The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1911-06-17

law Ol congress.
The subject matter of this sale con-
sisted of the property and effects Of
American citizens who had died in
foreign lands and which had been I'M
claimed by relatives or heirs of the
deceased persons. For the last half
century this property has been col
lected from all quarters of the globe
from all manner of sources, chiefly
through the agency of United States
Consuls, Ministers and Ambassadors
abroad.
There finally accumulates such
mass of this unclaimed property that
the Treasury Department. recently
called upon Congress to authorize
sale of it, which was accordingly
done. There were nearly a hundred
dead men represented at the sale
and by every kind of personal effect.
It was a collection of "ships and
shoes and sealing wax and cabbages
and kings" Old heirlooms, trinkets,
jewelry, strange money of strange
countries, guns, watches, prayer
books, diamonds, and forged bills Of
exchange were a few of the items
put on the block to be Knocked
down" to the bargain hunter The
sale was attended by several hundred
people, and the articles sold brought
in many cases ridiculously high
prices.
A lot of Guatemalan money of the
face value of 500, for instance Cleft
by one Elmer Porter, who died an
unknown number of years ago in that
country, and which is practically
worthless to an American, was, after
spirited bidding, sold for $24. The
purchaser did not state what he ex-
pected to do with it. The most val
unable thing sold was a pair of dia-
mond earrings, left by Mrs. Hartsuff,
whose place of death is not recorded.
The pair brought $S7.
Pocket-books predominated, mostly
empty Of contents Then came rings
rings of every description from the
diamond to the plain gold band, and
in one case, twenty-four rings that
were merely marked cheap"
Watches, mostly of cheap make
were also much in evidence; they
were for the most part of the gold
filled or silver type, but sold fal
above their value in many cases, illus
trating the Great American passion
! for being done" in a bargain. Ais
| revolvers were frequent; these, toe
sold at a good price. OF cours
bibles, even a polyglot bible, were no
missing, and there was an occasiona
prayer book; but the revolvers out
numbered both these-and the bibles
only brought twenty-five cents apiece
One American citizen who died il
far-off Cathay, left only a box of cart
ridges. There was no name attache;
to his Chest" and he was merely
! designated as number 112. One woul;
like to know more of a man who hat
seen fit to cash in" that far from
home and leave an estate so essen
TALLY belligerent.
While these articles were the prop
erty of those who had died in strange
lands and without friends either Their,
or at home-a fact that should have
invested the proceedings with some
solemnity and sentiment-there wai
little of either present during the
sale 1t was strictly a business affair
as though it had been a clearing-ou
sale after a fire loss.
Not even did the auctioneer at
tempt to dwell upon the romance tina
must surround the belongings Of ;
wanderer who had died in Tibet, o.
the SHOWS of the Andes; he sung hi
sing-song, Going. going, going.
with the same placid monotony tina
he had half an hour before auctioneC
off a secondhand set of bedroom fur
niture.
Altogether the government cleaned
up nearly 5000 on the sale-which il
small reward for the trouble it hal
been put to in collecting from al
parts of the earth and conserving tn
heterogeneous collection. Yet ever
that money it will not get
THE cash brought at the sale,
said Charles H. Butler, chief of tn
Diplomatic and Consular Division Q
the Auditor of State, which is
branch of the Treasury, will D
turned into the Treasury to tn
credit of each dead mans estate.
his heirs should ever turn up, it wi
be paid to them.
Such an event is hardly likel!
however, since most of the men hav
been dead for years, and when tn
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