Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1889-12-06
LEEDOI'S CASHIER.
a Criminal Sensation atthe Ma
tional Capital.
OVER $4,000 GONE TO CANADA.

The Embexzier Being Cashier Siicott, of
Ex-sergeant-at-ArmsL eedom's once
Most OF the Money Stolen from tho
Government, but Leedom Mulchted In
s10,0o0-Too MuchLove for Gambling
and Woman the Cause of the Crime
Details of the Crookedness.
WASHINGTON Cry, Dec &C. E. Silcott,
cashier of the sergeant-at-arms' Office Of the
last congress, is an embezzler in the amount
Of about So, 900, s72, 900 of which is govern
ment money. He has a bond filed for $50, 900,
with good security, so the government will
not suffer so severely as individuals. The
,hief sufferer will be the sergeant-at-a Of
the last house.. p. Leedom-who loses
10000 cash and is held responsible for the
shortage of Silcott above the amount which
nay be recovered from his bondsmen- Sill
,ott is supposed to be in Canada.
A Little Grsy-Headed Rascal.
The announcement of the defalcstion ere
,ted a sensation in the house Silcott was
vell-known to at least 100 of the old men,
'ers. His little, STOPPING figure and his gray
read were familiar % every one who had &C.
aston TO go 10 the office of the sergeant-at-
,rms to draw money in the last congress-
Many of the new members had become &C
tuainted with him during the past summer.
He was, to all appearances, a man of good
habits steady and trustworthy. Among his
people in Ohio he had borne IA good reputa-
ton.
Statement from Leedom.
Mr. Beeiom seems 10 take the matter quiz
etly and with some fortitude, although he
told the newspaper interviewers who crowd
I'd about him that he was in no condition TO
talk. "All of the money has been drawn
since Nov. e. he said to United Press
reporter as he sat in the back room of his
little Office. gazing at the stream Of anxious
congressman who poured in at the door to look
ut the big empty safe, and toask questions
and offer sympathy. I'VE did not suspect
anything wrong until 80 p. m. yesterday"
he continued, land had no absolute
knowledge of the extent of the defalcstion
until this morning Just before l made the re-
port of it 10 the house. Silcott went to New
York Saturday, telling me that he had to
collect some money. Sunday night he tele-
graphed 10 his wife that he would be back
Monday night. We did not know what bad
happened to him when he did not appear,
but We thought that he had been killed.
The Theft Discovered.
We never suspected the truth until his
absence became prolonged, when We began
to investigate. We did not believe the worst
until we had gone to the treasury as a last
resort, hoping that he had not drawn the
money There we found that he had drawn
| SlSS, 100 since Wednesday, apparently with
the intention of carrying it away Then l
determined TO report the matter immediate
" to the house and await its action. The
shortage Is 81 9S3. l had $1,000 in the
safe, and Silcott had a Ike amount up to
Saturday. That is all gone. l suppose Sill
colt has it with him in Canada"
silcott's Bendsmen.
Sicott came from Youngstown, O., where
he was a merchant for many years His
bond is $4,000 and his bonds1pen. fifteen in
humber, are all residents of Of7io, and in the
vicinity where he lived. The only names
which Mr. Leedom could remember among
them those of W. 4. Blair, William
Mccormick, J. 7. Wilson, r. II. Ellison and
Samuel brennan The bond is in Mr..
Leedoms private safe, out west. Mr.. Leedom
says that the bondsmen all good men.
In answer 10 a question about Silcott's
habits, Mr.. Leedom said: He seemed TO
have no more than the ordinary mans share
men have ever known. ] used 70 quarrel
with him about his wearing such cheap
clothing"
Effect on the Thiers Family.
Silcott has been cashier for about six years
He handled about S. OO0, 0OD year. He has
married son and two little daughters Mrs
Silcott is distracted Silcott's son, a young
| man who had recently married, is employed
! in the document-room of the house He was
at his work a. usual Yesterday morning when
Informed Of his fathers disappearance. The
announcement was the first ntimation that
Silcott had that anything was wrong with
his father, and the effect on him startled his
| fellow clerks. he fell to the floor in a faint.
| and then was attacked with a fit from which
he did not recover for some time. He was
taken TO his home when he regained con-
| sciousneSs.
Reported to tine House.
Mr.. LeedOrn reported the embezzlement to
the house yesterday, and a committee was
appointed TO investigate the matter The
letter from lseedom was not received by the
representatives with any manifestation Of
feeling beyond complete surprise. The mem
bers seemed thunderstorm. Rumors Of Sill
colts crime had been whispered about among
the Members, but it had not become gener-
magnitude of the deficiency had even q more
startling effect than the announcement of
the crime itself
Gambler and Rake.
While Silcott's reputation for onesty had
never been brought into question in any Of
his official transactions ii was known that
he was spending a larger amount of money
than he could afford to spend on the sal
airy he received, but this WIS explained in the
minds OF those who thought anything about
the matter by the belief that Silcott's horse
racing ventures had been successful. He was
fr-quenter Of race tracks and poolrooms
and had gained IA reputation as q heavy bst-
ter. Although Sleotts family live in this
city he did not seem to make any effort to
disguise his relations with n woman known
Louise Barrett whom he had met at a
house OF ill-fame here. On this woman be
lavished oil sorts Of luxuries. and she Is
believed to have been the principal cause of
his disgrace. The Barrett woman cannot be
found, and il is believed that she Is with
Silcott She is a French-Canadian and has
been living in Washington for three Years
Silcott recently took her from the house Of
ill-fame where they had met, and established
her in a very respectable locality
Some More Developments Possible.
Inquiry at the banks in this city where
Silcott had deposits shows that he has over
drawn his accounts, and there are reports
that large amount of his paper Is out
These reports and Like ones are being circu-
lated about tie capitol, but it cannot DO
ascertaiued definitely whether they are true
or not The fact that Governor Campbell, Of
Ohio, is said TO be on the bond of Silcott has
excited some comment here. The CORE
spondent of q western paper sent out yester-
day afternoon a dispatch stating that it was
believed that Mr.. Campbell could furnish
some interesting corroborative detail In re-
gard TO Silcott's populations
The Government No Loser.
The government will not be a loser by the
defalcation of Siloott. His sureties and those
OF Mr.. Leedom will be obliged to make up
the amount OF government money taken by
him The sergeant-at-arns carried on q reg
ular banking business through his office, and