The Portland daily press., 1885-12-22
THE cLEDHILL CASE.
What the Press Reporters Cleaned
from Parties Interested.

What the Press Reporters Cleaned
from Parties Interested.
Meeting of the Directors of the citi-
zens' Mutual Relief Society.
Ii seems that the latest developments in the
case of young Gledhill will show that his books
have been cooked to the extent of $4,000, that
being the amount he has made away with in the
past four years; one year alone S2l00 having
been taken. This defalcation does not affect the
permanent fund of the Citizens Mutual Relief So
cety, which amounts to $4,000; the loss is an
amount made up, as stated yesterday, from the
collection of assessments, etc.
1t seems odd that so much money could have
been taken in the period described and that no
suspicious were entertained until after the death
of the late treasurer and the appointment OF the
new sThen it was, one of the directors States
that when the directors desired certain portion
of particular fund be devoted to a certain pur-
pose, the new treasurer said he could not so APP
propriate it because there were no funds. This
caused the appointment of committee of inves-
tigation about two weeks ago, and the committee
employed the expert The expert found the books
of the treasurer all right but when he began to
examine the bookkeeper and collectors books he
commenced to unravel thread of embeZZlement
Thursday afternoon the directors held meeting
to decide what to do and it was then understood
Marshal Andrews should go after Gledhil but
that officer had to wait till his expenses were pro
vided for-as it is not reasonable to suppose he
would pay out of his own pocket for other peo-
pies business. The Marshal is still here.
Mr.. M. N. Rich, secretary of the Citizens
Mutual Relief Society, stated to a PRESS reporter
that he did not shrink from any Of his response
bilities. He had always believed Gledhill honest
and had never heard of his fast habits, until his
departure. He explained how it was possible for
Gledhill to accomplish his embellishments in this
way: There are several accounts which have to
be kept. There is the annual assessment, the
various death assessments as they fall due. Mem
bers falling to pay their assessments are drop
ping out every little While, and new members
coming in. All these occur at different dates 1t
was understood that when member died then
notice of the fact should be sent to every other
one and the payment of the assessment was due
in so days thereafter at the Merchants Ex
change. IT, at the expiration of that time, a
member was delinquent, and the delinquency
continued 80 days, he ceased to be a member of
the society. Sometimes two deaths occurred,
within few days of each other, and it would be
seen that unless several agents were employed at
considerable expense it would be impossible to
get round with collection bills to every member
between deaths. Then again number of men,
bers resided out of Portland, some as far west as
Chicago. who had to be notified. Mr. Rich said
that, on preparing to give notice on death claim
just at the time of Gledhill's departure, he re-
marked to the latter that he should have to in
vestgate and see why the fund was so low. Gled-
hill evidently took the remark to mean that an in
vestigation was to be had and consequently made
his hurried departure the next day.
Mr. Rich said he thought that Gledhill began
his populations with an attempt on the permanent
fund but abandoned that scheme because he
couldn't Iget much out of it without detection.
With the death assessment fund it was different.
He made collections each day. paid over part to
Mr. Rich entered that sum on his cash book, and
put the rest in his pocket If he collected S44 he
would pay, let us say, $14 to Mr.. Rich, and enter
$14 on his cash book. Each receipt given to
member was dated with the office stamp, and
then in that members account in the great ledger
the same date would be inserted So if any
member had any suspicion upon comparing his
receipt with his ledger account the two would
tally perfectly. The difference between the $14
paid and the S44 received, Gledhill put in his
pocket and kept memorandum book, so ar
ranged with all the different accounts, that when
a death-claim was to be closed, the figures at the
footing of the columns would compare exactly
with Mr.. Rch's memorandum book. After Gledhill
had gone, his memorandum book was found and
it was then seen that if the received for the
whole ninety days, allowed for members to pay
assessments, had been added up the totals would
not have compared with the footed columns, and
for the thirty days light stroke of the pen on
the of the $14 changed that figure to a 4, max
ing the $44 he really collected as in the example
above mentioned. Now when the end of the year
came. as there were death assessments constantly
out-or not yet collected-owing to the ninety
days allowance while the books and tina collec-
ton receipts would always agree, there was
necessarily a difference between cash on hand
and cash that. apparently, should have been on
hand. In paying death claim it did not follow
that the heirs of the deceased got the exact num-
Der of dollars corresponding to the number of
members. Each deceased PERSONS heirs knew
they entitled to the sum that the heirs of the
next preceding dead member had received.
While nominally, we will say the society num-
bered 1000 members, there were members con-
stantly dropping out and new ones coming in
which rendered the sum received, really, less
than $1,000. Mr.. Rich spoke in grateful and
kindly manner, of the warm sympathy extended
to him by many of the members of the society
since the publication in yesterdays PRESS of
young Gledhill's rascality. He also said that as
far as he could ascertain nothing was known of
Gledhills whereabouts since he left here, with
the exception of his marriage in Boston, the day
after his departure. He said Marshal Andrews
sent descriptions and pictures of the newly mar
ried couple to the New York detective force but
they had not found that any persons answering
their description had been, or were, stopping at
no Ofo in fIotoi votI,
1t is more than likely they never went TO New
York at all but went to Albany and thence either
west to jamestown, Dakota, near the Canadian
boundary, or direct from Albany to Canada. Mrs
Gledhill promised to telegraph her mother every
day. where she was, but neither mother or father
have received a word from either of them.
Gledhill, we are informed, told a chum of his a
couple of days before leaving town, that he and
his wife-they were then unmarried-intended to
elope, prefacing the statement with the remark,
"There'l be a big scandal In a day or two"
Several of the tradesmen to whom he owed money
or with whom he dealt, seem to have taken
great liking to him. They say he would tell them
frankly he couldn't pay for thing just at present.
if he couldn't and then always settled before a
long period. Those we have seen say he owed
them when he left only small bills, and to the
he owed the largest sum he frankly wrote and
said he was going away and couldn't settle his
account then, but he shouldn't forget it, and
should manage to pay it in time if he lived. He
seems to have exercised a sort of fascination not
only over younger men, but many older than him
self One of his friends says he was a real good
fellow, but he wore a Chinese smile, and you
never could tell-f he was at a ball. at the theatre
or at the billiard table-whether he was having
good time, was trying to disguise the fact that
he was awfully bored.
1t is understood the expert, Mr.. j. o. Rice, will
make his report to the directors tomorrow The
annual meeting of the society will be held Friday
next.
Mr.. Philip Greedy Brown makes the following
statement
There has been no defalcation of any of the
funds Of the society that have come into the hands
of the Treasurer
Should any loss incur to the society through any
acts of the Secretary's clerk the Secretary is
personally and through his bondsmen responsible.
The permanent fund as paid to Mr.. Carpenter
and the present Treasurer, amounting to $4,668,
is intact and deposited in the Portland and Maine
win he