The San Francisco call., 1897-06-21
SEWELL IN
THE NORTON
SCANDAL
A New Federal Sleuth
Pulls at the Tangled
Thread.
THE GAY LIFE LED
EVERY NIGHT.
Stories That the Cashier Plunged
and Bought Much
Wine.
THE LOCAL OFFICE MANAGED
LOOSELY.
In Chicago and New York There Are
Safe Checks on Cashiers Who
Sell Revenue Stamps.
THE LOCAL OFFICE MANAGED
LOOSELY.
In Chicago and New York There Are
Safe Checks on Cashiers Who
Sell Revenus Stamps.

The chief news features in the Norton
defalcation yesterday were the arrival Of
Special Internal Revenue Agent Sewell of
Washington, D. c., and the more detailed
discovery OF Norton's escapades in SHADY
circles under the pseudonym of o. II.
Welburn.
The further the Investigations go the
more apparent it is that every body about
the Collector was lax in methods and that
the revenue agent did not do his work.
The queer peccadiIlos of the dead
cashier, wherein he passed himself off as
Collector Welburn, were very numerous.
The fact that it was his custom to have
rolllcking times after the shades of night
had fallen, going under Mr.. Welburn's
name, was published exclusively in
1.-THE Cau' yesterday. 1t was
learned yesterday that it was the cashiers
custom to get passes to theaters and like
places in the same manner, the favors
being granted under the belief that Mr..
Welburn got the benefits conferred.
Those who accom- panied Norton during
such sprees are naturally very reticent as
to what occurred, for any man VINO spent
an evening with him under such circum-
stances was equally guilty with Norton in
aiding and abetting the preparation of
fraud. The stories regarding such epi-
sodes have come to Collector Welburn
from many sources. with tuII details, and
these post-mortem revelations have in a
manner relieved his mind of great bur-
den, because the stories were very numer-
Gus and annoying TO his wife as well as TO
the Collector.
On one occasion Norton went to a re-
rf haxyc eIa TI.fc Il
large quantities of Pommery for watch.
men, workmen and others, having some
drunken women with him who went
through nude dane S, the hula-hula and
orgies that belong TO persons dead to all
shame.
So many stories of similar character
are coming to light that there is now
no doubt that Norton led life as wild and
last as man could lead while making any
pretense of carrying on any regular voca-
tlon. He was good customer of many
hackmen, paying some of hem as much
as $50 and $50 a month. As he continued
his gambling and embeZzlements he grew
more and more reckless, and even Dor
rowed money of his best friends; but
stranger than all else, he impressed every
body as a man of unusual rectitude and
financial honor.
An employe of another department
OF the Federal service one day heard As
sistant Agent Thomas request Agent
Cromw well to look into Norton's accounts.
but Cromwell said, "0h, Ike is all right"
and the matter was never pursued any
further.
1t is the general opinion that there has
not been thorough revenue agent here
tor years-perhaps until now, for If there
had been anything like a thorough ex-
animation Of accounts by an agent the
defalcations could never have lasted for
more than few months at most.
agent McGlacnin was a good man. but
hard drinKer. who got into serious trou-
Die while laporlng under a great nervous
excitement few years ago by shooting at
man. be made many friends among
retah liquor men, but did not overwork
himself trying to detect frauds in the Gov
ernment service
Agent Cromwell spent great deal of
tlme at the races, and seems TO have be-
Ieved Norton to be one of the most honor.
able men he had ever seen.
The agents and detectives of the
National Surety Company, whose busi-
ness 1t was to look after assured persons
seem to have been equally derelict, for
they did not discover the cashiers short |
ages. nor did they ever report to Collector
WeIburn that Norton's method of Living
was one calculated to shake the conf |
dence of the company and the mans !
friends. The further Investigations 90 |
the palmer it is TO be seen that all VINO
came in contact with the cashier were led |
to believe that his conduct was all ri hi
yet all the time there was large circle of |
people who must have known that he was |
leading the pace that kills.
Special Agent Sewell who arrived YES
terday, spent the day in familiariZlnp
himself with the routine of the Collector's
office. His chief work here will be of a
perfunctory order, for Captain Thrasher
has cleared away the underbrush and
completed most of the work, so that all
the special will have to do will be to ap-
prove the final accounts.
1t is the custom of the agents TO keep
all facts secret until their report is sent TO
the Internal Revenue Department at
Washington, and they say they will in no
manner vary the custom in this case, so
the exact figures will not be given until
the Collector himself makes them public.
as he ls the only person who may do so
without violating rules of the department.
One of the new things in the next few
days is the com plete reorganization of the
Collectors office. Mr.. Loupe, besides be-
ing very i'll, Is not disposed to continue,
because blame has been cast on him for
not counting the stamps and Tor taking
the word of Norton IN matters he re-
porteo to the Collector. Again, it is not
probable that he will want 10 continue
while things are in such a tangle. His
large vaults, to which no one but himself
had access, are all right and none of the
departments that came under his sole SUI
pervision have been found wrong in any
particular, nor does anybody accuse him
III any way of being dishonest in the
slightest degree.
Collector Welburn has been a very busy
man Tor years, for his district is q very
large one. Besides his Office here he has
one IN many other places-Los Angeles,
Fresno, San Jose and San Dego-as his
district extends all the way to Yuma. He
says he had to trust a great part of the
business to mis- deputies, and that he had
implicit confidence that Mr.. Loupe was
carefully counting all OF Norton's STAN DIS
and that the accounts were right in every