The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1904-10-23

MINEoLA, L. l., Oct 22.-Now, that things
have quieted down after the Vanderbilt
automobile race efforts have been resumed
to ascertain who took the quart bottle of
superior whislSey out Of the safe in the
Office of the clerk of the Board Of Super
visors in the County Court House here, and
why.
Ex-Assembly1nan Solomon S. Townsend
OF Oyster Bay is clerk of the board and the
person most Immediately interested In the
efforts to recover the bottle, or at least
obtain some reasonable explanation OF
its disappearance. Not that Mr.. Town
send really cares anything for the bottle
and its contents as such. II is we'll known.
and moreover is substanhated by his own
statement, that he never touches drop.
His interest in the bottle is prompted by
larger patriotic consider
atoms The bottle did not belong to him.
1t was office property; it had been in
trusted to his keeping along with other
things belonging to the county when he
became clerk of the board six months ago.
. The bottle had been in the clerks room for n
J good many years, and nobody knew where
1t came from or why it was there.
= Mr.. Townsend was merely custodian
Of the BOTTLE" endowed with discretionary
powers Of course, and now, that it's gone,
he will be held responsible. He feels that
the loss of the bottle not only reflects dis
credit on him as responsible public servant,
but also its disappearance Is triie en-
barrassing in a personal way.
just who is going to hold Clerk Townsend
responsible for the loss, or raise any sort Of
fuss over the disappearance of this prop
erty, hasn't been disclosed yet. 1t is pretty
: certain, though, that none OF the county
!. officials with Offices in the court house
Is going to notice the incident, officially or
otherwise.
= Although it was only with the greatest
reluctance and under some pressure that
Mr. Townsend would talk with Sun re-
porter about the bottle, he could not dis
guise his concern over the circumstance Of
the disappearance. Other officials when
the reporter tried to find out something
about it the other day, didn't seem to take
the slightest interest in the matter, Most
of them apparently didn't know that there
had ever been bottle in the building, and
all were greatly surprised to hear that one
was, or had been, in Mr. Townsend's room.
Even if the bottle had been there and
was lost, they gave it as their opinion that
he ought not try to find it. But what had
. prompted the reporter to ask the Nassau
county officials about such a thing !?
Surely, nobody suspected-- Impossible |!
Preposterous!
The bottle disappeared from the safe
more than a week ago. 1t vanished while
Clerk Townsend was out getting his lunch.
Mr. Townsend left his Office just before
noon, but before he went out he locked
. all the doors leading into the room, also
the safe. He il sure the bottle was in the
: safe when he locked it.
1t was after o'clock when Mr.. Town
J send returned to the Office He brought
back with him two acquaintances from
Hampstead, one of whom complained of
having cramps. 1t was for cases such as
this, Mr.. Townsend suspected, that the
bottle had been left in the clerks room.
The other man from Hampstead went along
Z. to keep his friend company.
m, Clerk Townsend invited the Hampstead
men to sit down while he worked the COM
bination to the safe. The safe was still
locked, and apparently hadn't been touched
:. since he left the room. The visitors sat
down and the clerk got busy with the in
dicator, turned the knob, opened the door,
/, thrust in his hand to spot behind some