St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-01-20
DAREDEVIL DE BAUM.
The Defaulting Cashier of a New
York Bank Returned From
Canada to Explain His Thievery.


Canada to Explain His Thievery.
NEW YORK, Jan. 19-"Strange deeds
are done beneath smooth surface in
this great town." says an evening paper
IN loaded type, and continues thus:
''Mark this hidden story of robbery,
flight, midnight, conferences and
disappearance. The facts have just
come to light through the arrest
and extradition of De Baum.
the defaulting cashier Of the
Pask bank and the personal alteration
in the Brooklyn club" When De Baum
disappeared one day, his employers and
associates in the bank understood why
he had left thus abruptly, and painful
feeling gained a fOothold that his
record might not be quite straight. He
was member of the BrOokly club,
in his dealings at the club he upheld
gentleman's credit there for liberal
hospitality. The bank officers studied
him. Yet they seemed all
right. If their departed cashier had
falsified them, he had done it in a mar
velously ingenious fashion. The best
experts were baffled. They were NOR
ally sure by this time that there was
crOokedness somewhere, but in spite Of
their skill they could not put their pen
on the fraud, While thus engaged, and
before the public exposure came,
edge of the puzzled examiners
that De Baum was in Canada.
On learning of this faet,which, in itself,
was almost conclusive evidence of guilt
under the circumstances. same one
interested in getting at the facts de-
cided on the following bold stroke: De
Baum was communicated with in his
Canadian retreat. He was told that he
would be allowed to come to New York
if he would aid in Strengthening the
books. Constructively he was
YET AN INNOCENT MAN.
His knavery had not got abroad, and
his person wonld be safe. Perhaps it
was limited to him that any Eelp he
would give would be highly appreciated
by those who might be in position to
shelter him. De Baum crossed the bor-
dsr and returned to this city. The
books were opened. and he was set at
the strange task of showing the experts
the extent and character of his rob-
berries and revealing the devices by
which he had been able to cover his
tracks even from their trained
pursuit. AS he proceeded to dis
close his V1llalnleS tney SCO00 agnaSe
Robbery after robbery was revealed,
until at last the full sum of the defal-
cation was for the first time known.
The explanation had taken hours, and
the members Of the group were tired
and hungry. What more natural then,
than that the party should dine, and
dine they did at fashionable restaur-
ant, swindler and swindled touching
legs under the mahogany and uniting
in cheerful glass. And after dinner.
quite in his old manner, DeBaun, sud-
denly back from his vacation, dropped
in at the Brooklyn club and set
up the drinks. He punched
a game or so of billiards,
talked a little club gossip,
and parried all intrusive questions
about his absence by intimating that he
had been ON nice little picnic. One OF
the members asked, laughingly, if his
route had been to Canada, at which all
had laughed, DeBaun the loudest Of
any. "No," cried one of the jovial
group, "DeBaun is not one of your bor-
der shippers. He is not that kind OF a
hairpin."
Then the next morning DeBaun took
a train up the beautiful Hudson and
skipped across the border, being exactly
that kind of a hairpin.