The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-12-21
AN IOWA TRAGEDY.
A Young Bank Clerk Shoots Two Men and
Kills Himself,


Kills Himself.
COUNCIL BLUFFS, Ia, Dec. 17.-At IL
o'clock yesterday tragedy was enact
ed in the private office of the Citizens
State bank of Council Bluffs which
may result fatally to three persons.
John Huntington, assistant bookkeeper
and collection clerk, shot C. A.
Cromwell, of Minneapolis, and f.
n. Hayden, of Chicago. repre-
sentatives of the Fidelity and
Casualty Co., of New York. and
then emptied his revolver into his own
brain, inflicting a wound from which
he died two hours later. Cromwell
and Hayden, it is thought, will recover.
Huntington Was one of the best known
men in Council Bluffs and numbered
his friends by the hundred.
On July 20 last check of $500 was
turned over to him by Ira f. Hendricks,
one of the employees of the bank, in the
regular routine of business. Hunting
ton charged up the check to the Union
Stock Yard National bank of South
Omaha, and from that day to this moth
ing whatever has been seen or
heard of it. The day follow
ing Huntington left for vaca-
ton trip of several weeks to New York
city. The bank officials kept thinking
the check would turn up sooner or
alter and deferred any action. As
time passed on and it became evident
that the bank was out $500 they sent a
message to the Fidelity & Casualty
Co. notifying it of the fact and sug-
costing the inspectors come on at once
and make an investigation. The bank
officials claim that at the time they
had no charges to make against Hunt
ington or any employee of the bank in
particular. All of their employees were
bonded in the Fidelity and they pre-
ferred that the Fidelity company
should make the investigation rather
than make it themselves.
Messrs. Cromwell and Hayden arrived
in the city last Friday and took rooms
at the Grand hotel. They cross-exam-
ined each of the bank employees through
whose hands the missing check had
passed, and among the rest Hunting
ton. They claimed to have discovered
that he had been spending more money
than the salary of S45 a month,
which he was receiving. would warrant,
and on this fact. and the fact that the
check had been last seen in his hands,
they based their suspicious. Hunting
tnu and the representatives of the
Fidelity company met Saturday night
and made arrangements for another
meeting at the bank Sunday morning,
when the investigation was to be re-
sumed.
At the hour appointed they were to-
gether and Cromwell and Hayden COM
menced to put the young man through
a running cross-fire of questions. Pres
ident J. ID. Edmundson and Cashier c. Il.
Hannah of the bank were present dur
ing most of the interview. The confer
ence had not been in progress more
than fifteen minutes when Huntington
rose from his chair, pulled a revolver
and commenced firing at the repre-.
sentatives of the Fidelity company. The
revolver he used was a 44-caliber that
belonged to the bank and had been
kept in the desk of G. b. Spooner. the
paying teller. The first three shots
were fired at Cromwell, who had taken
the lead in the interrogation, and all
three took effect. The fourth struck
Hayden, and then Huntington raised
the weapon to his own head and fred. !
He fell to the floor unconscious. and |
remained so until his death, at Ills