March 24 Thursday – Franklin G. Whitmore wrote a letter for Sam to Charles Webster. The formal, business-like letter was essentially Sam’s agreement to the course Webster intended to pursue in recovering assets from the embezzler, Frank M. Scott [MTP]. Note: Powers writes, “Clemens castigated his nephew for advocating leniency on the thief out of consideration to Scott’s wife and three children,” [MT A Life, 514] yet this letter shows the course of action was Webster’s idea which Sam agreed to. Likewise Sam’s letter of Mar. 28 establishes Sam’s agreement with Webster’s recommendations. In fact, no letter from this period from Sam to Webster shows any major disagreement on prosecuting Scott.

The Scott affair stimulated another biographer to come to an even more startling conclusion, that Webster and Daniel Whitford colluded with Scott to line their own pockets. This from A. Hoffman:

Nearly 20 percent of the general agents for the Grant book had defaulted on their payments, with accounts in excess of $80,000; more than a year later Charley had taken no steps to reclaim the money. When Sam demanded an accounting, Charley replied he could make none because Scott had destroyed the books. Why was his nephew-in-law so recalcitrant? It is probable that Webster, with the help of Daniel Whitford, colluded with the general agents through the bookkeeper [Scott] for his own benefit. It is also possible that the other two thirds of Scott’s embezzled funds had already made their way into his cohorts’ accounts. Sam suspected, but did not know, the range of Webster’s betrayal [339].

This view ignores the fact that it was during Scott’s illness that Webster (and possibly Whitford) took it up to scrutinize Scott’s books and blew the whistle on falsifications through the hiring of an expert (see Mar. 11 account). If Webster and Whitford had been co-conspirators, why then would they help to expose the theft?

John H. Suter for Union Veterans Assoc. of Maryland sent Sam an invitation for the 22nd annual banquet on Apr. 8 in Baltimore — “come and be one of the boys” [MTP]. Note: Sam went; see Apr. 8.