The San Francisco call., 1907-02-06
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MARTINEZ, Feb. 5.-While 1t was
clearly established today that the
death of County Treasurer George A
Wiley was a case of premeditated sui
eide, no definite evidence developed as
to his alleged peculations from the
public funds. Nothing conclusive will
be known until Friday morning at 10
o'clock, when the vaults will be opened
and the money counted by District At
torney II. V. Alvarado and J. H. Tryth-
ALL chairman of the Board of Super
visors. The delay in ascertaining the
condition of the accounts is out of
Difference to the wishes of the county
officials and in respect to Wileys mem
ory.
The Metropolitan Surety Company of
San Francisco, which bonded the late
treasurer on January l last, declares
that it entertains no fear as to the
condition of Wiley's finances, and
Charles II. Hayden, local agent OF the
company, asserts that there will be
very little, II anything, to make good.
The rumors of misappropriation OF
the funds gained considerable credence
today when it became known that Dep
uty Treasurer E. E. Webster made
secret visit to the Wiley home at 1880
o'clock yesterday morning and asked
Mrs. Wiley to tell her husband to come
to the office at once, as there was i'm
portant business to transact. This mes
sage was at once delivered to Wiley,
who had not yet arisen, and he re-
piled that he would get up immediate
ly. A hall hour later the shot that
ended his life rang out in the bedroom,
and with his dying breath Wiley told
his family that 1t was an accident
that the revolver had slipped"
Now the question Is being asked,
did Webster know Of a shortage; did
Wiley fear that this was the i'm
portant business that he was to tran
sact upon his arrival at the Office, and
did he send bullet through his heart
and disgrace which would inevitably
follow his exposure when the cash was
counted?"
Webster seemed perturbed this morn
ing when asked the object of his visit
to the home of the treasurer and de-
clared that there was no significance
to be attached to It. He explained that
he merely wanted Wiley to go to the
office a little earlier than usual, as
there was a large amount Of work to
do. Though o'clock was the appoint
ed hour for both Treasurer and deputy
to begin work, Webster says that he
wanted to begin at or $3.50 yesterday.
Just what they could have done without
opening the vaults, the time lock for
which should have been set for 9
o'clock, Webster could not explain.
A rumor was circulated that Wiley
had changed the lock to read o'clock
for yesterday, but the deputy would
neither deny nor affirm the story.
There was between 100000 and
s15o,000 in the vaults" said Webster,
but I. do not think that Wiley touched
cent Of 1t. The funds at this time
of the year are swelled considerably
by the tax receipts and we had more
In the treasury than usual" He ad-
mits, as does W. A Hale, cashier of the
Bank of Martinez, that Wiley visited
the bank a few days before the first
of the present month and drew the
last $1,000 therefrom- Webster declares
that this was done at the instigation
Of w. S. Timing, president of the in
stitution, to set at rest certain rumors
circulated last year to the effect that
the bank was using the county funds for
its own ends. Hale claims that last
April he required Wiley to draw some
$4,000 from the bank, as he did not
wish to be bothered about the reports
He declined today to answer a query
as to whether Wiley still kept his per-
sonal accounts at the bank, but in
sisted that personal grievances had
nothing whatever to do with the trans
fer of county funds.
webster states that 1t would have
been practically an impossibility for
Wiley to appropriate the funds for his
own use. The defendant says that he
was always present when the vaults
were opened each morning at o'clock
and locked at 5 each evening. In the
event of Wiley's absence Mrs. Wiley
was always on hand to see that the
1nqke in Cnndiffnn 10 lie
prostrated with grief and cannot be
seen.
The Board OF Supervisors met this