Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1900-05-17
THOMPSON ARRESTED.
TAKEN INTO CUSTODY WITH
THREE OF HIS CLERKS.
Signed a Sworn Statement When He
Needed Money He Took it From
Order Fund.

havana. May were is
sued this evening for the arrest of E.
P. Thompson, the Havana postmaster;
w. H. Reeves, deputy officer of the
island, and Edward Moya and Jorge
Mascara. Cuban clerks in the stamp de-
partment. and by : o'clock all were
lodged in the Nivac, the tombs of Ha-
vana. This was done under the advice
of the postal inspectors, who arrived to-
day. 1t is considered now that Reeves
is equally guilty with Nicely.
Investigation as to the record of the
clerk in the military department., who
handled several hundre dollars worth
OF stamps, proves that the transaction,
SO far as he is concerned, was legitimate.
The stamps We're purchased at the re-
quest of his brother, who is a stamp coll
lector in the United States, for $500.
They were of the old issue and were OBJ
tainable from Nicely.
The arrest of Thompson caused great
surprise in the city. 1t is looked upon
as the precursor of many other arrests.
General Wood felt. as did the special in
spectorS, that it would be better to have
the suspected persons arrested and to
give the men an opportunity to obtain
bail than to keep them indefinitely
under close supervision at a time when
the detectives We're needed for other
work.
Havana, May 16.-Postmaster E. P.
Thompson of the Havana local office
has signed a sworn statement in which
he says that on September 16 last, being
in need of money, he took from the
money order funds s435. giving his men,
orandum as a receipt for the same.
When the inspections We're held, Mr..
Thompson ordered a clerk in charge of
the money order department to place re-
mittances received that day, which
would not have to be accounted for
until the following day, sufficient to
cover the amount of his receipt, which
was Herewith withdrawn until after
the inspection. This was kept up until
April I. when the special agents uneX-
pectedly discovered the receipt, which
Mr.. Thompson then paid. He also ad-
mits that Charles F. Nicely, late fiscal
agent of posts at Havana, Endorsed a
bill for $3.50, which Mr.. Thompson had
discounted by the North American Trust
company. Thompson admits other ir-
Irregularities in connection with his de-
partment.
1t is asserted by lawyers that on Mr..
Thompson's own statement he is liable
to arrest for embezzlement, according to
the provisions of The, postal laws. which
are very explicit. Much sympathy is ex-
pressed for him. however, as it is felt
that nothing would ever lave been heard
regarding the action to which he has
confessed had not the present investi-
cation, growing out of the general postal
frauds, brought the matter to light. His
friends are positive the money would
have been repaid, the memorandum re-
ceipts~ taken up and the incident thus
closed.
AS the affair now stands, Mr.. Thomp-
sons career in the postal service must
necessarily cease. even if he escapes a
term of Imprisonment. Moreover. his
action in giving orders to postal clerks
to alter figures regarding stamps at the
request of C~orrydon Rich, without noti-
flying Mr.. Rathbone, makes things look
worse, even if he had acted %innocently
in the belief that everything was cor
rect.
Four postal inspectors arrived this
morning, and. after conferences with
General Wood and Mr.. Rathbone, imme-
diately began work.
Washington, May 6.-The confession
of Postmaster Thompson at Havana
came as a complete surprise to the
officials of the postotfice department,
who had generally been of the opinion
that among those who could not posi-
bly, be involved in fraudulent transac-
tions was Mr.. Thompson, who was re-
garded as a man of high integrity. The
postmaster general read the printed
statement, but made no comment.
Fourth Assistant Postmaster General
Bristow received his final instructions
today and left at 3 o'clock for Tampa
Fla, from which place he will sail 70,
Havana, reaching there early Saturday
morning. The only person to accom-.
pany Mr.. Bristow was his private secre,
tary. 1t was decided at the department
not to make public at present the in.
structions. given Mr.. Bristow.
Pittsburg, Pa, May 17.-Fire yesterda,