Los Angeles herald., 1909-10-16
HIGH GRADERS
BUSY AT CAMP
AT GOLDFIELD
DETECTIVE FORCE ENGAGED
IN RUNNING DOWN THIEVES
CONSOLIDATED MINES COMPANY
LOSES MUCH ORE
Three Men Already Under Arrest for
Stealing Rich Concentrates, and
Other Apprehsnsions
Sure to Follow
Especial Correspondence.)

Especial Correspondence.)
GOLDFIELD, Oct. 15.-It is rumored
here the detective bureau of the Con-
responsible for the arrest yesterd y
of three men for stealing rich concen-
trates from the mill, has other en-
ployes of the company under suspicion
and that further arrests will be made.
The Consolidated company became
aware of the theft of concentrates
trough advices from the San Fran
cisco and Carson City mints, which
informed the company that consign-
ments had been received from Goldtield
other than those made by the usual
shippers of bullion. With this cleW,
/ Clarence Sage. head of the detective
force maintained by the Consolidated.
] got busy, but for some time he was
/ baffled in his search for the culprits.
After exhausting every other clew
and changing the men around in their
work, he finally devoted his attention
/ to the tables on which the gold is
! separated from the lighter parts of
/ the ore. He finally was successful in
! getting sufficient evidence to arrest L.
- Dresser, one of the graveyard"
{
! gave the names of Elliot Lamb and
D. Couture as his accomplices.
Had a Clever Scheme
The scheme by which the men Sc
cured the gold concentrates is said
to have been devised by Couture, a
repair man and the brother of the
master mechanic Of the mill Couture
contrived to attach a small spoon to
/ the tables in such a manner as to
divert a portion of the richest of the
! concentrates into a hidden receptacle
under the tables. This receptacle was
d tac..ed and taken home by the
/ table tender when he went off shift
/ and the swag was afterward divided.
That the business was profitable is
! shown by the mint figures. the total
/ peculations for five months amounting
to $21,500. One shipment brought
| $500, and Dresser had $50 worth of
| gold on his person when arrested. In
Lambs room in the Jensen block more
/ gold was found in an old boot
Were Trusted Employees
The handling of rich gold ore and
/ concentrates seems to excite to theft
men who would scorn ordinary tempta-
/ ton and has forced the Consolidated
and other companies to maintain a
force of shrewd detectives to check
| the thefts, which are never stopped
| entirely Each of the trio arrested
was trusted employe and considered
! above suspicion by everyone connected
| with the company. excepting Clarence
/ Sa ge. to whom they all look alike.
/ Dresser is a Princeton graduate and
/ claims to have been formerly attached
/ to the United States secret service.
/ Lamb had been employed in the Nc
| Gill concentrator at Ely before coming
| to Goldfeld and had clean record.
| He acted in a heroic manner recently
| on the occasion of a disastrous street
! car accident between Spokane and
/ Wallace, Idaho, when it is said that
| nearly a score Of people were saved by
/ his personal efforts in chopping them
/ out of the wreck. Couture, the brother
| of the master mechanic, was formerly
| an employe Of the Tonopah company
| at Miller's station, where the bulk Of
| the ores from the big mines of Tonopah
| are treated.
Breaking Up High Grading
The history Of high grading in Cold
| field dates back to the first discovery
of rich gold in the Sandstorm, and fo~
| a number of years it was countenanced
to such an extent that it was impos-
! sible to convict man arrested on such
| a charge. Business men. saloon men
/ and brokers profted by the profigacy
| of the high graders, boom prices re-
| suited and the theft of ore from the
1 mines and leases became a business,
| with fences for the purchase of the i'll
| gotten wealth and assay Offices" for
/ its disposition. The peculiar condi-
| tions which existed made possible the
growth of the Illicit business to gigantic
| proportions. The bulk of the ore eX-
| tracted was by leasers, who could not
| afford a strike, as every day was
worth to them many thousands of
dollars. Knowing this the miners de-
! fed them, and some Of the leasers fol-
lowed their example and stole from
/ the mining companies. until finally it'll
/ became a wild scramble to see who
would get the most. 1t is estimated
/ that S2,000,000 was stolen from the Mo-
| hawk leases alone in about eight
/ months and the Florence and other
/ companies suffered in proportion prob
/ ably another million having been high
| graded from these mines.
Wingfeld Take a Hand
About two and one-half years ago
! George Wingfield. who, with Senator
! Nixon, has organized the Consolidated
company, which owned the rich Mo-
hawk and Combination mines. de-
! termined to put a Stop to high grading
in all it's forms and for that purpose
| organized a detective bureau, at the
head of which he placed Clarence
Sage, who has made a reputation as
a wizard in running down ore thieves
and whose name IS a terror to the
high grader wherever he lives About
year ago a gang of them caught
him off his guard in Denver and beat
him near unto death, but Sage re-
covered and was soon again back on
the job.
The Consolidated company first
turned it's attention to the pseudo assay
shops, which existed for the purpose
of buying the stolen ore, and finally
succeeded in putting the biggest of
them out of business. At one time ore
TO the value Of $50 900, alleged to have
been shipped by one of the big firms
was seized at the Selby smelter in San
Francisco and finally was given over
to the company as its property. the
consignees not daring to defend their
title.
With the big buyers put out of bust
ness, the thieves attempted to ship
the ore out in trunks and tool chests.
but so many Of these shipments were
seized in Denver, Salt Lake and San
Francisco, and even back in the mid
western states, that for a time the
business became extremely unpopular.
a