The Dawson news. (Dawson, Ga.) 1889-current, 1905-08-09
BUSY COUNTING UNCLE SANS MONEY
Force of Men Handling Coin, Bills and Securities
Having an Aggregate Value of $1,3oo,0OoooO
Comparatively Few Thefts Ever Discovered
From the New York World.

| the reserve supply of national bank
notes is kept, the value averaging be-
tween 800, 900, 900 and 5000, 900, OO0 The
gold of the treasury is stored away in
eight ounce duck bags, each contain
ing s., 900, and the silver in bags of
81, 600 each.
Counting 10000 bills is considered
fair days work. In the vaults there
Sl07, 900, 600 in United States notes,
S25l, 10000 in gold certificates, and
S75, 900, 600 in silver certificates. Some
thing of task that, to count so many
bills and guarantee that every dollar
is there.
Reduced to dead weight the coin in
the treasury would pull the scales
down at 5000 tons. The gold alone
aggregates more than 30, 900 pounds.
As each million of gold occupies sew
enteen cubic feet of space the 50, 500, 600
gold in the vaults would make a shaft
two feet square and thirty-fve feet
high.
During the administration of Treas
urer Spinner $780, 900 in notes were
stolen from the vaults, but portion
of the money was recovered. This was
the most serious robbery ever perpe-
trated in the department. A young
man by the name of Halleck was as
sistant vault clerk at the time, and
was subsequently arrested, convicted
and sent to the penitentiary for the
crime.
a Theft of $4,000.
Chas. Gilman, who kept a restau-
rant on Pennsylvania avenue, was
mixed up in this affair, as was one
''Peg-legged'' Brown, a well-known
known sporting man about Washing
ton and Saratoga in those days.
Much of this money passed into the
hands of innocent persons, and the
government was only able to recover
a portion of this large sum.
, A colored man by the name of
Shureman, the confidential messenger
, of Salmon P. Chase, when secretary
T of the treasury, was arrested and tried
for the theft of $12, 900 alleged to have
been stolen by him from the division
| of issue of the Office of the controller
of the currency. Owing to the multi
plicity of hands through which the
broken package from which the sheets
were taken had passed the jury was
unable to agree, and Shureman was
not convicted. Shureman was detail
ed to this Office, and as messenger had
access to the vaults wherein were stor-
ed millions of dollars of the reserve
supply of national bank notes. John
Burroughs, the celebrated naturalist,
was then vault clerk.
Robbers Wife Furnished Clue.
Eighty sheets of the 300 50's-one
of each denomination to a sheet
amounting to $12, 900, were mysteri-
ously taken from the vaults. The
notes were those of the First National
Bank of Jersey City. The money of
this particular bank was behind the
door and near the entrance OF the
vault. 1t was supposed that the mes
senger in carrying the books in and
out of the vault had taken the package
and concealed it under his coat. Upon
the evidence, however, the jury disa-
greed. Afterward it was discovered
that the messengers wife had passed
one of the bills at a milliner's store.
Several of the stolen bills drifted into
the National Bank of the Republic
Quite a number were also found sub
sequently in Macon, Ca, upon a col
ored man named Turner, who was a
candidate for postmaster of that city.
Turner was located by the secret
service men and George H. Wood, a
clerk in the Office of the controller,
who was then visiting friends in Ma
con. a considerable portion of this
money was recovered. Shureman, the
messenger, kept small grocery store,
and ii was alleged at the time of his
trial that large quantities of it and
other supplies from the department
were found on his shelves.