The San Francisco call., 1897-12-22

Ihat Jennie Zwald, a handsome young
woman Of supposedly correct deport-
nlent, had been charged with misappro-
prtating funds, had been deprived of her
piace in house where she was regard
ed. almost as invaluable has been briefly
told. That she was said to have led a
=: double life, to have been a habitue of
: questionable public resorts and the boon
cofnrade Of set not recognized in good
sQaety, is also known.
=. Whether or not the truth about Jen-
. -llie zwald would make an interesting
STORY is known to Miss Zwald. Her
tendency to take the public into her
(eQnfidence is not strongly marked.
ff9ut the various stories concerning the
yQng woman possess considerable in
::1tterest, regardless of their relation to
Vefaefty
n Miss Zwald's ex-employers, Macon
sdray: & Co, affirm that there is a
shortage of 5000 or $500, possibly more,
due to her methods. Miss Zwald as
serts:t that any shortage apparent must
. be. .ascribed to clerical error, and that
she: is financially competent to make
it:.good anyhow. Dame Rumor comes
in with q thousand tongues loose at
both ends charging Miss Zwald with
sporty young men. And with the
=. Privilege Of taking your choice of the
" assortment, there you are.
-. 1t is told of the girl on the vague
authority which sets tales af1oat-
. sometimes with some show of warrant,
but often for the pleasure of watching
them grow as they pass on-that she
could be seen in the tenderloin resorts
nightly, that she drank there in
manner both deep and habitual. 1t is
stated that on one occasion her es-
cOrt became involved in a row and
that she smOte his assailant with a
rebuking glass, bringing large guam
titles of blood. In addition to this she
is alleged to have played the races,
. either in person or by proxy, to have
. donned garb Of unseemly gaiety, yet
conforming to her general after
nightfau conduct.
OF course there is a masculine ele-
ment in the case, and he is mentioned
es tout" who not only plays his
own money, but essays with varying
success TO play the money Of others.
The suppOsition is that he was ad-
Xanced some cash by Miss Zwald, and
that il went the way most cash that
gets into the hands of a tout"
AT any rate, the accusers Of Miss
Zwald have made out a plausible case.
II.
Z = To make clear the StrangeneSS OF the
= case it must be remembered that for
: years the young woman had been with
g. AfacoRdray & Co. that the firm trusted
=: her fully, that she applied herself with
:: arliOr to her work, frequently staying
In the office over time" and having
.::tle Exclusive handling of large
- amounts Of cash. While on duty, or
:. going to or from business, her con-
:..duct was occurrences itself. Not an
: action could be construed into desire
= TO even flirt, far less to be a partici-
pant in some such as have caused
#acute pain to the Supervisors Com
:. .naittee on Morals. If all the allega-
!: tions made be substantiated, no more
striking instance of a double life has
come to knowledge since Robert Louis
. Stevenson sat I'D O night to weave
: one from an imagination tinged with
dyspepsia
The fact seems to be that Miss Zwald
was known to have done something
8 dfspleasing to the firm, and was dis
missed. Thereafter the suspicion Of p
shortage resulted in an expert taking
in hand the books so long under her
control, and finding evidence of that
which the young woman now says was
nothing more than unintentional error.
That the conduct of Miss ZWald after
her duties for the day were over has
F.. been exaggerated there can be no
= question That she could have been
. .'1nvariabIy" fitting about the ten
derloin at the midnight hour, when her
home was with her mother in Alameda,
: and she had to come thence early each
morning to the office, is out Of the
question. But as to Saturday nights?
Perhaps Miss Zwald will tell.
Meanwhile the eX-cashier, Jennie
Zwald at the office. or Mamie Will
HAMS when, according to report, she
!. assisted in nocturnal decoration of a
portion Of the city notably red already,
= does not seem to be alarmed. She
e talks with the detectives freely, defies
them to prove any criminal act and
denies the other charges, scofing with
Indignation at her indictment by the
Grand Jury of Gossip. She admits
having played the races, just for fun.
but admits nothing more. The tout
does not appear in evidence. But tout
more or less cuts little figure in an epi-
sode so sensational. A lady cashier,
posed at least temporarily, in the role
Of eribezzler, and supipUeed to have led
:: two distinct lives, one Of them model
Of virtue and industry and the other
: we'll different, is an anomaly unique
and constitutes a new problem as well
:3aA:a new theme.
III :Ihristnas cards, calendars, celluloid