The San Francisco call., 1899-05-05

o..osSos.o'.Q = ttsossts'o' o'o'os''''~'5'
titv to all who approached him during the
afternoon. The news OF his arrest hau
spread through the building, and as many
Government employees as could get the
leisure were on hand when the prisoner
was taken before Judge de Haven 10 he
identified as the person called for in the
warrant which had been sworn out by
Marshal Shine. The courtroom was com
fortablv filed with men each Of whom
knew Welburn well and who had no DIM
Guilty in recognizing his well-knoWn Ieal-
ures under the tan of the recent exposure
10 the sun Some of them nodded 10 him
and others approached to speak TO MN
and grasp him by the hand. Each ana
all Of them he looked square in the eye
without a glance of recognition, Nenturlns
no remark to any greeting other than that
he did not know any Of them ana thaL
they were mistaken in his identity.
This sort of reception was calculated TO
shake the faith of even a Federal official.
and several were not quite so certain that
IL was Welburn after all Deputy MofIltt
was not one Of these He took the stand
and positively identified the prisoner as
the man described in the warrant, and
that settled it. Welburn was taken back
To- the Marshars Office, where he asked
leave to write a note. When he had mn
ished it was handed to a district messen-
ger. and the suppostion that ii was sent
to the son of the prisoner was confirmed
later in the day, when the boy called on
his father at the County Jail. After that
visit Welburn did not deny that he was
the long-looked-for eX-Collector. He was
asked if he persisted in denying that he
was Welburn, and replied:
Il guess there is no dispute on that
point" Beyond this he refused 10 make
any statements.
While ii would be impossible to make
mistake as to the identity of the prisoner,
once attention was called 10 him, those
who saw Welburn yesterday could not
help noticing the wonderful change that
had come over the manner OF the man
they once knew so we'll He is almost OF
another mold. only the strongly marked
features being unmistakable, notwith-
standing the fact that they are minus the
beard that graced the revenue collector
and that they are darkly tanned from eX-
posure in a military camp. The blue eye
Is unmistakabIe as well as the long
lower law. while the bald spots that
marked Welburn as many years older
than the "Bedell" he claimed to be are
not to be concealed by the close hair crop
of the soldier The life in camp has also
made a shapelier figure than that which
was so we'll known in the tenderloin in
the halCyon days of Welburn's greatness.
Il is above anything the figure of the sol
der. erect, we'll knit, muscular and ac-
tive. with all the grace that comes from
attention to drill. The man looks many
years younger than he did in the days
of his trouble, but no one would say that
he was as young as he entered himself in
., Ia y
more than SO.
What NVelburn has been doing with
himself is probably only known to him
self. although, judging from the ease
with which he had the note conveyed to
the address of his son 1t Is more than
likely that the members of his family
have heard from time to time of his wan
derings.
The fact that he enlisted is taken as
proof that he had little If any left Of the
moneys that passed through his hands and
are said not to have been turned into the
proper governmental channel. His ply
sical condition shows also that he has
proceeded on a different career from that
he followed in this city before his down
fall. He shows all the evidence of having
led a sober life for months. He will need
the constitution he mas nursed since his
fight TO carry him through the trial he
Will have to face.
The story Of Welburn's downfall is ia
miliar TO every newspaper reader in the
State. The exposure came with the sui
eide Of Isaac Norton. who was his cashier
and who left a note saying that he was
short in his accounts to the extent of
many thousand dollars. This led to an
investigation of the internal revenue Of
fee and the subsequent indictment of
Welburn for embezzlement. He disap-
peared before a warrant could be served
upon him and was not found for several
days afterward. He was brought to trial
and after many days a jury in the United
States District Court October -, 1897
brought in a verdict of mot guilty
Weburn was discharged, and while there
were rumors that he would be indicted
for other alleged misdeeds in office, nc
move was made against him. He must
have been satisfied, however, that danger
menaced. for he disappeared about
Christmas time of that year. Some days
after his flight the United States Grand
Jury brought in the indictment under
which he is now held.
Welburn's bondsmen were Daniel NJ
Burns and Thomas H Williams who hac
gone surety for him in the sum of $40-
co., Suit was begun against them some
time ago to recover the shortage in the
Office made by the 6efalcation Of lsaa,
Norton. That suit has not yet come tC
Welburn will be taken before United
States Commissioner Heacock this morn
ing, when the date of his preliminary
hearing will be set. The prisoner will
probably be represented by Frank H
Gould, who defended him in his forme
trouble.