The times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1897-1901, 1901-04-25
HOW THE GOLD Was FOUND
A Talk With the Purser of the
Kaiser Wilhelm Der Crosse.
The Recovery of the Precious Metal
Fully as Remarkable ns the Theft
Slowed Away i'm Crevice in n
Cornice of the Big Steamship.


| Slowed Away i'm Crevice in n
| NEW YORK. April 2i.-The North Ger
man Lloyd steamship Kaiser Wilhelm der
| Crosse docked at the Wilson Line pier
| early this morning She reached the lower
| bay yesterday. but was held there by the
heavy fog. The ships officers and crew
are still talking Of the robbery of the
| treasure vault of the ship. a. Tielbaar,
| the purser, said he believed that the vault
| was broken open before the ship left this
port. His reason for this theory. he said.
was that a great quantity of baggage be-
| longing to the passengers was piled up
| in front of the door of the vault, and he
| dld not believe 1t possible that any per-
son could have moved this baggage and
| replaced it without being seen. The gold
| and consignment of silver for the Bank
of England. was placed in the vault sev-
eral days before the ship sailed. The vault
| is aft amidships. two decks below the
| main deck. The door leading to the vault
opens into the hold where the baggage is
| slowed. This door was fastened by a
| large lock, and the keys were in the pos
session of the purser According to the
omcers of the ship 1t would not have been
a difficult matter for anyone to have
forced this lock.
everything about the outside of the
vault appeared in order" said MIR. Tel
baar this morning. The big iron clamps
which dropped down over the top and
sides of the door were in position We
reached Cherbourg early enough on
Thursday to land the passengers. so we
decided to get them ashore as quickly as
possible. and to make the run across the
channel to Southampton during the night
In order to put the silver ashore in the
morning. About two hours out of Cher
bourS we began to clear away the bag
gage in the hold in order to get into the
vault. When we came to open the vault
we found the door had been forced. and
going in, discovered that one of the kegs
in which the gold was kept had been
broken open, and instead of nine bars
which should have been there there were
only six. The fact that only three had
been stolen convinced that the thieves,
whoever they were, had been frightened
away before they finished their work.
Also there must have been more than one
person in the plot. We do not know the
guilty person and at present do not sus-
pect anyone. | am glad that the lock was
broken. or where would | be- for the keys
are always In my keeping and | am re-
sponsible for them?
Mysterious as was the disappearance
markable. They were found on Saturday
morning by Theodore Wagers, the band
master, who Is also responsible for the
proper condition of portion OF the sec
ond cabin. WagerS was cleaning the
staterooms and passageways and dusting
the woodwork. which is his regular duty
every Saturday. He at work in the
starbodrd passag geway on the upper deck,
aft of the gangway used by the machin-
lists. In busting the upper edge of cor
nice his hand struck the bars. At first he
could not understand what he had found.
The bars were laid on their largest sur
with the tips of his fingers through Stats
fastened to the ceiling for the purpose of
slowing away various things. He got
small ladder and his eye caught the
simmer of the gold. He notified Second
Steward Lauw Immediately, who sent for
the officer of the deck. The port superin-
teE1ent of the company was summoned
and the bars were taken out
THE thieves certainly selected one Of
the most secure spots on board the ship in
which to stow the gold. 1t was opposite
the passage leading to staterooms 5G1-5O9,
between two heavy iron stanchions. To
place il over this cornice it was neces-
sary to reach between the ceiling and one
of the Stats and shove il back behind the
cornice. Had il not been for the thorough
manner in which the bandmaster cleaned
his division the thieves would in all prob
ability have gotten away cfith their booty
after the Kaiser returned to this port
On the port side Of the ship, directly OPP
posite to the place where the gold was
found. is the companionway which leads
from the upper deck to the baggage hold
and the vault. Ii is thought by the Off
GERS that the persons. who broke into the
vault while the ship lay in this port
brought the gold up by this companion-
way. with the idea of getting away with
ii at the time but that after reaching
the upper deck they found the coast was
not clear and went over to the starboard
side, only short distance. and hid it,.