The sun., 1910-02-06
LOST, A $4,000 CERTIFICATE
BOY SENT TO BANK rs Mss
ING OVER NIGHT.
Next nay He Comes Back with Etls Par-
ents and Says He was In q Trance and
Doesn't Know what Happened 20
HIm-Charged with Grand Larceny

eut9 ana says ne was IN bTanOe anu
Doesn't Know what Happened %
Hlm-Charged with Grand Larceny
Benson Lang OF I4s Lenox avenue. a
i7-year-old messenger boy employed
by the Stock Exchange house of Horn
blower q Weeks OF A Broadway. waiked
out OF his employers Office at ii o'clock
on Friday morning with a $4,000 gold
certificate which he was to deposit in the
National City Bank. at William and Wall
streets. At IL o'clock on Saturday he
walked into the Office OF Hornbiowsr \
Weeks again. accompanied by his parents.
and reported he had lost the bill. He snid
he had been in a trance for some hours
after he went away with the money
and that he had no idea what had occurred
either to himself or to the big bill
The polics were called in and younx
Lang was put through a long cross-
examination. At the end OF that time
Detectives Wilbur and Ticho OF the
Central once took the lad to Poiloa
Headquarters. where he was locked up
on a charge OF grand laroeny. Dcteotivs
Wilbur made the complaint. Soon after
the boys pedigree had been taken John
w. Prentiss. one OF the partners Of the
stock brokerage firm. arrived 60 make
similar complaint against Lang.
Several persons saw the $4,000 gold
. certificate while it was in possession of
young Lang Lang himself adnnittad
showing IL 70 one OF his fellow messengete
named Ashland. He said that Ashiand
knew he had the bill and asked 10 see IL.
Ashland denies this. Ashland told the
police that he went down in an elevator
with Lang and that Lang pulled tho gold
certificate from his pocket and sAid:
Would you like TO see what $4,000 l3iki
looks hkel" The police also learned that
Lang showed the bill to p Mosch0vi1ee.
a Greek who keeps a candy shop near by.
Neither one OF these persons. the poles
are satisfied. knows anything Of the
whereabouts OF the missing certificate,
though the Greek had the bill In his hands
to look at
The boys own story is that after part
ing from Ashland and the Greek he put
the bill in his pocket and headed for the
bank. Ashland left him at Wall and New
streets. In Wall street. Lang said. be
had dizzy spell. Hewent on to tho bank
and up to the receiving teller Then he
discovered that the bill was gone. lfa
left the bank. he said. and went for long
walk. About this walk ne remsmtS@ss
nothing. He says he was in a sort ot
trance. He thinks be was at the Ciroia.
at FIfty-ninth street and Eighth avenus.
and probably he went into Central PARK
at that point. At any rate. he says. he
woke up in the park about dusk. He got
up and started home. Again he fell into
trance. When he came to himself this
| time he was at Lenox avenue and 10th
street. From there he went homo. tie
got to his house shortly before O'clock
in the morning. He called to his mother
and told her what had happened. Theu
he went to bed. Yesterday he told hin
father. and his parents took him down
to the brokers ONCE.
On searching the boys pockets Deteo-
tive Wilbur found two hospital cards
that showed that young Lang had bseu
receiving medical attention at both
Bellevue and st. Luke's. These cards
were issued by the out patient depart
ment and said that young Lang was
being treated for nervous trouble. Ths
pathio department and bore the nans
Of DIR. M. s. Gregory. It was dltsd
October "a. 1909. Lang had given hs
right name to the hospital authorities.
but his address was given as las East
lITth street. The GARD from st. Isukes
bore the date OF January 3. 1910 On
that card Lang's address was given as
% East Ii5th street On the back aoe
one Of these cards was a reprint of seo-
tion IS. Chapter 36S of the Laws Of fsoo.
which declares that any one obtliutny
free medical or surgical treatment FROM
any dlspensary Of n licensed hospital by
fraudulent representation In guilty Of n
misdemeanor. The police asked fang
why he gave a fictitious address I'm both
cases. His anwer was that 10 il wers
known who he really was his pafenfs
would have had to pay for his treatment.
When Lang was asked about hls nervous
trouble he said that he had dizzy speile.
when everything turned black. He said
he had never had an accident whom in
this condition.
The police asked the boy why he did
not return TO his office sooner He replied
that he didn't return sooner beoauss hs
wanted TO get advice. 70
with whom did you oonsultP- Deteo-
tive Wilbur asked him.
Il could have consulted with three-
year-Old boy IL l had wanted to-" was
his reply. Then he said that he had
consulted with his parents.
The banks. the New York Clearing
House and the Sub-Treasury were notf-
fied OF the theft OF the bin. The number
Of the bill IL not known by Hornblowsr
a Weeks. The bill was given TO them
by a customer on Friday morning and
they very soon after gave It to young
Lang TO deposit. They had employed
him about three months.
There are two kinds OF United States
gold certificates In the denomination o6
$4,000 One is payable to the order of
some bank. and must be indorssd by
the payee before tho Sub-Treasury win Y
cash it. The other kind OF oertiBcate
10 payable 10 bearer. The Hornblower 4
Wesks certificate h a bearer certi6oate.