Birmingham age-herald., 1894-11-25
AFTER FOURTEEN YEARS Of Unlimited Confidence a Book
 keeper Goes Wrong.
GOT AWAY WITH A BIG PILE
A Cool S354,OOO Steal-Had an ACComplice in the Shape
 of a Dapositor.

NEW YORK, Nov. 24.-John NJ. Crane, the president ot the National Shoe and Leather bank, gave out the following state- ment at the bank this evening.
 To the Public:
 A bookkeeper of this bank has disap- peared, and the result Of thorough inves- tigaiion made at request by the na- tioaal bank examiner has Iroven him q defaulter to the amount of S35i ,010, to meet which the directors have called on the stockholders for an assessment amply sufficient to cover any deficiency. We ap- pend statement by the clearing house committee. JOHN NJ. CRANE,
 President.
 The clearing house com mittee which wis. ited the bank makes the following state- ment:
 The recent examination of the affairs oi the National Shoe and Leather bank by the national bank examiner developed uefal cation of S354 900, and upon investigation by the clearing house committee thls loss is confirmed Tne committee are unani- nous In the opinion that, notwithstanding this loss, the bank is in a sound conditioD and able to pay it's depositors.
 GEO. r. BAKER,
 w. w. SHERMAN,
 b. II. PERKINS, JR.,
 C. c. WILLIAMS,
 Committee.
 The following officers were present and have pledged the bank their assistance if required: George k. Baker, k. D. Iappan, c. c. Williams, H. w. Cannon, J. Ed ward Simmons, E. H. Perkins, Jr., and w. A. Nash.
 President Grace, of the deirauded bank, in speaking of the affair said: ''The de- faulting bookkeeper is Samuel c. Seley of 422 Halsey street, Brooklyn. He has been in the employ of the bank for the last four md nna of frno Tod ployes. On last Friday afternoon Seley applied for leave of absence over Satur- day. promising to return Monday morn- ing. A substitute was put to work on his books on Saturday, and as Seley failed to appear on Monday morning the same sub stitute resumed work on the books. These were discovered 10 be in such q condition that examination of them was imme- diately made by the officers of the bank.
 This was finished and the amount of de- falcatlon known by Tuesday night. On Wednesday we sent for the national bank examiner E. s. Kimball, who finished his labors and verified our statement this morning. Seiey was guaranteed by the United Statee Guarantee company for S7500 and the officers of that company con- .sidered him one of their bestrIsks.
 SeIey was a man of very quiet habits. He has wife and two children. The where abouts of Seley are unknown. His wife at present is prostrated by the shock of his crime and subsequent discovery of his flight. She is very ill, we have been told. The fact has developed that Seey had an accomplice in the person of depositor, whose identity the bank officers will not reveal at sent. He, as we'll as Seley, is 6 fugitive.
 S;eley was an old and long trusted em- ploye. He worked through con federate on the outside, who had been a depositor in the bank for thirty years. The bank pursued the old fashioned ledger book method, which permitted this conspiracy 10 exist without detection. Under the old system no deposit slips are used, the de- positor simply presenting pass book, in which the bookkeeper writes the amount of the deposit.
 The scheme as worked by seley and his onfederate was very simple. Ssley en- tered false credits on the pass book for small amounts, charged them in another account and carried these charges along in clever way from year to year. These speculatons began about five years ago and had swollen to the total oi S3 ,0)0 when the discovery was made of tue defai- cation. Sometime ago the bank decided to change the system of keeping books and adopt a.more modern method. Seisy inn mediate;y knew that his Justification of the books would be revealed, and disap- peared.
 The name of the depositor implicated with the tookkeeper, S.ley, is said 10 be Frederick Baker, lawyer. The bank officers entertain sanguine hopes of bring ing either or both to justice and recovering at least part of the lost money. Bank Examiner Kmball this afternoon said, after the discovery of the dedication by the bank officers a mcstlng of the directors was called for Thursday. Bookkeeper Seey's lawyer, Frank w. Angell. attended the meeting by pre-arrangement with his client.
 He made 0 statement to the directors of the bank, being in substance the story Of the dedication as told 10 him by Seiey. MT. Angel said Seley told him that he k. 01 big dedication. The balance Of the money, he said, had been secured by the depositor, whose name the bank officers refused to divulge.
 The police machinery all over the coun- try was set working, and is working now to effece the capture of the men. Whether they will be taken remains to be seen. What clcws the detectives have what Knowledge of the movements of the thieves is not yet known. Seley's wife and chil- dreu are still at their home. The wife, prostrated by the shock Of her husbands crime and flight, is very ill and at the point of death.
 The steal is remarkable, inasmuch as there seems at present no explanation of what became of the money. Having ac- ouired his share of the 1854 1000, Seley either lost it in some speculation or saved it, thinking that when exposure was threatened he would take 10 fiIght and live at ease for the rest of his days. According to the unanimous opinion of the bank of ficers he lived within his income, which was comfortable. if not large. He was @ man of domestic tastes.
 He neither gam bled, attended the races nor spent his time with abandoned women. He was much respected and trusted by all who knew him.
 The Seley dedication is the largest since the Hill robbery of the Ninth National bank in 1891. Hill was president of the bank, and the discovery of his wrong do- ing was not Hfade until after his death. Hills defaIcaeion amounted to about $450,- 900. He wsNsin charge of the bank up to the time of his death, and the dedication was discovered shortly after his successor took offics.
 AYEAR IN PRISON.