The Wichita city eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1872-1883, 1878-03-07
ANOTHER PROMINENT KANSAS MAN
RUINED.
The State Normal Scho.l Lose Eleven Thcus-
and Dollars.

The State Normal Scho.l Lose s Eleven Thcus
and Dollars
Major Edward +. Bancroft, for a
long time The agent for the sale OF The
State Normal School Ian Is. was ar
rested last Sunday in Emporia, npen a
criminal prosess charging him with
cmbezzling a large amount of money
belonging 10 the endowment fund of
said school and which had come into
his hands az an agent of the Board OF
Regeiis. In 1872, at which time he
was a member of The Board and sec
rotary of the executive committee, he
was empowered TO sell the endowment
lands as fas. as practical lie claimed
TO have made but two or three sales.
aud advised the Board TO stop their
sale. So the matter rested. Some
time after the present Board took
charge of the institution they deman-
ded settlement from him. He made
statement of account and paid over
an amount sufficient to cover it. That
was last spring. In the mean time
his appointment had been revoked.
Al gain last fall he rendered the Board
more money which fact awakened
suspicion together with the fact OF
letters being received from purchasers
by the State officers. The Board
thereupom sent an attorney who is a
member of Board up 10 investigate
the matter, when the true state of the
case was very soon ascertained. The
lands are situated in Salna and other
northwestern counties of the State.
II appeared that out of The entire en-
dowment of37,000 acres, Bancroft has
sold about 1000 acres for a sum of
about $47, GOO all on ten years time, at
ten per cent. down with interest on
deferred payments at ten per cent. per
annum, at the meeting of the Board
last Saturday he made a full state
ment of all his transactions, whereup-
on The Board proceeded against him
in both civil and criminal actions. On
the criminal charge of embezzelment
he was held TO bail on Monday in the
sum of $4,000, and in default was
committed. Major Bancroft holds a
large amount of property. but it is all
more or less involved, and at present it
is impossible to say how much the
school will lose By its crookedness
The following dispatch TO the Com
moawealth Sunday gives some of the
facts:
Emporia, March 2,-There is great
deal OF excitement here tonight over
defalcation which has just come to
the ears of the public of Z. p. Ban
croft, a well known and prominent
citizen of this city and of the state
Some eight years ago Mr.. Bancroft
was a member of the board of regents
of the State Normal School, and was
appointed agent to sell the lands be-
longing TO that institution. He has
held that position until some time last
summer, when he was removed by the
new board of regents appointed by
Governor Anthony, under the law
passed at the last session of the legis-
lature. During the time Mr. Bancroft
was the agent to sell the lands belong
ing 10 the Normal School no lands
were reported sold. This has been re-
marked upon as strange, as the lands
belonging to other state institutions
have been selling all the time. When
Mr.. Bancroft was removed he report
ed as having sold land amounting to
$500. and paid that amount over to
the treasurer of the board. There was
no suspicion of anything wrong until
about a month ago, when an applica-
tion came from the western part of
the state 10 the state auditor for a
deed of tract of land belonging to the
normal school. This application was
accompanied by receipt from E. p.
Bancroft, showing that the land was
paid for.
An examination of the books in the
auditors Office, did not show the land
sold. This led to an investigation.
The board of regents were called to-
gether in this city about two weeks
ago, and ex-Sen. CREIGHTON, one of the
board was appointed to investigate
Saline aud other counties TO ascertain
just what amount of lands had been
sold by Mr.. Bancroft He came back
here yesterday, and to-day The COVER
nor aud state auditor arrived. Ii is
ascertained that Mr. Bancroft has sold
over aud above what he has accounted
for not less than $4,000 worth OF Nor
NAL lands, and some of this money has
been received since he has been depos-
ed as agent. Besides this it has tran
spired that he has contracted and sold
two pieces of land belonging to the
state of Kansas as ''salt lands" These
have been re-sold by the purchaser and
are under cultivation. 1t is believed
that all the lands sold while he was
actually agent, will be lost to the Nor
NAL school fund. The land and the |
money received since he was removed |
VIII be the loss of the purchaser, as
well as "the salt lands" as he never
had any authority to sell them.
Mr.. Bancroft was a member of the |
state senate in 1862, and after the close
OF the legislature went into the army
as quartermaster. After the war he
came back here and has been acting as
real estate agent and publisher of a
real estate paper He has built
block of buildings here, known rs
block. He has been shad-
owed by the police for the past two
weeks, and if he had attempted to
leave town would have been arrested.
although the people generally were
not aware of any trouble. Those who
know him best say he would not run
away if he had an opportunity. They
think he would be more apt to kill
His bond has not been re-
lewed since his appointment eight
fears ago. and it is believed to be
rnrf Ia lace ,an,r