The San Francisco call., 1897-12-25
Anxious Pals Fear Thew
Will Be Placed on
the Grill.
AccOmpliceS Of the Ex-COllectOr
Are Said to Be Quite
Numerous.
DUMMIES DREW SALARIES.
Captain Thrasher, The Bulldog of
the Service" Will Pursue
the Criminals.

Osca NJ. Welburn, late United States
Internal Revenue Collector, is missing
After he escaped unscorched from a
prosecution for embezzement he folded
his trappings and quietly sought the
seclusfon of the semi-tropical solitudes
of Mexico. The CLINT of flashing waters,
the verdure of fertile valleys, the in
spiration of snowy peaks and the
legends Of the land of love were more
fascinating to Osca than the incan-
descent searchlight of Captain Thrash
er and the tedious inquisitions of Fred
eral grand jurors.
Meantime the old red building where
the sleuths of Uncle Sam burn a light
of everlasting oil is stirred UP by many
rumors of defalcations, compared with
which all past offenses seem petty and
unworthy of mention. There is mys-
terry throughout the sepulchral re-
cesses of the Appraisers building, and
wonder perches like living entity, like
an ominous raven, over the bust of
Pallas, over the easements of every
Custom-house window, croaking in
such a way as to make many officers of
asleep over the threatening volcanoes
of an official Kilauea
When it is understood that the ram
ifications of the Great Offense for which
Welburn was roasted over the Fiery
Tortugas of the law are so far-reach-
ing as to engulf the fondest hopes of
many subordinates and of several
prominent outsiders in their tentacles
there will be no surprise that there are
some employees over whose spinal COL
umns there is a perpetual play of
chills and fever. 1t has leaked out
that Captain Thrasher was not fishing
to have Welburn put before the Grand
Jury's searchlight when his lawyers
asked Judge De Haven for an interpre-
tation of the meaning of certain sec
tions Of the Federal law. He was look
ing for accomplices, he had other game
in view, and expected to grill several
people over a vigorous fire.
Those who have noticed the inyesti-
cations of the Federal Grand Jury
lately have wondered what stories
were told by Captain Youngberg dur
ing the whispered consultations of the
national question asking body But
there is no spirit of publicity about
what transpires within the sacred in
closure of the Grand Jury room,
though there are many shrewd guess
ers within the precincts of the Gov
ernment inclosure.
1t MAY be said with a great deal of
certainty that there is something that
would smell to heaven in the Chinese
certificate business if its odoriferous
revelations could be turned loose upon
the unsuspecting public. That Well
burn had pals in the work of aiding in
dividuals to profit at Government ex-
pense there is no longer the slightest
doubt. The Chinese registration bu
reau was a great octopus which
seized many people within it's tempting
yet merciless clutch, but there are re-
Gently discovered crimes COMPARED
with which the Ciprico-F Foss forgeries
are trif1ing. When the members of
that gang were arrested and sentenced
to the penitentiary in April, 1895, it
was generally believed that there were
many possibilities of crime in the
Chinese bureau, but 1t was not sus-
pected that a prominent Government
NAAASAoiS oi0C0 NY OQlSlue SCHeInSTS ana
'grafters," was reaping a harvest
from the Mongolian branch of the
Government service. The sequel to the
old crimes is about to be divulged
now.
Just where the dart Of suspicion will
lodge until publicity and accusation
cause the blush of humiliation to cover
faces now drawn by anxiety is known
to none save Captain Thrasher, the
bulldog of the secret service-the man
whose record as terror to moon
sinners" south of Mason and Dixon's
line is known all over the country
and he is as speechless as the voiceless
lips of the sphinx of Thebes. But two
and two may be put together, and
there are mathematician who like
to do such sums in cases where the
caldron promises to give signs of vio-
lent ebullition.
Within the precincts of close guess
ing there is no better guesser than a
certain lynx-eyed loiterer about the
corridors of the United States courts
and jury rooms. Having been a Gov
ernment officer once upon a time he
knows the underground tunnels and
sees by night what others cannot see
by the light of day. His story is in
teresting, his facts bear the stamp of
official accuracy, and his revelations
are startling.
"Welburn hired a great many men
in the Chinese business" said the Fed
eral seer, land it is a dark and deep
mystery what he did with all of them,
though there are those who could say
what became Of their salaries. 1t is
well understood that many of those
who worked in the service during the
rush of 1894 did not labor more than an
hour day. The payroll for the
months of January, February, March,
April and May show that Welburn
dlsbursed $2S,0O0 for assistants. Of
this sum it is safe to say that $4,000