Salt Lake Tribune | 1915-08-15 | Page 14 | Scale has Weighted Wealth of Croesus

SCALE HAS WEIGHED WEALTH OF CROESUS Balance in Assay Office Has Seen Much Gold in Oregon Trade. Fine gold, millions of dollars worth of it, has poured into aud out of the pans of a balance in the possession of J. L. May, malter of the United States assay office. The .balance, however, is not a part of the equipment of the assay as-say ofriee. Beside the weighing devices there it is a homely contrivance, indeed. But if tho tarnished bras? pieces of it could toll their experiences to the polished pol-ished fixtures of tuo assay office scale room, tho story must enthrall even the inanimate apparatus. Tho balance was recently presented to Mr. May by M. Jt. Kricbeh manager of the life division of the Pacific Const Mutual Insurance company, Mr. Kriebel received it twenty years ao Rs a present from Captain A. M. Himpson of the Simpson Lumber & Shipbuilding company, Oregon. The balance was brought from London, England, to Coos bay m 1850 by Captain Simpson, says Mr. Kriebel, and was used by him in making change in gold dust during the many yearB that he was a trader in the Oregon country. A note attached to the scale reads: Brought from London to Coos ' ; bay in 1S50 by Captain A. M. Simpson. Simp-son. All gold taken from the Eoque and Coos river country for thirty-five thirty-five years thereafter was weighed on this balance. Tarnished as it Is, the balance still retains its delicacy. Mr. May is trying to decide whether he should polish it up until it shines to vie with the scales in the office where he works of leave it Fn the eloquence of its present dulled appearance. ap-pearance. With the balance are two sets of weights. One Bet is designed for weighing in ounoes and fractions thereof there-of up to one pound troy. The first set are of turned .brass and'apparently were supplied -with the balance when it was purchased in London. All together make one pound in a solid piece, the weights sitting inside each other like successive cups. The other set of weights are of rougher workmanship, square in shape. They are said to have been provided for trading with the Russians Rus-sians who came across Behring sea.