The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1921-05-13
POT OF GOLD
WASLAST Seen
IN THE KITCHEN
Aged Witness Tells House Com
mittee Didn't Know What
Became OF 1t.
MRS. BERGDOLL CARRIED
MONEY IN HER STOCKING
Romig Said That They We're
Not Taking Any Chances
of Losing Certificates.
(ey The Associated Press,


WASHINGTON, May 12.-The trial
for the buried gold of Grover Cleveland
Bergdoll, draft dodger, which, a! house
investigating committee is trying to
pick up, ended today in the kitchen
of the Bergdoll home, at Philadelphia,
where it was last seen by the man
who had taken it there from the
United States treasury.
James E. Romig, aged 10, one time
police magistrate of Philadelphia, who
came to Washington with the Stacker 8
mother in the fall of 1919 to get the
gold and from whom the committee
had hoped to learn something of its
alleged burial place, declared quite
positively that he never set eyes on
it after it had been dumped on the
kitchen floor. Whether it had been
placed in bank or under ground he
swore he could not say.
The serious sessions of the commit
tee were upset frequently by Romig,
who was in a fine frame of mind de-
spite the fact that he is awaiting SEN
tence on conviction of aiding Bergdoll
to escape the draft.
The former magistrate was called
after former Judge John w. Wescott,
of New Jersey, had reiterated that
there was not a word of truth in re-
ports that he had been employed as
one of BergdolEs lawyers. Two of
the judges sons. both lawyers. and two
other lawyers associated with him
testified to the same effect.
John H. Sherburne, counsel for the
committee had not brought the Romig
story up to the point where Bergdoll
slipped through a bath room and
was adjourned until tomorrow.
Considering the other charges
against him, Romig declared he would
not stand on his constitutional rights,
but would answer any questions any
body might ask.
There was roar from members and
spectators when the witness was asked
il Bergdoll had told him to go and see
Harry Thaw and get Thaw's advise as
to the best alienists to engage in pro-
ceedings involving his sanity.
Nothing to that" the old man an
swered. "I did look around and ask
people and they told me Thaw's doc
tors were all right"
Telling of his troubles with treas
ury clerks, who tried, he said, ito stall
him off, Romig said he first saw a
part of the gold certificates which
were exchanged for gold at Mrs. Berg
dolls home. The mother accompanied
him on the trips to Washington.
Where did she carry it?' he said,
repeating question. why, she had
most of it in her stockings. It made
quite a lump but we weren't taking
chances"
When Grover first started to tell
him about the buried gold Romig as
serted he had refused to listen, declar-
ing he did not want to hear anything
about the gold question. Pressed for
a more explicit reason he said it was
none of his business.
"Why?" interjected Representative
Luhrigh, republican, Indiana.
WELL it's hard thing to tell what's
in my mind, and Romig joined in the
laughter.
Asked about the stop over at the
Bergdoll home, in the custody of two
sergeants from whom the prisoner es-
capped, Romig said the bottle of gin.
about which there has been much tes-
timony, suddenly appeared in the pool
room as if by magic. He denied that
he had taken it there, adding frankly
that he would not have carried it that
far. But it was the first time, he de-
Continued on Page Two)