The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1875-10-21
A STARTLING CONFESSION.
4 MERCH BOOEKEEPER SUR
RENDERING HIMSELF,
Ills EMPLOYERS H-"i"A- % Escape Financial
Ruin-Tho Clerks Rema rkabic story Of
how Thousands Of Dollars were Raised.

how Thousands Of Dollars were Raised.
on last Thursday afternoon n middle
aged man Of respectable appearance hurried
into the ONCE OF +. Alexandra & Sons, and
asked for a passage ticket to Havana by the
steamer City " New York, whose time for sail
Ing was then only few moments on. He paid
for the ticket, signed the name OF j. :. Butler,
and ran from the ONCE to catch the steamer. 1t
is believed from the description given by the
clerk who sold the ticket that this was Arch-
bald Henderson. tea merchant, whose busi-
ness at 10 Water street, was transferred to the
charge OF an assignee on the same day
John Judge, who has been employed as a
bookkeeper for Mr.. Henderson for many years,
returned to the store on Thursday evening, after
an absence of nearly the entire day, and was at
once discharged from employment by the as:
signee, Mr.. mes +. Malcolm whom he had
known for years as his employers lawyer, and
from whom he nrst heard Of the failure and
house I" Iearn what pe could Of The the reasons Tor
the sudden suspension, and to try TO collect bis
wages for the past week, which were still owing
him. At the house he ascertained that Mr..
Henderson and family had moved, and that It
was understood MIR. Henderson had gone
the clerk went 70 the Police Central once and
announcing that he had confession to make,
told the officers that he had been engaged In
series of forgeries. committed in the past two
yenrs, for sums amounting to many thousands
Of dollars. lie said that he had done this AT tue
bidding OF his employer, Mr.. Archio Id Hendrr-
sen, VINO had deserted him. and he asked to
6 be locked up. lie was held In the Central
almost wholly confirmed.
NO CLUES
Mr.. Judge was held whio the persons whose
| n nsmes were alleged to have been forged were
telegraphed for. and tho most earnest efforts
were made to discover the whereabouts Of the
The merchants wife who Is on Long Island,
and hi. relatives IN the city are either unable or
unwilling to tell where ho Is. IL is almost de
hn.tely ascertained that no one accompanied
| him.
| Yesterday afternoon Mr.. Daniel s. Roberts, a
grocer ana tea merchant Of Philadelphia, and
the only person whose signature Mr.. Henderson
| Is said to have counterfelted, hurried to this
city and made charge OF forgery against him.
and on the strength Of this the bookkeeper was
| transferred to Ludlow street Jail, bail being
| forgeries Is Mr.. {. X. Il. Krossgaard, note bro
| ker at "a Wall street, and he is naturally the
most eager In pursuit Of the missing merch ant.
| For many years he has discounted tue notes OF
the CONSPICUOUS groCerymen and tea merchants $
| Of this city. and among them Mr.. Hender-
sons. He told the reporter last evening
that his losses on the forged notes must
swallow his entire fortune. lie has known
| he did not question the authenticity OF
| for them fast as they were offered
Thetbookkecper says that the hrst forgeries
were made In lsia in order to bridge over Hen
| detson's pressing needs, and the false notes
were always paid promptly when they fell due,
WHICH AXE TIRE TRUE ESrRIEs1
| An unusul number were forged within the
| past lew weeks, put other houses IN good stand
ing were selling large quantities Of siniil r pa
| per ana nothing suspected. Mr. krOgs
gard has made several efforts to have the
| bookkeeper released in order To have Hender-
| sons books examined, for 10 one but he can
| tell the false from the true entries, but the
| District Attorney will not reduce the bail, and
| Mr. Krogshaard Is afraid TO risk $500 on the
unfortunate mans irustwortbiness under the
circumstances. lie will make another effort to-
| ward this end to-day.
According to the boakkeepers story, MIR.
| in bills OF doubtful value, and $3,00 OF $1,000
| worth Of stock In his store. Besides this, II Is
| known that he owns a large new house in
| Brooklyn, which he took In payment for a debt.
| ltwds reported that Messrs. II. X. Thurber,
| Bennett. Schenck Earle, Is IS & Clark, and
| other large firms were heavy losers by Mr.
| Henderson's failure but the three last named
| firms deny this, and both MT. krogsgaard and
| the boukkeeper declare that no names Of per
| sons doing business in the city were counter
| ftited