Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-11-02
Stenographer in District Attor-
ney's Office Caught Stealing
Letters to Bonaparte
WOMAN AND PARAMoUR HELD
Witnesses Tell of Seeing Miss Mclean,
stonosrapher For Sims, Place Letter
in Stocking - Papers Those Relating
to Case Of Banker Walsh-case Gre
ates Sensation.

Chicago, Nov. 2.--Peeplng tnru
slsylight just above her desk. federal
secret service operative saw Miss Eta
L. Mclean, trusted stenographer, Sc
crete in her stocking the stolen copy
Of letter from United States District
Attorney Sims to Attorney General
Bonaparte.
Miss Mclean little later, having
been arrested, produced the letter from
the self-same receptacle, while in the
office of her employer, Mr.. Sims.
At the same time she confessed to
having stolen another letter written to
the attorney general several weeks ago.
Both communications related to the
John X. Walsh bank case. Miss Nc
Lean, in her fearful confession. impli-
Gated as her accomplice Alexander B.
Gordee, with whom she has been liv-
ing
From the secret service detective
who witnessed the stocking episode 1t
was learned that Gordee had gone to
Mr.. Walsh's office in the Grand Cen
trail railway depot and. presumably,
tried to negotiate for the sale OF the
first letter.
All this was brought out yesterday
afternoon at the hearing Of Miss Nc
Lean and Gordee before United States
Commissioner Mark A. Foote. They
had been arrested by government Of
ficers on the previous evening. At tina
conclusion of the preliminary inquiry
the two were sent to the county Jail
in default of $4,000 bonds.
The charge against the couple Is
conspiracy to steal and also against
the woman the actual theft Of the let
ters. For the conspiracy charge the
penalty may be two years in the penf-
Tertiary and for the second charge the
penalty may be five years, with the
addition Of $4,000 fine in either
charge
The district attorney, acting under
instructions of the attorney general, 10
trying to find out how many, If any,
secrets relating to the Walsh case or
any other important matter in the dis
trict attorneys office have been stolen
and sold by the stenographer and her
pal"
Woman Tells Everything.
The woman. it is believed, has con-
fessed everything she knows, includ-
ing all details OF her personal guilt
The man. who is ready to do anything
to save himself and seems willing to
sacrifice his accompllce, would not adj
nit that he had disposed of any in-i
formation, tho questioned until late
last evening. He would not admit he
had gone to Banker Walsh, tho there
is absolute evidence that he did, or at
least that he went to Mr.. Walsh Of
flee.
Whether there would be any further
arrests right away District Attorney
Sims could not say last night. He said
he was going after the case hard be-
cause stealing secrets OF his office or
the office of any other member of the
department of Justice Of the United
States was q great deal worse than
stealing money.
The firm name of Mr.. Walsl's attor-
neys, Ritsher, Hart, Montgomery &
Abbott, was brought into the case.
Gordee or F. Weidling-which is said
to be his real name-approached John
S. Miller soon after the first letter
was stolen. He told Mr.. Miller he had
learned that members of the law firm
employed by Mr. Walsh were to be
indicted. Mr.. Miller made no COM
ment on the statement, as he told the
commissioner, and that was the last
he'd seen of Gordee until he met him
again yesterday in court.
It developed during the hearing that
Miss Mclean had been under suspic-
ion for some time before her arrest, or
before the district attorney even be-
came aware that she had stolen a
letter on October Is. Mr.. Sims would
not disclose the basis for his suspic-
ions. 1t is believed, however, that one
reason why a grand jury that started
to investigate certain phases of the