The Forrest City times., 1900-10-26
A MAGNIFICENT ROBBER.
There Was Nothing Small About His Peculations; He Was
 No Cheap Man.
TOOK ONLY SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND.
Excitement Caused in New York Financial Circles by the Announcement that Charles l. Alvord, Note Teller of tho First National Bank, Was a Heavy De- fauiter and Fugitive. ~.-

fauiter and a Fugitive.
 New York, Oct. 24.-aCharles L. Al word, note teller of the First national bank of this city, is a fugitive ano de- faulter to the extent or Sc00,0O0.
 The announcement of the defalca- tioh, Which was made yesterday after noon, created the utmost excitement in the financial district 'of the city, but the well-known stability of the First national and statement is- sued by the bank had quietinG eff, feet. This statement was as follows:
 The note teller, who has been in the employ of the Firstnational bank for many years, is a defarilter to a large amount. His operations have continued for a considerable period, and have been skllfully concealed through the manipulation of his bal ance books. This discovery was made by one of the banks emlpoyes a few days after the completion of the ex- animation of the bank by the United States examiners. During the con- tinnance of his peculations periodical examinations have been made by sev- eral distinct corps of examiners rep resenting the comptroller's depart ment, all expert accountants, and the bank has also had frequent independ ent examinations, neither of which has developed any irregularity. The aggregate of the false entries, amounting to $700,0o0, mas been charged off on the books of the bank out of the reserve fund, without di. minishing the surplus and profits of | the bank as reported in it's last pub | lished statement. It is said that the | shortage will be materially reduced | by substantial sum of which there is 2 fair prospect of recovery"
 | Alvord had been with the bank for | 20 years and was one of the most ] trusted men in the institution. His stealing extended over a long period, but no suspicion of the truth was | known until ten days ago, when he sent word that he was ill al his home. After he had been away for day or two the bank put experts at work, ] and some irregularities were found. | As the experts delved deeper and deeper into Alvord's books the extent of the robbery began to dawn on the officers, until they were overwhelmed to find that it reached the enormous | figure of $70O,000. Whether this sum is all he took is not yet known.
 1t has not yet developed how the note teller was able to put his hands on so much money, but one of the di- rectors is reported to have said that | Alvord was enabled to take such a large sum because as note teller he was in charge of the mail. This he opened every morning, and Le had ample opportunity to abstract notes, drafts and checks as well as money. Of course he had to be especially skill | full to make his accounts balance. This director admitted that he was at a | loss to account for the failure of the bank examiners to discover Alvord's s irregularities at their last examina | tion.
 | Forest Raynor is in charge of the national bank examiners office here. | What Alvord did with all the cash is also a mystery as yet, except that, as usual in such cases it is said that a large amount of it went in stock speculation. One story is that he had lost $15, 1000 in one deal, but what deal it was is not stated. It has been dis covered that during the summer Al word visited Saratoga, where he cut a great figure, spending money like a prince.
 If these stories are true Alvord dis | played entirely different characteris- tics than those he showed at home. In this city he was known as a man of very regular habits. Among his as- sociates he was looked up to and on Wall street was known as Happy Alvord, because of his cheery ways. | His home was in the suburb of Mount Vernon. This home is a magnificent place, located on Chester Hill, one of the most aristocratic sections of the suburb. It is surrounded by luxuri- ous grounds, and there are extensive stables. Alvord has long been con- sidered one of the big men of the town. His family entertained lavishly and gave large sums to charity. He was prominent in church circles, and his wife is considered one of the most beautiful women in Mount Vernon.
 Invitations had been sent out for d grand dinner at the Alvord home a weeK ago tonight. The day set for the dinner messengers scurrieo throughout Mount Vernon recalling the invitations. That night the house was in darkness. Friends of the fam ily were told that Mir. Alvord was i'll The darkened windows since then and the fact that no callers were admitted led the neighbors to believe that his | Illness was serious.