The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1900-03-12
MASTER IS GONE
Ernest Stevenson of Diamond
vile, Wye, Short in Accounts.
AMOUNT is NOT KNOWN
LEFT A WEEK AGO APPARENT
LY TO MAKE A VISIT.
Stevenson Removed His Personal Eff
fects Carefuily-Is Said to Be
Short in His Accounts With an
Insurance and a Building and
Loan Company, Too.
Especial TO The Heraldl

AOpblld1 10 ne
DiamOndville, Wyo., March Ida
mondville is short a postmaster and
some other portion of the globe is cor
respondingly enriched. The town was
thrown into d fever of excitement on
Saturday morning by the report which
became current that Postmaster Ernest
Stevenson was short in his accounts
with the government and had abseond-
ed.
For some time there were many who
refused to countenance the story, be-
lieving that his absence was only tenn
pOrary, perhaps on business, but after
further investigation il would appear
that the report is only too true. He
left town on Monday afternoons, March
8, requesting his assistant to run the
office for a day or two stating that he
desired to see Walter Fenner, a promi-
nent ranchman living about ten miles
from town, on important business and
would not be gone longer than We'd
nesday afternoon at the farthest.
Did Not Return.
Thursday and Friday came and he
did not return, but no suspicious were
aroused nor any remark made, as it
was known that he was a friend of
Mr.. Fenner's family and was perhaps
/ AidhAiS q l+lHSEE Visit l0du ne duLlCl-
pated. On Friday evening, however, an
officer appeared with attachments
which were placed upon the stock of
candies, cigars ard stationery, which
business Mr.. Stevenson operated in
connection with the pOstoffice. Not lik-
! ing the appearance of things, the as
sistant postmaster called in Mr.. Stew
ensons bondsmen and after a hasty
! examination of the books wired the
/ postoffice department to send an in
! spector.
| The examination Of his books disclos-
/ es a shortage but the amount cannot
! be ascertained until his statement of
| r9mittances has been verified. If the
/ remittances which appear upon the
/ books have in reality been made, the
amount will be small AS he carried
away or destroyed, IL he received them,
some of his remittance receipts, moth
| ing definite can be learned until the
| arrival of the Inspector.
Well Laid Plan.
/ An investigation of his personal eff
/ fects disclosed that he had little By
little removed almost all of his clothing
/ from his room, so that its absence was
| never even noticed by his roommate.
| Nothing was removed the absence of
which would cause remark or suspic-
( ion. All his personal correspondence
was destroyed. A few unimportant let
tiers We're found.
| From letters which have been receiv-
ed since his absence addressed to him
and which have been opened it appears
that he is also short with the Columbia
! Building & Loan association of Denver
| and with the Denver agency of the
Phoenix Insurance company, for both
of which he was agent, He is also
quite heavily in debt for merchandise
and borrowed money. 1t has been as
| certained that he did not leave on Mon
day night, but remained in Kemmerer
a neighooring town, and probably got
away on the Tuesday mornings train OF
on some freight train. At any rate. he
is surely gone and his whereabouts are
! unknown. Every Sherlock Holmes in
town has had his guess and has located
him anywhere from Cape Nome tc
! South Africa.