Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-11-17
MINT CLERK On
WITNESS STAND.
----------- ----------- ----.----
Tells Of Receiving Gold Shipments
From Gregory's Salt
Lake Address.
WHERE COINS WERE PASSED
WHERE COINS WERE PASSED
Peculiar "Fccl'' of "swcated" Money
Aroused Suspicious of Clerks
And Walters.

The chief witness for the prosecution
in the United States court this morning,
in the case Of Ebcn j. Gregory, charged
with defrauding the government py
Sweating" gold coins, was Eo-
ward p. Leach, chief clerk of, the Unit
ed States mint ut Denver MI. Leach
testified chat h. had received two COM
munications from party signing ths
name Of j. a. Mclfwan. from 2S4 holth
Fifth West street. Salt Lake CITY. tne
same being the address OF the deieiia,
ant. The communications accompanied
shipments of gold bullion to the mint
at Denver and were IN relation 10 the
weight of the material forwarded anu
contained instructions as to reniittli.s
money for same, These two shiplllei,ls
of ore We're made early during the
present wear. and after passing through
all the machinery of the mint. the ore
was certified to and the money tor-
wardcd to the party as requested III
the letters.
MI. Leach gave an interesting de-
scription Of the way ore and hulilon Is
handled at the government mint. ne
fore any cash Is paid out on any snip
ment. The gold when first received IS
Weighed by weighing clerk, then ~
Is checked Dy IL CticShiiiSl siSt - 49,
is smelted; after that it Is again
weighed, to determine what loss was
sustained in the smelling process. The
.ssoid then goes to the assayer or the
mint, who assays 1t as to Its fineness.
md the quantity of gold, silver ana
Ease metals it contains, and 1t many
goes to the calculator, who calculates
The value of the shipment, and a check
sor the value is made out according 10
ais figure
WITNESSES HAD COIN.
Among the other witnesses examined
sor the government were Chas. Billings
a clerk in the Savile Cigar store at i3
west Second South street, and VIM. NJ
Toms. chief cook of Sparey & MellSe,s
,unch counter on east Second South
street. Mr.. Billings testified that he
had received several gold pieces from
We're aroused by the peculiar feel of
he pieces, and he refused to accept
them afterward. They We're chiefly of
the $40 dissemination, and Gregory was
n the habit of presenting $40 piece
IN the purchase of cent cigar. Wit
ness stated the gold pieces felt smooth
on one side" and he grew suspicious
of them and declined to accept them
in payment for cigars,
Mr.. Toms created considerable merri-
,nent in the court room by the an
swers he gave to Mr.. Hoffman. attor.
aey for defendant, in his cross-cxan-
nation. He said lie was chief cook
head waiter and night cashier of the
in which he was en-
ployed, worked several shifts during
he day and night, and checked up the
men and the cash and paid the bills
I'm fact, you are the grand bold
captain of that institution" said Mr.
Hoffman.
Yes. sir, am" replied the witness,
his face sufflsed with bushes.
Mr.. Toms said he also had received
gold pieces from the defendant at diff
rerent times, and that finally he be
rame "leary" of the gold pieces and
-efused to take them himself and in
ttructed everybody else in the lunch
room to refuse them. He told of ali
Instance when Gregory offered a
old piece in payment for meal he
had eaten. after witness had got next
10 what the coins We're. He said Greg
ory stepping into "a bank near by and
soon returned With change, with which
ne paid his bill. But l would not take
The gold" said witness. because 1
lidnt think it was all right
Witness stated that he had told a
nan by the name OF Elmer German
about Gregory and his coins as early
IS the summer Of 1906 German was All
agent of the government secret SER
vice office at Denver. He had told
mother man by the name Of McLaren
lbout his suspicious coins, BECAUSE
aid the witness, he was friend of
fregorys.''
THE ''sWEATING'' PROCESS.
State Chemist Herman Harms who
testified in the case yesterday after
loon. told how the process Of coin
sweating is performed. United |
States gold coins are about 80 |
per cent pure gold" said he, 'and 10 |
per cent copper. In order to steal gold |
from a coin, it is necessary 10 sub
ject the coin to u bath in mixture OF |
nitric and muriatic acid. by which the
gold is dissolved. After remaining in
the mixture a short time the coin is
taken out and the gold Is gathered
by either of several processes. One of
these processes of gold reclamation is
called precipitation; another is known
rs electrolysis, and third method Is
BY evaporation. The method of eletro-
ysis Is used when some foreign metal
s used on which the gold has been dis
solved, and it clings to the baser metal.
A current of electricity applied to the
ron assists the process. The iron Is
hen heated and the metal forms into
l button and il secured by means of
some, fi1Snc ppptb