Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1891-06-15
NEARLY A MILLION.
JULIO MERzBAOHRRS STEAL FROM THE NEW
YORK LIFE.
Vlcs-Prssident Welch Makes a Statement Which
is COntradictsd by Another Officer Of the
CompaDy-The DsfaulterS' Checker
ed Career IN Germany, France
Cuba and New York.

| New York Life Insurance Company,
who, in the absence of President Beers,
are in charge of the company's affairs,
decided that it would be best to make
public a statement of the amount of Ju-
Iio Merzbacher's defalcation. Accord
/ ingly. Second Vice President Archibald
H. Welch sent for reporter last even
! ing, and said that the amount OF Merz-
bacherS thefts was, as nearly as he
could estimate, 1872, 900.
'If our system of credits to the Span
ish-American department" he said,
''was semi-annual instead of annual,
this sum would be reduced by July to
S325,OOO 1t is reduced slightly already,
and will, we think, be eventually re-
paid in full by the efforts of Mr.. San
chez. As an illustration of the methods
by which the SpaniSh-American depart
ment was conducted, and to show you
| how it was possible for Merzbacher to
get hold of so much money, will say
that our receipts through the firm OF
| Sanchez & Merzbacher in premiums
alone last year were 50, 800, 900.
SIN reply TO the Times query OF this
morning as to why we permitted MerZ-
bacher'S accounts to run for so long
time overdue, wish to-day, in addition
to what | said yesterday, that collec-
tions in every Latin-American country
are always very slow, and that 1t Is the
policy of all companies, think, to relax
their rules Of prompt payments In deal
ing with their affairs in such countries.
While this statement by Mr.. Welch
covers the ground from his standpoint,
there are other facts bearing directly on
this case which, by reason OF their I'M
portance, must be stated in connection
with it. In the first place there is rea-
son to believe that the amount OF Merz-
bacher's theft was not 1872, 900, as stated
by Mr.. Welch, but that it is far beyond
that amount. gentleman who knows
Sanchez intimately stated last night
that, in anticipation of the very dis
closures made in yesterdays Times,
Sanchez was sent to Barcelona, taking
with him all the books Of the Spanish
American department.
Mr.. Welch himself told a Times re-
porter Thursday afternoon that the
books had been taken away by Sanchez.
II his statement is true, it is difficult to
see how the Vice President or ANYBODY
else can compute" the shortage, ths
books containing it being across the
seas.
This leads to most important state
ment made last night by an officer
the New York Life Insurance Company.
! He said that the amount or the defalca-
tion was far more serious than had
been reported. He was asked if Mr..
Welch's figures, S372, 900. covered the
| loss.
He replied emphatcally that they did
not. 1t was then suggested that per-
! hapS $500, 900 would cover Merzbacher's
shortcomings, and again the statement
was made by the officer referred to that
il was even more than half million. He
said that he knew, and that Mr.. Welch
knew, that the shortage in Merzbach-
er's accounts approached million dol
lars.
Whv Mr.. Welch and the officers OF
the company saw fit to make their
three-hundred and seventy two-thou-
sand dollar statement yesterday is ex-
| planned by the circumstances which took
place within the company'S office when
| the prominence given the Merzbacher
affair became known to them in the
morning. Although visitors were as
snred that both First Vice President
Tuck and Second Vice President Welch
were not in their offices, they were both
there with their advisers. So prolonged
was their consultation that DIR. Tuck
failed to catch the afternoon steamer
for his home in New Jersey. Early in
/ It . na Di1119C
was cabled to President Beers, In Eu-
rope. and it is said that Welch'S three
hundred and seventy-two thousand dol
| lar statement, which he gave to the
press generally, was the result of the
| Presidents instructions.
There is strong element of proba-
! bility derived from Mr.. Welch'S own
statements that go to show that S372,-
600 cannot possibly cover the amounts
which Merzbacher is known TO have
paid out. That lie did not steal is con-
ceded, and that he had access to very
much more than S372, 900 is seen in Mr..
Welch'S statement that the amount of
premiums alone handled by him and by
Sanchez in single year aggregated
So, SOC, 600 Merzbacher lie known TO
| nave OOugnJ anu pdlu loI 1ho Ulo"H-
stone house adjoining the Plaza Hotel;
his manner of living was most extrava-
CANT; on the statement of Vice-PreSi-
dent Tuck, he lived with a woman not
his wife; he owned team OF fast
horses; he consorted nightly with men
to whom money is no object, and finally
upon his own statement to Sanchez, he
lost very large sums in speculations in
Wall street.
1t is quite plain that six months
career of this sort could hardly have
been covered by S372, 900, plus the
amount that he may have spent from
his private accumulationS.
The statement made by Vice PreSi-
dent Welch at least clears up the most
important points of the case, as it leaves
no room for doubt that Merzbacher's
thefts extended over the whole period
of time which his partner spent in his
organization business abroad. 1t has
been suggested that his peculations be-
gan before that time, and that they
probably had been running along for
wears. but an officer of the company to
whom this hypothesis was stated yeSter-
day said that it was not entertalnaole,