The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1869-08-10
ExTRAORDINARY DEFALCATION.
Arrest Of the Gambler who won S6O,OOO
from the Defaulter.

Arrest Of the G"mbleT who won 100000
From tAc Chicago Tribune Of Aug. l.
About six months ago certain revelations were
made public regarding the defalcations, to n
very serious extent, of Charles Durham, young
man i'm the employ of the Chicago Dock Com
pany. lie had been for some time employed as
a clerk in the Dock COmpanys office, and had
been promoted to the position of cashier, having
the handling of considerable sums of money. 1t
was suspected for some time that Durham was
not rendering a strict account of his transactions
to the company Large sums of money went
amissing from time to time, and the young man
was at the same time known to be on terms of
intimacy with one Michael Mcdonald, n noto-
rious gambler of this city, Rumors were aGoat
that Mcdonald had won heavy sums from Dun
ham-as high, even, as 100000 or S50,000-and
his employers. on making inquiry into the cir
cumstances, discovered good deal more than
they were willing to make known to the public.
They endeavored to hush up the matter, and
when public statement of these rumors was
made. they seemed highly reluctant to reveal the
full extent of their cashiers embezzlem ents.
At length, however the matter was so freely
discussed that COnCealment became Impossible,
and i'm order to prevent the worst consequences
to his victim, Mcdonald sent Dunham out of the
city. At that time the extent of his defalcations
were currently stated to be about $4,000,
although it was generally believed that they
amounted to n much larger sum. 8Hs
Dunham disappeared, and from that time to
the present nothing definite has been known as
to his whereabouts. Pinkcrtons detective force
were put in operation. and he was followed up
from place to place, but never caught The de-
tcctvc- have been close on his track all the time,
sometimes coming within few days of him, and
sgain arriving It one city only to find that he
aad lust dCCampcd to the next. About week
hncc the fugitive wrote a letter to Mcdonald, in
this city, stating that he was reduced to ablCct
poverty. and begging the author of his ruin to
send him some money. This appeal Mcdonald
magnanimoUSly complied with. But the young
man appears to have tired of a vagabond life and
starvation, and yesterday, we are informed, he
came back to Chicago, determined to make a
clean breast of the whole transaction. He went
to his old employers, il is alleged, and revealed
| to them the nature of his dealings with McDo-
| nad who it seems has won from him from time
| to time, at the gambling table, various heavy
sums, amounting in all to the sum of S6O,OOO.
The result was the arrest of Mcdonald last even
| ing on a cdpjdS to appear before the Supreme
| Court to answer unto the Chicago Dock Com
pany on Il plea of trespass on the case to the
| damage of plaintiff in the sum of S6OOOO. lie
| was just on the point of starting for Buffalo
when the sheriff arrested him, and he was LODGED
in the county jail.
| Mcdonald is one of that class of gentee gam
| blers who are generally spoken of as remarkably
| clever fellows. His friends regard him as
| model of gentlemauly behavior and a credit tC
| the profession. He is gambler, to be sure
| say they, but then he is none of your mean te
| lows all of which may be quite correct accord
| ing to certain code of morals Mcdonald
however, must have been aware that the sum
| of money which he cOolly ''wiuning' (thl
| gentcGl translation of the Old-fashiOned word tC
| steal, or, ancient Pistol preferred to call it,
| ''cOnVcvn) from the cashier was not the property
| of the cashier, but that of his employers, and hC
| must therefore be regarded, in Il moral point O
view, if not legally, as the joint author of the
| crime.
The Sheriff holds him in bail to the amount Of
| $2S, coo, which it is understood will be promptly
| furnished by his friends Mr. Pat. O'Neill and W.
| COrCOTan of the Hatch House.