Watertown weekly leader. [volume] (Watertown, Jefferson County, Wis.) 1906-1908, 1907-03-01

ADMIT LOSS OF $4,000.
Bills in $4,000 Denomination and
Smaller Mysteriously Stolen Week
Ago-Secret Service Acting


CHICAGO. H.. Feb 25.-One of the
largest, if not the largest theft from the
United States treasury has been I'M
earthed in Chicago. Between $4,000
and 100000, it was learned today. com
pIeteIy disappeared from the local sub
treasury last week The authorities
here and in Washington have been work
ing night and day on the robbery since
it was discovered.
Chief WiIkie of the United States Sc
cret service has left Washington for Chi
cago 10 take personal charge Of the in
vCstigation
Details of Theft Secret.
Secretary Shaw of the treasury depart
ment was told Of the theft when i'll Chi
cagO last week and WAS in conference
with Sub-Treasurer William Bolden-
week and secret service officials.
The money was taken either 4 week
ago Saturday, the next day. or last Mon
day. The chances are it was distracted
Oh Monday. The loss was discovered ON
Wednesday. The stolen money was in
bills Of the denomination OF $1,000, $1,000
and $4,000.
Who discovered the loss the subtrcas-
ury officials would not say. Neither
would they tell from what department
the money was taken, nor how the loss
was discovered
Clerks Put ON Carpet
At first ii was believed that there
must be some error in bookkeeping 1t
was thought to be impossible that such
! large sum OF money could have been
abstracted III face of all the safeguards
thrown around Uncle Sans strong box
The ledger men involved StrcnuOusly
I
showed there was LO possible clerical
mistake To account for the disappear
anCe Of the cash.
( Every man who could have had any
thing 10 DO with the case was called
into Treasurer RoIdenWeck's office and
put through an exhaustive examination
and still more rigid cross-eXamination.
Capt. Porter of the secret service assist
ed III the examination. All denied any
Knowledge of the theft and protested
their inHoreHcc. Day by day, however,
the sweating process has been kept up.
Clue Promises Results.
Saturday faint clue pointed in the
direction of certain clerk and that,
followed up, directed suspicion to an
other empIoye, 4 close associate of the
first man. These men were summoned
into the inQuistion chamber and sepa-
ratcly subjected to 4 gruelimg eXamina-
ton. one passed through the ordeal III
Il calm and self-posscSsed manner. but
/ The other showed signs of breaking down.
Just what he admitted the secret scry-
ice men refuse to disclose
Anyway. the admissions he made
started the investigators into renewed
activity. \ half dozen operatives started
out and results are expected in the next
! tWCntyfour or forty-eght hours.
William BOldenweck was appointed
Sub-trcasurer on June % last He sue
cecd William z. Williams.
Loss of $173,000 Admitted.
! Sub-Trcasurer Boldenwcc1 today ad-
mitted that a theft OF $173,OOO had been
perpetratcd, but refused to go into de
tails.
1T is true that what l and other gov
eminent officials believe to be Il giant
steal has been perpetrated in the sub
/ trcaury," he said. The amount | be-
! lievc. will be $4,000. Al present
cannot 20 into details as TO what work
! we have done i'll the case or what meth
ID Of procedur" Chief WiIki2. Capt
( Porter and their men will pursue We
discovered the shortage last Wednesday
when the books Of the Sub-trcasury were
/ balanced for the day. There is 4 DOS
sibility that th~ shortage is due to an
error Of bOokkeeper, but | am in
clined to believe that robbery has
been committed The money was in
i
learned, currency bills Of $1,000, 5000
and $4,000 each"
Capt. Porter declined to say any
thing additional in regard to the rob-
berry.
Sub Treasurer Says He Knows.
Subtrcasurer Boldcnwecll declared In
ter i'll the day that it had been definitely
determined just where the shortage oc-
cured. but he declined to say to where
it had been traced lie declared himself
! positive, however, that the money had
never reached the vaults.
He said that the only reason for ho-
I ,ieVing that the stolen money was in bills
Of large denomination was that it would
have been impossible for anybody to
have taken $173,00O from the office in
small bills and escaped detection. He
declared that it would have made too
! ouiky package. y package of $173.-
300 in $1,000 bills could have been car
ried about the person easily without eX
citing suspicion.