The daily morning journal and courier., 1900-08-08
BANKERS ROW IN CHICAGO JAIL
Six Recent occupants Whose Combined

l
 have been occupied by men once promi- nent in the financial world. and it has
 become as choice sojourning place in | the estimation of prisoners as is the Lake Shore drive in the consideration 1 of Chicago outsiders"
 I Six bankers have left homes of luXu- ry for a more or less protracted visit al number something -or-other of the nth tier. The inner corridor is the meeting l place for these embarrassed f1nanclerS, | who are the envy of the less fortunate men under the laws ban. There are rugs in the cells; an easy chair is here l and there substituted for the four-leg- ged stool; embroidered covers conceal the rough tables, and photographs are hung against the iron gratings that form the sides of the cramped apart ments provided free of charge by the county. Friends and relatives supply flowers that suggest that it is summer beyond the jail walls.
 Theodore Schintz was the first bank CT to lodge in the county jail. He was charged with the embezzlement of for ty thousand dollars from the Estel es- tate. Other shortages made the total about eight hundred thousand dollars Schintz is a comparatively young man. and he did not adjust himself readily to life that confined his activities. He found no congenial companion until Charles w. Spalding arrived. Spalding is an older man than Schintz, and his presence appeared to relieve the pioneer of the bankers colony Spalding re- tired to jail owing to shortages aggre- gating four hundred thousand dollars in the Globe Savings bank, of which he was president. He was convicted of embezzlement, and made a trip to Joliet before the Schintz case was disposed of by the courts. Later. when the former president of the Globe Savings bank was brought back to Chicago to testify in civil suit, his marriage to his sten- ographer gave touch of unusual in terest to jail romance. The bride vis- tied tier No. 5 three times week, and then the other banker and the less aris- tocratic residents showed the greatest difference to the young woman.
 Spalding was taken back to the peni- tentiary, and an unsympa thetic jury  termediate sentence of from one to ten years. But the bankers row had to be made ready for new tenants. D. S.. Dreyer, formerly of the firm of E. S. Dreyer & Co.,, took possession of cell No. 512 before Spalding left the jail. This apartment Is near the door, and is | considered desirable. Dreyer is by na- ture a philosopher, and on his first visit | to the jail he took the view that he was | enjoying the rest cure. He said the | change did him good, and that it was a relief to get away from business. He l deliberately prepared for long stay, and seemed not to mind the first five l months. When his former partner moved next door he extended cordial welcome to him. and did all in his pow | CT to make him feel at home. But Ber- ger took things hard. The Dreyer and Berger shortage was s914,OO0, and this fact seemed to weigh on Bergers mind The arrival of George l.. Magll was a pleasant diversion. Magill had small | discrepancy of one hundred thousand dollars to accoun for in his business of the Avenue Savings bank, at Thirty first street and Michigan avenue
 The three bankers renewed their pre- vious acquaintance with one another and became fast friends. For four hours a day the prisoners are allowed to exercise in the big corridor from which the cells open. From half-past nine to half-past eleven a. m. and from half-past one to half-past three p. m they held earnest consultations. They l discussed financial questions and de- clared themselves victims of unfortu- nate circumstances. They cultivated a martyrs pity for the small-mindedness of depositors who did not know how to take ordinary business losses.
 All the prisoners on tier No. envied the bankers. Tier No. 5 Is not occupied by burglars and ordinary crooks. Its iodgers have seen better days. Most of them are held in custody by the govern ment. They are United States prison CTS, whose deftness with the pen has caused them to write some one else's name or whose mechanical skill has tempted them to manufacture counter felt money. Of course, they never at tained to more than passing acQuaint- ance ith the bankers, but they appreci- ate the distinction of having been neighbors to Chicago financiers. Tier No. takes an interest in the visitors cage, and is proud of the distinguished company it entertains, but it had a sore experience three times day during the residence of the three bankers, and even now when the bankers colony is reduced one-third it understands some- thing of the sufferings of Tantalus.
 Banker prisoners cannot live on jail fare. They have their meals from ho- tel or restaurant. This is the principal drawback to quarters on tier No. 5. Spring chicken and fresh vegetables. ol- ives and ice cream look very tempting when viewed through the wire netting, especially when another man is eating them. It IS a rule of the jail that all prisoners shall eat in their cells The locks are turned and dinner, even with the best menu. that can be ordered, is not an enjoyable feature of the day. Ire bankers complained of loss of appe tite.
 Berger dropped under the discipline of jail life and after one or two days i'm prisonment he announced his intention of taking his medicine" This caused consternation in the bankers club, but Berger could not be persuaded to eXer- else patience. He went to Joliet with Jailor Whitman one morning and left