The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-11-08
CONFESSED
 EMBEZZLER (. D. Thompson is Short
 $57,OOO. THE MONEY OF A LODGE
He is Finance Keeper of Su-
 preme Tent, MaccabeeS.
Guaranty Companies Who are on His Bond will Be Compelled to Make Good Losses of
 the Order.

Port Huron, Mich, Nov. 7-By his own
 written confession. Charles D. Thompson.
 Supreme Finance Keeper of the Supreme
 Tent, Knights of the Maccabees, and prominent vessel and tugboat man of this
 city. is defaulter in the sum of sS7.ooo
 Mir. Thompson, however. was heavily
 bonded in the National Surety Company of New York and the Fidelity and De- posit Company of Baltimore, and the orr der. therefore, Is protected from loss.
 Thompson made no effort to escape after
 his dedication was discovered. He fs now at his home awaiting the action of
 the bonding companies. His embezzie- ment Is confessed in the following letter
 to Supreme Commander D. P. Markey:
 gro D. P Markey, Supreme Commanders
 Knights of the Macabees:
 Tt Is with feeling of distress and shame that I tender herewith my resig7
 nation as Supreme Finance Keeper of ths order of which you are the head. And I this step is taken with a bitter realiza- | ton that am no longer worthy of the | companionship and association of my fel- l low officers. I have held the position | since the order was founded; have during | most of that time been officially asso- | ciated with the present supreme officers | and never until now did in any way be- | tray my trust.
 How He Used the Money.
 q was engaged In legitimate business | venture in which I had made large In-
 vestment and found myself in 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. but be-
 lieving there was no question of my
 ability to replace them within short time.
 'The amount used was $57.OOo. I have no hope of being able to repay this : amount. l know the order is protected
 from loss by the surety bond of nearly
 twice the amount in a perfectly respon- | sibie 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 tortures with which I have suffered
 and am still suffering. I can only await such action as might be taken and abide the consequences. No punishment can be | greater and suffering SO intense as that resulting from the loss, respect and es-
 teem of the membership of the order and
 the suffering necessarily caused to my l family.
 | (Signed) "Charles E. thompson. | The O1SCOVeIy AduS' | The first intimation of the shortage
 came last Tuesday afternoon when Su-
 preme Commander Markey and Supreme | Record Keeper George J. Sigle were | checking over the Finance Keepers books An error was discovered, and they
 called Thompsons 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 Supreme Commander Markeys office and confessed that his accounts were | short $57, coo. He then signed written confession of the embezzlement. | An examination of the books followed,
 and the shortage was disclosed. Supreme | Commander Markey this afternoon gave out the following statement in reference
 to it:
 "Charies B. Thompson has been Su- preme Finance Keeper of the Supreme
 Tent since 1t was organized in September 1855, and has handled and disbursed more
 than $15 00l, coo during that time, and un-
 til this dedication. no thought has ever
 been entertained against his integrity,
 and this betrayal of his past will be
 keenly felt by the membership. The Su-
 preme Tent keeps on deposit large
 amounts of money in leading banks in several commercial centres, on which | warrants are drawn for the payment of death claims but all collections are made | through the Commercial Bank of Fort Huron, and it is a part of the duties of l the Supreme Finance Keeper to transfer 1 from time to time from the Commercial Bank to these other Repositories money for the purpose of keeping the account good at such banks. and the money that was used in this case by MT. Thompson was on d draft transferring from the Commercial Bank to the First National Bank of New York.
 No Loss Incurred.
 MT. Thompson's shortage is S57,000, but no loss will be incurred by the Supreme Tent, as every financial official of the as- | sociation. including MT Thompson. Is | bonded in surety companies and the bond held by the order as security for Mir. Thompson's integrity. is very much greater than the shortage. The bond companies have been notified of MT. Thompson's dedication and the Supreme | Tent will look to them to make good the amount. Pending an adjustment with the | bond companies, there will be no delay in | the payment of death claims, as the order had on deposit In cash on the first day of this month on it's various Repositories ] throughout the United States little more than half a million dollars, besides | having bonds amounting to more than $1, ,12O, OOO"
 | The companies on Mir. Thompson's bond were notified of the shortage today and representatives of each are now on their way to Port Huron. Thompson is not un- der arrest but says that he expects to be arrested and prosecuted, and is pre- pared to pay the penalty.
 The heavy loss sustained by the Thomp- son Towing and Wrecking Company of this city, of which Thompson is a mem- Der, on the steamer Harlem, which they raised from the bottom of Lake Superior. Is responsible for the dedication. Thomp- son said this evening that he used the funds of the order in this enterprise, which proved very unprofitable. the expense of raising and refitting the craft was so great that she had to be sold at a loss it is said. of $75.OOO. instead of a profit. It is expected an effort will be made by Thompsons friends to effect settlement with the bonding companies.