New-York tribune., 1903-01-20
GAZE COUPONS FOR Il BED
Laborer Finds Them 4tfer 1foo
Years. WOrth 50, 500.

Through the recent removal of an old wooden
PARTITION in the registry division Of the General
Postoffice the mystery that for two years has
surrounded the loss of package OF interest
bearing coupons Of the bonds Of various well
known railway corporations has been cleared
away.
Last Friday the Corn Exchange National
Bank, Beaver and William SITS, received for col
lection coupons Of the total value OF so'voo,
which had been clipped from bonds of the SOUTH
ern Pacific III. Northern Pacific and others
The package came from the banks branch at
Forty-second-st. and Eighth-ave. Most OF the
coupons had fallen due in October, 1900 ana
this fact aroused the suspicious Of the bank
officials II was learned that the coupons had
been sent TO the Forty-second-st. branch by
Ralph Knicknan, a saloonkeeper at Tenth-aFe
and Forty-third-st. Central Office Detectives
ArcCaf ferty and Price were detailed to inVesti-
gate Knickrnan said he had received the cou-
pons from Frank Pontius, his bartender OF No
Eo114 West Forty-fourth-st. Pontius told the
detectives the coupons had been given to MN
bv Barney Manning.
The no1ioe found him at work in cellar at
Tenth-ave ana Fiftieth-st- lie said fhat on
January last he had been doing some WORK
fo- a carnen+er Of the name of ORourke, who
had been hired 10 tear out and build In some
woodwork IN the General Postofice. The work
MAS IN the floor on which the registry division Is
situgted In tearing out a partition. Manning
said he had found an old and torn envelope. IN
Il were the coupons He said he thousn' CheS
-re7e cigarette coupons and stuned some u
4bero IN his rockets. He gave them to Pontlus
IN exchange for a bed and some liquor on a colo
night He led the detectives TO the FostoIlce'
end pointed out the exact spot where ne hao
found the coupons.
Posfof1ce Inspector Jacobs looked through hls
records and found that package coming oy
registered mail sent from Amsterdam Hollano' aa
and containing railroad coupons worth ei'ooV'
had been lost in October. ISl'' 40 'aNe u
rbern had ever been found
Tnspector Jacobs said that about that time
-,os+o4ioe en1ploye named Edward G. Bell was
charged with certain violations Of the law and'
being tried and convicted. received sentence OF
two and 2 half years Although not tried for
the theft Of the lost coupons, he was suspecteo
Of knowing something about their disappear
,snce. inspector Jacobs said it was known that
the package had been accessible 10 Bell. ana
that he now believes that Bell really took the
rackage and. finding it contained nothing ne
could safeIy turn into cash thrust it in between
the two sides Of the partition by pulling back
one q the boards since dlscoNeren 10 nave oeeii
loosely fastened.
The debris after the partition had been pulled
dcr1n, had been placed in the subcellar OF the
Postoflce An army of employees was at once
set 10 work TO dig I'D this debris. After the
heavier girders planIzs and pieces had been got
cut Of the way and the finer dirt and trash ex-
posed the clerks sifted all the latter In it they
found other coupons 10 the value OF S2,JUO. MAX
sng q total Of the recovered paper Of S5.5eo The
clerks have not yet completed the task OF slit
sng the trash. and it Is believed that more oou-
rons VII he found
It was found that the coupons had been sent
7,z REGISTERED mail on September Il. 1900 by
Hone & Son. bankers of Amsterdam, Holland
10 the local banking firm Of Heidelhach, lckel-
heirner 6 Co. of No. % Wiliam-st The latter
firm had Of course. never received the coupons