OCR Text |
Show MW NOTICE Of SUSPENSION POSTED AND WENT TO H1IWS HOPf TO THINK Sensational Denouement in Chicago's financial Stir-Up; Hering Lays Blame on fugitive President; Directors of Defunct Bank May Be Prosecuted. his personal account for the various enterprises en-terprises which dragged him to ruin." "Did he ever utilise the names of any of the employees on these notes?' Concealing Overdrafts. "I only know of one Instance. Before the last report to the State Auditor there was an overdraft of $26,000 which had to be taken care of in some manner. He got two employees" of the Co-operative store, which was the chief millstone around his neck, to sign notes for this amount, and this paper was used to conceal the overdraft over-draft "When did you first become suspicious that something was wrong?" Sick From Anxiety. "My suspicions were aroused some time ago, but I made up my mind that it was my duty to say something to Mr. Stens-land Stens-land about five weeks ago. The Infinitude of notes piled upon notes, had worried me so that I became sick from anxiety, and I went away for a few days' rest. During this time I made up my mind to speak to Mr. Stensland. Called Stensland. "When I came back I walked Into his office and said: 'Now, Mr. Stensland, you know this indebtedness ' " " 'Were you more specific as to this Indebtedness?' In-debtedness?' " "No; he- knew what I meant, for I handed him a paper containing a list of notes footing up $510,000, which I have reason to believe should ' not be among the assets of the bank - c ; i "This Indebtedness is "getting - too large I continued, 'and It, ought to be fixed up in some other way or the bank will be in trouble Promised to Fix It Up. "He sat for a moment, and then said: 'Yes, I know, but I have every reason to believe I .will have it all fixed up shortly. I think I have a buyer for my Belmont avenue and River property; I am also most certain of finding a purchaser for the Schultse property (which is right across from the bank), 'and if I can make a dicker with Watson and get possession of the whole of the Paul O. Stensland sub-division. I can sell it in a lump. Don't worry, it will all be taken care of "A moment later he said: 'I have also had an offer for my Elmwood cemetery stock, but I don't think it is enough and will hold it for a better price." -Why Stensland Left. This talk with Hering evidently was the thing that led Stensland to make up his mind to skip. The next week he spent a lot of time in the directors' room and in his own private office, locking the door so that he could not be interrupted. He worked not only during the day time, but late at night. He evidently was casting up the amount he had stolen and preparing the document which was found in his safety deposit box last Sunday. Letter to His Son. ' In the letter which his son received and which brought on the crash, he stated that in the memorandum in the box would be found a record of his Indebtedness to the bank, footing up $500,000. and also a statement by Cashier Hering of a further indebtedness of $530,000, which to quote the letter. "Hering says I owe the bank." Mr. Hering admitted last night that he bad made out this statement and it was me one submitted by him to bis chief five weeks ago, when he made a demand on Stensland to fix matters up. Stensland did not act in any unusual manner prior to his departure, showed no anxiety and carried on business in the same old autocratic way that always marked his business methods, but all the while he was getting ready for his flight. CHICAGO, Aug. 9. Henry W. Hering. , cashier of the Milwaukee Avenue State bank, looked by Paul O. Stensland of over $1,000,000. is in Chicago, says the Tribune. He bas 'not ' been . out of Chicago since Monday morning. The Police department can call in its circulars, take Its detectives off the trail and rest assured In the belief that at 1 . o'clock today, or rather, one minute after L Mr. Hering will be in the custody of Jnspector Shippy. Hering intends to give tjself up, and is absolutely confident ,tJ,t in a short space of time he can show tot the satisfaction of every one concerned that he had no part in the' robbing of the 22,000 depositors of the wrecked institution. institu-tion. . Talks of Inspection. From 9 o'clock until 11 o'clock last night -a reporter and the inspector sat on a bench in one of the city's parks. In these two hours Mr. Hering told the story of his connection with the bank from the time of his employment seventeen years . ago. until he closed h4a safe last Saturday, Satur-day, .i The cashieT does not think he can be correctly described as a fugitive from Justice. It has been stated that he ran away from town last Saturday, and various vari-ous surmises as to his whereabouts have been put forward by the police. There When Bank Closed. As a matter of fact, when Hering left the city on Saturday, he f imply went up the lake tor a day's rest. He reached . Chicago Monday morning, got on a car, and rode straight to the bank. When the car stopped at the corner he Jumped off. carrying his heavy grip. Just as he reached the edge of the sidewalk he saw . ' a man pasting the notice of the closing of, the bank on its doors. Instead of as- - cendlng the steps, ' he backtracked and , beaded down town. The pasting f tha notice on the window win-dow proved the culmination of the suspicions sus-picions aroused in his mind six or eight weeks ago that things in the bank were not right. ' Suspicions of Stensland. This suspicion was intensified by the .unexplained prolongation of the ten days absence that President Stensland said he was going to take when be left three, weeks ago last Suuday and suspicion became be-came a certainty when ho saw the mob of frenzied depositors around the bank's door. Hering thought be would like a few hours to think affairs over before he Jumped into the financial wreck, and he went to the home of a friend. , Asserts His Innocence. MK Hering is insistent in his statement state-ment that he had absolutely nothing whatever to do with any peculation of the ' bank's funds. He swears he has not profited pro-fited one penny by the irregularities brought to light. He asserts that although cashier of the bank he was merely a - clerk for Stensland; that all he Ndid viras to carry out Stensland's orders. f. He declares that Stensland's instruc-'f'ions instruc-'f'ions were such that there was no way .V their face of determining that any crooked business was going on; it was only the culmination of a number of suspicious sus-picious Incidents and the piling of note upon note to carry on Stensland's real estate operations that finally made him morally certain that thievery was rampant ram-pant in the institution, , Looks Like Cleveland. , Hering is a heavy Bet, stolid individual, looking not unlike Grover Cleveland when .be was Governor of New York. He has no nerves or has them under most absolute abso-lute control. He has a good, square, hon-" hon-" est face, with gray, unwinking eyes that look you through and through. Last Bight be bad the repose and calmness ol an innocent man, and the story he told bore every superficial evidence of being true. While defending himself with the utmost ut-most vigor, he made no wild accusations against Paul O. Stensland; he simply told what , he said was a plain, unvarnished unvar-nished statement of the rise of Stensland Stens-land and his downfall, brought about by mania for real estate Investments. Mr. Hering swears he has no knowledge knowl-edge of Just bow and when the notes said , to be forgeries were signed by Stensland. "As. a matter of fact," said he. "at this moment I do not know they are forgeries. The signatures were good enough to deceive de-ceive me." Stensland's Operations. Whenever Stensland needed money to bolster up bis operations he worked, as follows: ' "Mr. Stensland would come to my Osk." said Mr. Hering. "and say to me: U, Hr Hering, please make out a certain number of notes (the number of which be would give me) for these amounts; he giving me a memorandum of the amounts. I then made out the notes and handed them to him or sent them to him in the regular routine of business. Later, generally gen-erally the next day. they were returned to me duly signed by various people, or at least they had the alleged signatures of various pepple. "Mr. Stensland then ordered me to place them to the credit of his personal account, and would then draw checks on |