The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1904-11-14
Hid Gold in His Hair.
Trick of Workman That Turned
Him Many Dishonest Penny.
Jewellers Circular Weekly.l

/ AJeNtlerS Slrc0Idr eehll-b
] Did You ever give thought TO the rarity
OF dishonesty among jewelry artisans?
I Dlo you ever realize the infreuuency OF
reports Of thefts by them?" queried an
aged manufacturing jeweler.
III really seems that the habitual care
for his filings. clippings and the like els
the experienced artisans only conscious
ness of value: otherwise the gold to him
i5 out commodity TO be modelled into a
thing OF beauty. not an object for his
4 seriousness or greed
The older the artisan the more firmly
! liked IL this habit As a rule IL Is only
me younger aspirants. and bat few Of
those. who succume 20 temptation; once
started on downward course. however,
their. own self-consciousness is most fire.
1 quently their own aeeuser TO shopmate
1 or foreman.
| Many years ago in Newark shop
where mostly solid filed work was made
! a seasoned workman observed a quaint
haoit in journeyman but recently out
OF his time who was seated at an ad-
Joining bench. The latter had very dark
/ hair. wore 1t long. and Git was in the days
OF bears grease and hair Oils) kept IL
we'll oiled He had habit of pushing his
fingers up through his long hair as II 10
Keep IL from falling over his eyes; II was
further noticed that prior 10 each such
action he debbed his fingers in the bench
pan, wherein had fallen the filings from
his work. The habit was not INDUCED in
when away from his seat
| Inc foreman. On an occasion when at
his back examining a piece OF his work.
noticed the sparkle of gold in his hair;
mentioning II casually to an older bench
J fellow when the. latter came to the fore
man for stock. the quaint habit was de-
| tailed by the Older man. and set the fore
man thinking. He called at the boarding
/ mousse where the young artisan reside j,
and, being acquainted with the proprietor
learned that the young man. upon COM
/ ing 10 midday dinner and 20 his evening
/ meal invariably sought his room first
BY reason of his freshly bathed face
| and hands and his well groomed, oily hair
when he appeared at table he was ac-
counted A dandy: but one peculiarity was
that Of his instruction to the maid who
! made up his room that she must not dis
! pose OF his wash water, as he would at
/ tend to that himself
/ 1T was discovered that he thoroushlv
washed his hair before each meal. dried
II and oiled it. and that with each such
| operation he deposited IN his wash bowl
/ from one to two pennvweights of Is carat
gold filings. which had from five to twelve
| hours i'm which TO settle before his wash
4 water was decanted therefrom. IL was a
| clear steal Of three pennyweights or at
least $3.50, for each OF his six working
1T is needless to say that after this
! discovery his silent partnership. with a
part of the profits. forthwith ceased.
| Another one of the rare cases was that
! of youth whose bench talk about his
previous evenings amusement indicated
! an expenditure beyond his productive ca
I patty dS a JOurneNman. his VISITS. 0Nr-
ing SnOD hours. to the retiring room. were
| so methodical as to arouse curiosity. it
was found that with a pair of pocket
scales he balanced a-ainst a paper cor
nucopia of gold filings on equal weight
OF brass filings. which he deposited in
another paper cornucopia: -fter his return
| TO his seat he scattered the brass filings
~ his bench pan. this being mixed with
| the larger volume of sold filings in his
pan. WAS finally passed TO the foreman as
! all gold filings. so that his weights tailed
| with what would be expected from him
But the cornucopia of gold filings was
| 1llched by him from his employers
| This Would-be shrewd ones born OF
plenty also was effectually crushed out
! of existence.
After all, these two instances being ex-
| ceptonal is why ! mention them" And
! the aged Jeweler concluded with a twinkle
OF his eye; II have faith in my men.
/ likewise In the adage that IT does no
| harm to watch an honest man. and a
thief should be ever watched -