Maryland independent. [volume] (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1874-current, 1897-10-15
WOMAN is AN eMsezzl.eR.
Alice NJ. Bnrrctt's Case ! isproves the
scxis Innate Honestly.

Alice NJ. Bnrrctt's Case iisproves the
sex's Innate Honesty.
Ever since woman entered the do
main OF active business. accepted and
performed the duties of trust an6 re-
sponsibility, Il has been urged that the
gentler sex Is essentially honest. A
woman embezzler has been regarded as
an Impossibllity. The sex has not been
sufficient 10 protect them from the
commission Of other crimes. but that
one would deliberately steal from un
employer and endeavor to conceal the
defalcation has been considered Of the
things not possible to nature
This dream of superiority in innate
honesty received rude shock when
the tragic fate Of Miss Alice NJ. Bar
rett, the Boston bookke eper and stenog-
rapher. showed thnt under the same
temptation and with the same incent.
Ives at work. there can be and is but
little-dlfference In humanity. whether
clad In skirts or trousers. Sad as II Is
to the sorrowing relatives, sad as II
may seem TO all who sympathize with
them in their double bereavement, the
evidence was too direct to admit Of
doubt. The young woman not only took
the funds Of her employers, hut, fenr-
ing the inevitable exposure Incident to
a change In the makeup of the firm.
followed In the footsteps of so many OF
the same class. She ended her own
life rather than face the consequences
of exposure.
The story of the death and all OF the
circumstances surrounding 1t has been
told. The fact that an effort had been
made TO destroy the cash book by fire
YVES known within day after the fact
was known that bullet and not light
ming caused the death of the attractive
young woman.
Scarcely anyone could be surprised
at the result of the examination of the
firms books. after her mother had id
mltted that the girl had lived on a scale
that her salary could not possibly JUS
iify, and after It had been shown that
the girl had suffered serious losses in
wildcat speculation. A complete chain
Of circumstantial evidence had been
forged. II shows that Alice Barrett
was extravagant in her expenditures,
that she gambled in stocks, that she
took her employers money In order to
keep up tbs speculation, that she set
FIRE to the books In order to conceal the
defalcation, and perhaps with the In
tention OF destroying the building In or.
der to do so, and that she finally shot
herself in order to avoid fncing the dis
covery and disgrace which she sup
posed threatened her.
She was endowed with a lively i'm
agination. She did not care for men
nor for marriage, at least 4 marriage
which would pinion her to the ordinary
duties of housewife In one of her
letters she said she preferred TO sip her
own cup OF tea alone and only stipulat-
ed that the tea should be Of good quail
ity, and that she should not be obliged
to drink It out of cracked cup. She
thought she was denied opportunity
and she attempted to create II. Some
where or somehow she had heard Of
the wonderful things done in the buck
ct shops Here, she thought, was n
quick road TO wealth, lot wealth for Its
own sake but for the sake of the OPP
portunities It would give her. She lost,
and to cover this made false entries in
the books.
1t appears that Miss Barrett had
been pursuing this dangerous course
for about year, when the awful day,
Of reckoning came. Tie books, upon
examination, show very clearly when
she began to appropriate her employ
er's money and the clerks recollect the
fact that about the same time there
was a marked change In the personal
appearance of Miss Barrett. Her man
ner of dressing became more elaborate,
her clothing was of the richest ma
terlal and expensive jewelry figured In
her adornments. These things were nc-
counted for by the young lady to the
satisfaction Of her mother, but In order
to explain these things the favorite
child of her mother had to resort 10
further deception.
The first venture in speculation had
proved a failure, but. added TO her de-
sire for fincry, the fever of speculation
had taken possession of her. She es-
sayed second ventureend wentinto tho
mire deeper and deeper. Each succeed
ing loss seemed but to make her the
more determined. for she hoped that
success would yet come to her.
Miss Barrett's position in the office Of
Goldman & Goldman made 1t possible
for her to carry on this work with little
fear of detection. 1t is not believed
that Miss Barrett intended to steal out
and out her employers money, but that
she was merely using it rs means to
an end, She hoped to succeed and make
good what she had taken.