the laW SO far, and II IS safe 10 say they
Eal continue 10 do so FOR long years 10
come. and that some method VIII always
- found whereby the Government mas
he cheated q a part Of It's gold.
The BATTERY Process.
There are stM other methods Of
stealing gold from the Govern
gneut-such as the "be-tery' pro-
cess. which ls, however S=Jt much in
use u0T owing to the watchfulncss Of the
Government agents. This process Is as
follows: The manipulation has a wet bat
EefY. - IN Is called and upon one pole of
tAe same he places the gold coin. while at
the other there is piece of metal. The
current q electricity passing through the
cnin oH 10 the opposite metal, carries with
s. q small quantity ~ gold. aud care is
taken lest any marks are LEFT that may
lead to detection.