The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1901-11-08
SUPREME FINANCE KEEPER OF
MACcABEEs WRITES A LET
TER OF CONFESSION
LOST IN A BUSINESS VENTURE
The Order Is Amply Protected by
Bonds of Surety Companies In
Double the Amount
Mentioned.
SUP. COM MARKEY EXPLAINS

PORT HURON, Mich, Nov. by his
owl, written confession, Charles u.
Thompson, supreme finance keeper of the
supreme tent, Knights of the Maccabee,
and prominent vessel and tug man of
this city, is defaulter in the sum Of
s57 ,090. Thompson, however, was
heavily bonded in the National Surety
Company of New York, and the Fidelity
and Deposit Company of Baltimore. and
the order, the. etore, is protected from
loss. Thompson made no effort to escape
after his defalcation was discovered He
is now at his home awaiting the action
of the bonding companies. His embezzls-
nenu is confessed in the following letter
to Supreme Commander D. F. Markey:
D. p. Markey, Supreme Commander, K.
Q. 7. M.-Dear Sir: 1t is with a feeling
of distress and shame that / tender here
with my resignation as supreme finance
keeper of the oder of which you are the
head. And this step is taken with Bit
ter realization that / am no longer
worthy the companionship and associa-
ton of my fellow officers. have held
the position since the order was founded,
have curing most of the time been offi-
cially associated with the present su-
preme officers, and never in any way,
until now, did I betray my trust
Risked in Business and Lost.
I was engaged in legitimate business
venture, in which ] MADE a large invest
ment and found myself in a position
when further money was necessary to
save myself from bankruptcy and ruin.
There was apparently no chance for
loss. then betrayed my trust and used
the funds of the order, at the time be-
Hevlng there was no question of my
ability to replace them within a short
time. The amount l used was s57 600. 1
have no hope of being able to repay this
amount. know the order is protected
from loss by the surety bonds of nearly
twice the amount in perfectly respon.
sible company, but this does not lessen
my mental suffering nor relieve me from
the disgrace of having betrayed the con-
fidence reposed in me. Nothing that may
occur can Increase the tortu.es which !.
nave suffered and am still suffering. Z
can only await such action as may be
taken and abide by the consequences
NO punishment can be greater and no
suffering so intense as that resulting
from the loss of the respect and esteem
of the membership of the order and the
suffering necessarily causd to my fam
ny Charles B. Thompson
Inc nrst Intimation OF the SHORTAGE,
came last Tuesday afternoon, when SUI
preme Commander Markey and Sunrenne
Recordkeeper George j. Sigle were check
ing over the financekeeper' books. An
error was discovered and they called
Ihompsons attention to it. He said that
he would take the books and papers home
with him that night and look it up.
Wednesday morning he came to ST.
preme Commander Markey's office and
confessed that his accounts were short
$4,000. He then and there signed a writ
ten confession of the embezzlement. An
examination of the books followed and
the shortage was disclosed.
Commander Markey's Statement.
Supreme Commander Markey this after
noon gave out the following statement in
regard to Mr.. Thompson's shortage:
Charles B. Thompson has been su-
pteme financekeeper of the supreme tent
since il was organized in September 1883
and has handled and disbursed more than
s15,000,0O0 during that time and until this
defalcation no thought has ever been en-
tertained against his integrity. This be-
tfayal on his part will be keenly felt by
the membership. The supreme tent keeps
on deposit large amounts of money in
leading banks in several commercial CEN
tiers on which warrants are drawn for the
payment of death claims, but all collec-
tons are made through the Commercial
Bank of Port Huron, and it is part of the
duties of the supreme financekeeper to
transfer from time to time from the
Commercial bank to these other depos-
itories money for the purpose of keeping
the account good at such banks, and the