The Cape Girardeau Democrat. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1876-1909, 1896-10-24
v A DUAL LIFE.

C~ase-Twenty Years Devoted to Swim
ding and Defalcation Makes Life a Bur-
den-A supposed lncendiary Fire that
Made Him kich.
JUNEAU, Wis. Oct. 1s.-No trace OF
W.T.. Rambusch, the defaulting banker
and real estate man who has been
missing for ten days, beyond the intel
ligence conveyed in a letter from the
east that he was in Philadelphia, has
reached this city. Inquiring investors
who trusted him implicitly have crowd
ed the town during the week, but only
ity have rewarded their search for
available assets. Yesterday a small
bottle of a clear fluid, in which rested
a little sponge. was found. This, on
being submitted to q chemists test
proved to be an erasing fluid, and by
it's use Rambusch had manipulated
deeds and records at will.
The ~defalcations already brought to
light reach the sum of $3.50, 900, and
those engaged in the work of straight
ening the books claim the end is not
yet. The only assets Illus far discov-
cred amount to $685. 900, and consist of
the records in Mr.. Rambusch's office,
worth about $40, 900; stock in the Citi-
zens' bank to the value of 81, 500. a few
notes of doubtful value and a piece of
mortgaged real estate.
The principal losses are sustained by
the following: George Hawkins,
Wa%tertown, $4,000; Mrs. L. Winfield
Spence, Fond du Lac, ST, 600; Nelson
ae+o+a Sspn nOO. ID - nponfpoarar
WATERFOWL, $1,000; Mrs. Jeanette
Howells, Milwaukee,, $4,000; d. II. Be-
ment, IS, OOO Silas Coleman, Fond du
Lac, $1,000; j. j. Williams, Beaver
Dam, S., 900; w. Albert, Horizon, S.
700.
Mortgages for small amounts given
to register of deeds to examine, most
of which are fraudulent.
Rambusch's operations extend over
a period of 90 years. He must in that
time have handled between 81, 200, 900
and So, 600, 600 in the work of buying
and exchanging mortgages. How
much he received from his clients or
how much he paid them can not be de-
termined. He left no recount books
worthy of the name. What he did
leave do not extend over the whole Pc
Rod that he has been in business and
do not show in more than a few in
stances of his receiving money for
mortgages. They do show that he has
paid large sums for interest on mort
cages.
The confession of Rambusch, which
came in the form of a letter to his
wife, is far from complete. The fam
lily refuse to make the letter public,
although the authorities have been
allowed to read it. 1t tells nothing of
what he did with the money. He says
that for 20 years his life has been a
lie. He has led a dual existence, and
that life had at last become unbear-
able, and when his wife received the
letter he would be dead. He claimed
his income from his office was not
sufficient to keep up his house in the
way in which he wanted to run it. He
said that he had not used any of the
money in gambling or speculation, or
had not, as might be charged, spent it
foe pleasure or debauchery. The let
ter was dated at the Colonnade hotel,
Philadelphia.
Twenty years ago Rambusch "a
engaged in the real estate business in
partnership with Richard Mertz. They
purchased the abstract office of Judge
Lewis and he was pushing them hard
for payment. In October. 1877, a
small brick building in which were
the county offices and all of the real
estate records was burned. It was
charged at the time that the fire was
started to destroy the evidence against
Ode Traynor, who was county treas
urer. and who was alleged to be short
in his accounts. Traynor was tried
and acquitted.
At the time the district attorney
suspected Rambusch of being the in
cendiary, and had collected some evil
dence against him. but not enough to
warrant prosecution.
The next morning after the fire
Rambusch borrowed enough money to
secure the abstracts. The fire which
destroyed the county records made
R~ambusch. The records which he
bought for So, 900 were then valued
at about $4,000. Dodge county could
not then afford to have the
records relSSued. RamDuScn was the
only one who could furnish a COM
plete abstract of title of it's lands and
he secured from the county a con-
tract by which he was to furnish it for
twenty years all of its abstracts. This
contract still has two years to run. 1t
placed every investor who put money
into Dodge county lands absolutely at
fba marou Of ono man
1t is thought he began his fraudu-
lent work in 1876. All the time he was
4 good church member. An Episco-
palian, he went to the Presbyterian
church, because his denomination had
no church here. He cared for the coll
lections of the church.
Broke Down and Confessed.
VANCOUVER, Il. c., Oct. 19.-Sherif
Barnes, of Pike county, Ohio. arrived
yesterday from Waverly to take back
j. ". Legg, alias Manley, the default
ing treasurer of that county. Sheriff
Barnes saw Legg for a few minutes
and during the interview Legg almost
broke down. He stated that since his
departure he had been tormented and
hal tol,an oorphipa on1 uyhiSlru IN