Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1906-06-06
QUEER HIDING PLACES.
Means People Have Taken 20 Keep Their
Money safe.

NAhhA1 atNNe
pcarson's Weekly.
One of our best-known members of
Parliament built himself a mansion
in remote part OF Hampshire, on The
confines of the New Forest.
He noticed during the progress Of
the work that a contractors clerk
came back from the railway station
bringing with him "a walking stick
bearing a label addressed Co his em-
pl yer. This always happened on a
rrlday afternoon, and he became curi-
Gus 10 know the resason.
When he asked for an explanation OF
the mystery the contractor touched a
surinp in the handle, screwed of a
head piece and turning the stick up
side down, rolled out on the table a
heap of s0verelgns.
L. appears that the nearest local
bank could not be used in time for
weekly pay. Accordingly the contrao-
tor had the stick made, the interior
of which was followed out IN order to
take the soyereigns. The precious
freight amounted to elOO and was
dispatched every week as an ordinary
parcel. During the whole time it
never miscarried.
bank was found during an inquest
held in London recently. 1t was dis
covered that the deceased had a wooden
leg, within which were number of
sovereigns wrapped in a kid glove.
Surely wooden leg is one of the most
peculiar banks imaginable.
A short time ago an old miser died
at Brescia. She lately revealed "a
singular boarding place for treasure.
She had always lived as one in deep
poverty, and had carefully excluded
all neighhors from her apartment.
When she was taken i'll and felt the
approach of death she sent for q notary,
to whom she conhded the hiding place
If her money.
She had lived in constant dread OF
robbery OF loss, and so for years had
preserved the whole of her money in a
followed out log of "a certain table in
her room. When search was being
made before properly accredited wit.
nesses a sum of fJ, 600 was brought &c
light in money securities.
A sum of over a quarter of million
pounds has been thrown into the ash
pit by the government. This extraor
binary exhibition of waste of public
money was found out some little tim,
ago. 1t was discovered that scraI
brass had been used for roadmaking.
Originally the ashes from the bras.
foundry and rolling mills of the Roya
Laboratory and other factories wer,
regarded as so much waste material
AS a matter Of fact, they were giver
TO the superintendent for the purpos,
of making roads and pathways.
This went on for number of years
when a wideawake contractor got t,
know of it. lie generously offered @
remove the ashes from the fire hole
and to give the government the sun
OF 3s. 4d. a ton ior them into the bar
gain.
After this arrangement had beef
going on for some time it was discov
cred that the contractor was selling
the refuse at SO ton. Then the ordi
nance officials took the matter int
their own hands and issued prope
tender forms for them.
Then the firm which had been usei
to paying IS. 4d. ton offered 60 @
&c a ton, while eventually AS much "a
81 rs. Sd. per ton was offered for tn
waste ashes. This means a revenue O
| ElO, 600 a year, which hitherto ha
been thrown into the ash pit. Actu
ally, it is estimated that a quarter %
, a million pounds has been wasted b
the military officials who thought
lessly threw the refuse away.
A sum Of eS, 600 was found in th
mud at Liverpool a short time age
This was in the mud behind the land
ing stage water, where a cash box wa
found containing a number OF ban
notes and about IS, coo in securities.