Evening journal., 1895-02-13
A S26O.OOO SHORTAGE:
sureties ofthc Late State Treas.
urer OF Illinois Paid II.
HE WORRIED HIMSELF TO DEATH

suits Against the Estate OF Rufus Ramsay
May Result In the Recovery of sse5,ooo.
Discovery Of a shortage when Ramsay's |
Son w9s Named For the Oalce.
CARLYLE Ills, Feb l3.-Julga Jones |
Of Clinton county, sitting as a probate |
Judge in this city, made the claim Of the |
bondsmon Of the late Rufus Ramsay. ns
state treasurer of Illinois. against his es-
tate amounting to $500, 600, a preferred |
claim Of the sixth class
. The bondsmen who stood In the place
Of the state took this action TO reimburse
themselves for having made good the same
amount of shortage In the accounts Of the
late treasurer of Illinois when his Office
was transferred TO his son Elijah in last
| November.
The Ramsay estate Is valued at $780,
600, and II the widow does not fOregO h0r
dover rights the bondsmen expect to re-
alize Sl25. 600 from their claim. Judge
Jones allowed only one other preferred
claim amounting TO few thousand dol
lars.
Carl Moll, cashier Of the National Banl,
OF Illinois, one Of the suretles on the bond
Of the late state treasurer, Rufus Ram
say, and an appointee OF Governor Altgeld
a
porter in regard to the claim Of the bonds
men against the Ramsay estate and the
reported dtfalcRtion OF $780, 600:
"Ofllcers and directors OF the following
Chicago banks were on the bond Of the
late Rufus Ramsay for the aggregate sum
Of s500.O00, divided unequally; Chicago
National Corn Exchange Fort Dearborn
National, Metropolitan National and the
National Bank Of Illinois
"These banks were used as repositories
Of state money. When Mr.. Ramsay died
suddenly at his homo in Carlyle carly last
| November, Governor Altgeld appointed
Elijah, the son Of the deceased, TO serve
the rest Of the term.
Big Deficiency Discovered.
"The law requires the presence Of the
bondsinen when any transfer Of the treas.
urer' s Office is TO be made, so +. NJ. Blount.
cashier OF the Chicago National bank, and
myself representing the bondsmen were
present in Springfield when the accounts
were examined and the funds turned over.
1.-The startling discovery was made at
that time that $500, 600 Of the state funds
had been misappropriated. We found
notes Of Henry Setter. a banker Of Leb-
anon and O'Fallon, Ills, aggregating
S245. OOO
"The only security attached to the notes
, was stock in the Illinois Farm company,
! which owned several thousand acres OF
! | farm land in Illinois We also found due
bills Of Ramsay for Sl15,O 600. He had sim
3 ply taken that amount of money from the
treasury and left due bills to show for 1t.
1.-The total deficiency was made good at
) once by the banks, and when Elijah Ram
] say became state treasurer Nov. 81 there
was not a dollar owing the state When
I the present treasurer, Henry Wulf. came
into tho Office, be was not satisfied with
/ the checks Of the Chicago banks and do
Y manded currency for every dollar repre-
q sented by the checks. Cash was at oncl
o sent him, and wo have his certified receipt
for every cent owing by his predecessor
y The report that Treasurer Wulf discover
j. ed the defaloation is untrue
d Mr.. Ramsay was banker in Carlyle
@ and his estate is probably worth $3.50, 900
r The bondsmen may get $685. 600 Of that
r Henry Setter, who evidently began borrow
.t ing from the state treasury as soon as Mr.
10 Ramsay came into possession Of the funds
IT was a former partner Of the late treasure
a in the banking business. Setter was II
n the state senate for several years and wa
+ a Democratic leader in southern Illinois.
4 Suicide Theory Not Believed.
!, I'VE made him turn over to the bonds
men 500 acres of land which was in b!
: own name He made an assignment las
month The bondsmen have 2, 900 acre
= of land near Mitchell, Ills, to realize on.
- "We may get together from the farm
lands and the Ramsay estate from $500,
600 to S225 600, which would leave us los
ers OF Sl35, 600.
did you learn anything as TO wha
I Setter and Ramsay did with the money!
lot -.
st to find out how they spent the money. bu
10 could not I believe Ramsay, althoug
G. reputed to bo wealthy. entered the ofic
h not only poor, but in debt and used tn
Ig $4,000 to pay his debts with,
el "As for Setter / think no used th
s240, 600 to buy the land we now bold an
rs maybe to bolster up his banks during th
le financial panic
Y. did you hear any intimation as to th
k. death of Mr. Ramsay being due TO his ow
ip aots"
re Il don't believe he committed suicide
v, He was subject to heart trouble and tn
ve worry over his shortage coupled with I'll
ly | knowledge that his successor having bee
MT elected, and a Republican at that exposw
d, would soon follow. hastened his end.
Id His son was present when no die'
The bondsmen did not think they could I
compelled by legal process to make goo
tho shortage. but to avoid a public scand
pit we decided TO pay it.
on AT the time Treasurer Wuld was il
n stalled in Office the fact was made publ
,ss that there had been found in the treasul
10. certain mortgages and other securit
as for money loaned by tho late treasure
srs but no amount was mentioned. and the
le- was no intimation OF any crime haviI
nd been committed by Mr.. Ramsay while
at office The statement was made that q
~. securities found in the treasury could NJ
be realized on in the depressed state of Il
market to the fun amount of the monl
loaned. and as consequence the bond
As- mon made good the deficiency and receiv,
M the collateral
lu "
sit Dobbips Lame, Don Aionzo Well.