Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-01-15

AT 8 o'clock Tuesday evening Auditor
William Reynolds announced that the
shortage of eX-Treasurer j. Eldridge
Pierce of the City Loan Association
amounts to the enormous sum of
S47,y5441i
But the auditors detailed explanation
proved to be, not a shortage, but the
most scoundrel like, low-lived instance
of bare-faced thieying that the business
annals of this community has on record.
The room where these disclosures were
made last night is the apartment on the
second floor of the Maris Building,
Sixth and Shipley streets, the regular
meeting room of the City Loan Assoc
citation.
Here at the moment referred to there
was hardly breathing room, not to speak
of standing room IN the densely crowded
apartment, as over 200 anxious up
turned faces gazed in open-eyed anxiety
at Auditor Reynolds as he read item
after item of the shameful record piling
mp thousand on thousand of dollars,
which the unfortunate audience would
have to pay.
Every dollar, every cent of that enor-
nous sum meant the hard sweat and
toll of honest, self-denying mechanics,
carpenters, blacksmiths, painters-year
in and year out-from the Harlan u
lIollingsworth, the Pussy IL Jones
shops, from factories and stores all over
the city-its most thrifty tradesman
robbed outright in the most sneaking,
dastardly manner.
No more pitiful picture could be inn
agined than that sea of blanched faces.
II means to them that their dreams of a
home is removed 10 years farther away.
II means double work, double thrift,
no little luxuries for wife and children
only tighter huckling to and closer
economy in every direction for another
long spell of years.
Mr.. Reynolds stood at table upon
which were laid some two score of
closely written sheets Of foolscap. This
constituted his report upon the rascally
eX-treasurer J. Eldridge Pierce's steal
ings since 1882. Behind the auditor
sat the officers of the City Loan, accom-
panied by their counsel, Francis Hof-
fecker, Esq, Jr.
The intenscst silence prevailed as the
auditor took up and laid down sheet
after sheet There was not single ex-
clamation or comment. The audience
seemed dazed at what they heard. 1t
was hardly comprehensive that one of
set of officers could possibly accom-
plish what had been accomplished. The
intuitive constantly recurring ques-
ton was-what were the other officers
doing all this time?
But the melancholy recital went along.
There was nothing to relieve the monot-
onousness of the catalogue of iniquity,
raised figures on checks, erased and
rased figures in the lcdgcrs, forced bal
ances and every species forged certiti-
Gates, stubs pasted together, false stubs
to balance--until at length Mr.. Rey-
nolds exclaimed, "'rhe rascal's ingen-
ious resources We're such that ] would
do wrong TO reveal them the deduc-
tion being that Pierce's tampcrings as a
boollkeepcr were so ingenious and novel
that they might afford plans for other
rascals to follow successfully and there
fore it would he wrong TO reveal them.
"But now he added, taking up Il
long page Of figures "let me read you
his own special steaings;
CThesc are given below without the
4 unnecessary minuter details, as given by
the auditOrl