The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-09-08
JEWELS WORTH FORTUNE FOUND
 ON TAXI FLOOR

New York, Sept. 8.-Chauncey De- pew Steele, who is skipper of the Ho- tel Algonquin in West Forty-fourth street during the summer months while Frank Case, proprietor of the Algonquin, is lolling on the sands of Sag Harbor, came into town from a little vacation of his own last Friday and engaged a taxicabi stunning itself outside of the Grand Central Station.
 An undersized chauffeur with a scar on his left cheek dropped the flag and began to conduct MT. Steele towards the Algonquin. And as the Algonquin's manager settled back among the cushions he happened to notice that on the floor of the taxi- cab was "a black alligator jewel case about the size of small travelling bag.
 MT. Steele took the jewel case unto himself and after studying the scar on the pugnaciQus cheek of the chauf- feur decided that, perhaps. it would be just as we'll to say nothing to the chauffeur about the jewel case but take charge himself of the case and whatever it might contain.
 '.I did wave the bag in front of the chauffeurs nose when leaving the taxiqab," MT. Steele told reporter yesterday. but he didn'tssee into re- coenize it and so took it into my office in the Algonquin"
 Jewelry Worth $1O,OOO
 There after comforting with him. self for a time Mir. Steele opened the jewel case by the simple process of breaking the lock. Inside were three trays of jewels. MT. Steele -blinked a bit and then began to sort out what later proved to be jewelry worth more than s1O,000. There was bar pin set with diamonds worth s2,5oO, dia- mond dinner rings, several Jewelled pins and other jewelry. And among the glitter was a solid gold mesh hand bag upon which was engraved "Ethel Croker, East Seventy-fourth street.
 It SO happens that the one time Miss Ethel Croker daughter of the ex-ch1ef of Tammany Hall, Is now Mrs Thom- as White. MT. Steele, therefore, had some trouble locating Miss Ethel Croker" over the telephone, so much trouble, in fact, that it was not until late that night that he learned, after persistent telephoning, from Mrs. Whites sister-in-law down on Long Island. the private telephone number of Mrs. White in the Seventy-fourth street house.
 Discovers Her Loss In Four Days.
 No. Mrs. White had lost nothing of value she insisted over the telephone when MT. Steele finally got into com munication with her The Algonquin manager insisted, however. that he had found something of value upon which her name was engraved, and asked her to call at his office and iden- tify her belongings.
 Daily for four days Mir. Steele called up Mrs. White to ask her whether or not she had yet learned that anything was missing from her belongings. No, she hadn't, she said. But finally came an excited call over the telephone, end- ing with tpe announcement: I'm on my way to the Algonquin"
 Mrs White had lost something, after all, said something being the jewel case and its contents. How it had got into the taxicab she said she didn't know. But she took the jewel case and contents gratefully and offered a reward, which was gently refused.
 And the stenograp pher girl in MT. Steele's office looked after the retreat ing figure of the daughter of the for mer heap big chief of Tammany and sighed: Gee! To lose all thai cracked ice for four days and not knoy it!"