Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1905-12-25
HID GOLD IN HIS HAIR.
Trick Of a Workman That Turned Him
Many Dishonest Penny.

y
the infrequency of reports of thefts
by them?" queried an aged manu-
featuring jeweler.
1T really seems that the habitual
care for his filings, clippings and the
like is the experienced artisans only
consciousness of value; otherwise
the gold to him is but commodity
to be modelled into thing of beau
ty, not an object Tor his coyetous-
ness O.. greed.
The older the artisan the more
firmly fixed in this habit AS rule,
| it is only the younger aspirants, and
! but few of these, who succumb to
temptation. Once started on down
ward course, however, their own self
consciousness is most frequently
their own accuser to shopmate or
| foreman.
''Many years ago in a Newark
shop where mostly solid filed work
was made a seasoned workman OBJ
served a quaint habit in a journey
man but recently 'out of his time,
who was seated at an adjoining
bench. The latter had very dark
hair, wore it long and Git was in
days of bears grease and hair oils)
kept it well oiled. He had a habit
of pushing his fingers up through
his long hair as if to keep it from
falling over his eyes. 1t was further
noticed that prior to each such ac-
ton he dabbed his fingers in the
bench pan, wherein had fallen the fl
ings from his work. The habit was,
not INDUCED in when away from his
seat.
'The foreman, on one occasion
when at his back, examining a piece
of his work, noticed the sparkle of
gold in his hair. Mentioning it casu-
ally to an older bench fellow when
the latter came to the foreman for
stock, the quaint habit was detail
ed by the older man and set the
foreman thinking. He called at the
boarding house where the young ar
tisan resided and, being acquainted
with the proprietor, learned that the
young man upon coming to midday
dinner and to his evening meal in
variably sought his room first.
, F'By reason of his freshly bathed
| face and hands and-his well groom
ed, oily hair when he appeared at
the table he was accounted a dandy,
, but one popularity was that of>his
instructions to the maid who made
up his room that she must not dis
pose of his wash water, as he would
: attend to that himself.
at was discovered that he thor
oughly washed his hair before each
= meal, dried it and oiled it and that
with each such operation he deposit
ed in his washbowl from one to two
;. pennyweights of eighteen carat gold
I filings, which had from five to twelve
hours in which to settle before his
wash water was decanted therefrom.
1t was clear steal of three penny
weights or at least $3.50 for each of
: his working days.
cit is needless to say that after
this discovery his silent partnership,
,, with part of the profits, forthwith
l ceased.
another one of the rare cases
:. was that of a youth whose bench
talk about his previous evenings
amusements indicated an expendi-
: ture beyond his productive capacity
as a journeyman. His visits dur.
: ing shop hours to the retiring room
: were so methodical as to arouse curl.
! osity. 1t was found that with pail
: of pocket scales he balanced against
. paper cornucopia of gold filings
! an equal weight of brass filings
;, which he deposited in another pa
! per cornucopia. After his return tc
= = his seat he scattered the brass FL
> ings in his bench pan. These, being
: mixed with the larger volume Of
J gold filings Sin his pan, were finally
= passed to the foreman as all golc
filings, so that his weights Tailed
with what would be expected from
:, him. But the cornucopia of gol(
: filings was filched by him from hi
:, .neighbors.
@This would be shrewd one
horn of plenty also was effectual
ly crushed out of existence.
s"After all, these two instances be
! ing exceptional is why | mention
;, .thep, = and the aged jeweler conclud
. ed,with twinkle of his eye, Il hav,
! faith in my men, likewise in thu
: adage that 1t does no harm to watcl
: an honest man, and a thief should
! be ever watched. Jewellers Cir
! cular- Weekly.
Asking and Answering Questions.
. Mrs. HeDneck ITO Mr. H who !.