The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-12-31

DackAge-the paying teller of the bank
other bank clerks, the messengers, De-
tective McDougal, the receiving clerks
of the Adams Express company and
the express messengeT-Was closely
examined. Where and how the Sal, 000
had been stolen was important to learn
not only in itself. but also to fix re-
spOnsibility for the sum lost as be-
tween the bank and the express COM
pany.
Three theories were at once sug-
gested: The bogus package might have
been substituted for the genuine one
either at the bank, between the bank
and the express office or between the
express office and the treasury. The
first assumption threw suspicion on
some of the bank employees, the second
upon the two bank messengers, the
third upon some one in the service OF
the express company. Both the bank
and the express company stoutly
maintained the integrity of its own
employees
An examination of the bogus pack
age disclosed some points of signifi-
canoe Ordinarily, when bank notes
are done up for shipment by an eX-
perienced clerk, the bills are pressed
bundles, which are secured with elastic
bands. and then wrapped snugly in
strong paper, until the whole makes a
package almost as hard as a board.
Around this package the clerk knots
strong Irvine, melts a drop of sealing
wax over each knot, and stamps it
with the banks seal. The finished
package thus presents a neat and trim
appearance. But in the present in
stance the package received at the
treasury was loosely and slOVenly
wrapped. and the seals seemed to have
been nut on either in great haste or
by an inexperienced hand. Moreover,
the label must have been cut from the
stolen package and pasted on the other,
for the brown paper of a previous
wrapping showed plainly in margin
running around the label. The address
on the package read:
'$41 900.
United States Treasurer,
Washington.
ID. c."
All this was printed, except the fig
ures '$41 Coo" even the dollar sign.
The figures were in the writing of Mr..
Watson, the paying teller of the bank,
whose busi".&ss il was to oversee the
sending of the money. His initials
were also marked on the label, with
the date Of the sending; so that on
examining the label Mr. Watson HIM
self was positive that it was genu-
inc.
All this made ii tolerably clear that
the robbery had not been committed at
the bank before the package was en-
trusted to the two messengers; for no
bank clerk would have made up so
clumsy a package, and the paying
teller himself, had he been a party to
the crime, would not have cut the
label written by himself from the genu-
inc package and pasted it on the bO-
gus one; he would simply have written
out another label, thus lessening the
chances Of detection. Furthermore, it
was shown by testimony that during
the short time between the sealing up
of the package in the paying teller's
department and its delivery To Domi-
ME Earle, who took it first. it was con-
stantly under the observation OF half
a dozen bank employees; so that the
work of outline off the label and past
ing il on the bogus package could
scarcely have been accomplished then
without detection.
Earle and Crawford. the bank mes
sengers, were submitted TO repeated
examinations; but their statements
threw no light upon the mystery
Both stuck persistently TO the same
story, which was that neither had
loosed his hold on the handle Of the