The Sunday globe., 1901-06-09
A SCOOP"
Walter c. Purdy, a Clerk in the
G. P. 0.
CAUGHT DEAD TO RIGHTS
Stealing Money from Letters in the Document
Room Of the Government Printing 0ftOe
His Resignation, but No Prosecution FOL-
lows Son-In-LM Of Capt Brian and Step
Son Of Crook Of Tho White House.

Mr.. Walter l.. Purdy, a clerk in TIE
Government Printing Office or rather,
the document room of at Depart
ment, located in the Union Building,
resigned on Tuesday last, under threat
of arrest and prosecution for tilching
the money sent in for Government pub
ucations; and taking books from the
liens and mailing them to the parties
sending the money for the same. Mr..
Purdv is a son-inlaw of Capt Brian.
one Of the head men of the Govern
ment Printing Office He is also
step.son of Gen. Crook, Of the White
House.
1t is still fresh in the memory Of the
readers of the daily press the arrest,
conviction and sentence of young
clerk in the G street station (Union
Building) for this very crime. How
Mr.. Walter L. Purdy escapes prosecu-
tiOn is another story.
For some time he has been under
suspicion, and a close watch has been
kept on him, for, Notwithstanding that
his salary was So per diem, it didn't
seem to go around, and Walter was
ever ready to borrow from those who
had the long green to spare. 1t ap
pears the money sent to the Union
building for documents and books
came in from individuals all over the
(AnUarnmnnt h.
lications al the list prlces. Neces-
sarily the amount in any letter was
small, and ranged from one to five
dollars. The letters containing these
remittances were brought up every
morning from the postofice and dump
ed upon table. Mr. Purdy had access
to the table and handled the letters
He easily discovered the ones contain
ing remittances, and these he would
filch and, retiring to some private
place, generally the male toilet room,
rip open the letters and appropriate
the contents His next move was ex-
ceedingly shrewd. He would have the
books thus ordered and paid for wrap
ped carefully print the addresses on
the typewriter, pasting on each book
its proper address and the registry
thrown in to the regular mail basket
of the document room, and no one was
any the wiser.
How long Mr.. Purdy has been en-
joying this snap, and how he was de-
tected, The Globe is unable to state,
but from the best information obtain
able, il was about as follows;
Some of the books were wrongly ad
i 80,
the document room. The typewriter
address was noticed and no record be-
ing attainable of the book having ever
been sent out or paid for, suspicion was
aroused and a watch set to catch the
thief.
1t took some time for suspicion to
light on Mr. Purdy. Almost everybody
else was under surveillance before the
trap was set for such an important per-
sonage as the sonin-law of Captain
Brian and the step son rf President
McKinley's confidential attache, Gen.
Crook.
Tuesday last, however, he was
caught dead to rights" by Captain
Ferrpl sup' r'rt' ndo"f # 'ho doCu-
ment room, and in less than ten min
utes the news was in possession of the
editor Of the Globe. From Tuesday
until the document room was closed
last evening Terrell, Mahony & Co.
have scarcely done another thing than
hold conferences and decide on meas
ures to keep the news from the press
and especially from the Sunday Globe
1t was dead easy to keep the occur
renee from our sleepy contemporaries,
but when the cOterie In the Union
Building thought to hide it from the
Globe, a simple miscalculatiOn was
made, that's all The Globe is argus
eyed. as the Government chiefs Of De-
partments and the danes of influ-
ence" realize at length, and nothing in
the nature Of the scandal in the Archl-
tects Office. the racket in the Treasury
Department, the Generalization in the
Sixth Auditors Office, or the thieving
in the Government Printing Office doc
ument room can be hidden from us.
Captail Ferrell timed Mr. Purdvs
entrance to his usual hiding place, and
either saw or heard the unfortunate
young man tear open the letters and
abstract the money. The book, which
Purdy had himself taken to the post
Office and mailed, was brought back
and the trembling man was confronted
with the irrefutable proofs of his
guilt
A hurried consultation was held by
the heads Of the office, and it was final
~ determined to give him the alter
native of immediate resignation or ar
rest
or course, If it was some poor devil
whose father.in-law and step-father
and other family connections we're not
professional oflice-hOlders, there would
be no alternative offered the culprit
A call in the station.house and a trip
to Moundsville penitentiary would be
the natural order Of the program. But
this kind Of treatment for young
Purdy would be against all preCedents
where influential friends and relatives,
from the Presidents house to the
Bryan mansion would be involved in
the scandal, so the thing was hushed
up
This young man had, as SEATED, s5
per diem. He averaged about three or
four hours work each, day, and that
OF the most trihing character. He
went and came when he pleased He |