Barrett's Scoop

To the desk of City Editor James W. Barrett in the noisy city room of Hearst's New York American fortnight ago came the tip: "Sherwood's around."

The words were exciting, galvanic. Accountant Russell T. Sherwood, so-called "fiscal agent" of slick Ex-Mayor Jimmy Walker, had run away two years ago when a legislative committee wanted to ask him who actually owned the $1,000,000 which allegedly had passed through his bank and brokerage accounts. His was the testimony, never obtained which would definitely have nailed down the corruption case against Walker, or quashed it. Shortly after skipping town Sherwood turned up briefly in Mexico City with a new wife. Since then, no trace. The Press, which takes enormous pride in finding fugitives when authorities fail, continued working on the case, none more diligently than white-fringed "Jim" Barrett, whom Hearst got when the New York World expired. Editor Barrett sent Reporter Allen Norton, an old World man, to prowl about the Sherwood apartment in Brooklyn, whither Mrs. Sherwood had long ago returned without her husband. Mrs. Sherwood had moved away. Newshawk Norton dug up a neighbor who happened to remember the name on the moving van which carted the Sherwood furniture. The moving company was persuaded to open its books, and there was the new address, in East Orange, N. J. under the name of Fuller, a Sherwood brother-in-law. Newshawk Norton hurried to East Orange, watched the Fuller house until he was convinced that the Sherwoods were there, although he caught no glimpse of Sherwood himself. Then City Editor Barrett confided in William Duggan. Collector of Internal Revenue, who, it turned out. had been negotiating a $49,500 income tax lien with Sherwood through the latter's attorney but did not know where Sherwood was. Would Collector Duggan "play ball" with the American? He would. A rendezvous with Sherwood and his lawyers was arranged in a Hoboken saloon, where Sherwood was safe from a New York contempt-of-court citation (and $50,000 fine). Next morning the American burst out with the neatest, most spectacular scoop that Manhattan had seen in a long time.

The American's triumph did not end with finding Sherwood. Sheltered by his lawyer on one side and friendly Collector Duggan (who called him "Russell'') on the other, Sherwood would not talk much but he did make one statement that was bursting with implication. He denied that one penny of the vast sums in his accounts had ever belonged to him.

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