New-York tribune., 1907-12-29

dInary accident, II might never have been dis
CoVered-tO the very serious money loss OF that
frequently victimized old gentleman, Uncle
Sam.
1t would be more correct to describe the
crime IN question as a series of theftS, mas
much as they covered considerable length OF
time, In all probability they extended over
some years. and, though nobody will ever
know how much was stolen, the total amount
was doubtless very large When the money
bug bit Ernestine Uncle sam was severely
stung Her profits for the last day on which
she did the trick were nine hundred and eighty
dollars-and 1t was only half day OF work
at that.
Ernestine was employed in the redemption
division. where all the money that comes into
the treasury through the banks is sorted and
reCkoned over, the worn pieces being destroyed
and replaced with bills and coins. Many Of the
greenbacks and banknOteS arrive in trag-
rnentarv condition especially when accidents
OF one sort and another have happened TO the
paper cash, and, because she was an expert at
the business OF restoring such damaged cur
rencv, she devoted her attention exclusively
to that kind Of work. SO clever was she, in
deed, that she invented a method, previously
unheaTd of, whereby nine notes could be made
out OF eight.
This was accomplished by process Of artful
patchwork, the fragments composing eight
bills being put together III such way as to
leave enough over to make ninth. The ninth
of course, was for ErneStIne. lnasmuch as she
never bothered to apply the scheme IN question
to notes OF less denomination than twenty
dollars and restricted herself as far as possible
to those OF fiftv- and hundred-dOllar denom1na-
tons, the profit was large In fact the woman
was rapidly acCumulating 4 considerable
fortune when the accident befell which brought
her profitable little enterprise to an abrupt
conclusion.
The WAY 1t happened Was that ErnestInc,
not feeling very well. took an afternoon oft,
leaving the office At noon Her packages OF
patched up money had all been done up neatly.
each bunch OF bills fastened with paper strap.
But II ChanCed that one OF them, after she had
gone fell on the floor and was broken open.
Under the circumstances It became the duty
OF one OF her fellow workers to do up the
bundle again; and the person TO whom the
task fell, being responsible for the contents,
natura,lv counted the sum, to make sure that
II tailed. 1t counted up all right; but the
keen professional eve of the expert at once
detected the fact that the numbers at the tops
and bottoms OF the bills did not agree with
each other.
Even then no suspicion was entertained. 1t
WAS supposed that Mrs. Becker had made
some mistake IN her patchwork. But It was
necessary TO take the notes apart again, and
this was done by soaking them in water.
When the pieces were put together once more,
It was found that there were only eight bills Tor
every nine. The fraud thus stood revealed
Mrs. Becker, being arrested. declared that she
had simply put the pieces together as they
came to her. Nothing could be proved against
her, and she was never punished, though the
treasury obliged her to pay the nInc hundred
and eighty dollars which her half-day's work
made obviously missing. But retribution
came when her fortune was subsequently
gobbled up by an unscTupulous real estate
agent and three wears later she died OF cancer
IN . New York hospital.