The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1901-04-25
LIE MARS BANKER SKIps.
F. Ward Absconds With sac, 900
/, in Bank Funds


SfiouN City, April 1s.-Thomas f.
ord, manager and vice president of
thf LeMars National bank, has disap-
pehred, and yesterday morning when
the bank opened for business it was
found that he had left letter saying
THAT he was short $4,000 and that
hel had been specializing on the board
of trade. The letter said that he had
USED certain funds which had been
entrusted to the bank. Ward asked
THAT indictment be prevented, and
said that he would restore every dol
laf that he had taken. He has been
orte of the most prominent business
mfn of LeMars, a city of 5000 people.
Considerable excitement exists, but
hals not started run on the other
bdnks. 1t is not known where Ward
hdls gone, his letter saying that he
hdld left for God Knows Where" He
LEAVES beautiful wife and number
of children, among them a babe one
week old.
iThe other LeMars banks notified
the Sioux City Clearing House assoc
citation of the failure of the bank at
LleMars, and We're at once advised by
wfre to call upon the association for
ably sum that might be needed to pro-
tfct them. Gold to the amount of
SFO,OO0 was sent on a morning train,
put was not needed, as no run was
STARTED.
The officers of the bank which
Flashed are as follows:
7. p. Maclagen, president.
L. +. Ward, vice president.
Frank Koob. cashier. .
All but Koob are out of the city,
NJ ow that Ward has skipped, the presi-
dient being in Scotland. and the mem
blers of the board of directors out of
me city.
Washington, d. c., April 1s.-The
l4eMars National bank of LeMars,
iowa. has closed it's doors. III. Meyer,
National bank examiner for Iowa,
HAS been4Nrdered to take charge of the
1ank, penalng the arrival of Special
Agent Thomas NJ. Thornton, who has
lieen appointed temporary receiver.
The following is statement of
the condition of the bank as shown
lPy it's sworn report to the comp
1roller of currency under date of Feb
tuary 5, 1901:
Capital stock. ... $500, 900 90
Surplus and undivided
profits 80. -. =. ... 3,579.05
Circulation. ....... ....... >. 25,OoO.OO
lpue to banks and bankers. 659.2s
deposits. -. $50. >. 10s,176.96
borrowed money. :. :. 3O.421 go
Total liabilities. 49,. :. :. 267,s36.S7'
Total resources. ..... -. 267.s36.s7
Sioux City, April 19.-T. +. Ward,
lthe- absorbing vice president of the
LeM9ys National bank, has not been
found. The cashier of the bank re-
fuses to divulge the amount of the
shortage until the temporary re-
felver arrives from Washington. 1t
Us understood most of the shortage
has come since April /. Wards
scheme was to draw on Chicago for
$4,000 or $1,000 and enter the books
as SIS or ST. When he babe his wife
goodbye Monday night she thought
Jhe was leaving town on business
trip. She is quite shocked over the
news of his defalcation He was
seen to board north bound train
that night.
was burned to death near the Chicago
& Northwestern depot at Slptep a Jew
nights ago in peculiar manner. He
and companion had built fire
alongside the track out of bits of
wood aud brush. Before lying down
to sleep one of them informed the
other that he was subject to epileptic
fits and that if he should have one
during the night he asked to be
looked after and cared for. He had
hardly finished speaking before he
tottercd' over backwards into the fire.
His comrade rescued him at once,
burning his own hands slightly. He
then went to the depot to see if he
could find place to stay, leaving the
one who had had the fit to put out
his appearance as soon as he should
have done the first tramp returned to
the fire and was Mortified to find his
companion lying across the fire, life
less and burned to crisp.
A dispatch from Greenville says:
John Page of Lima, Ohio, Oil expert
for the Standard Oil company, visited
the deep well on the Conklin farm
| west of town and was also shown the
oil oozing from the ground on the
Bowers farm half mile south OF
town. He was asked to make a state.
ment in regard to the oil he found
here and said: cit is undoubtedly pc
troleum, and is being forced up to the
surface through a crevice or seam il
the bedrock How much petroleum
there is it is impossible to know unit
we'll is put down. The petroleum
coming to the surface seems to be o
good quality of light oil, the mos
valuable at the present time" Man.
other experts have examined the OF
and pronounce it the genuine article
Louis jackson of Chicago, industrial
commissioner of the Chicago, Milwau
llee & St. Paul Railway company, sal
the oily substance seemed to be a sor
of petroleum, but that nothing
discovered until it is discovered" an
that the only way to find ont whethe
there was oil or not was to drill
we'll, which would cost about S2,50'
The drilling would either result in TIL
total loss of the cost of the drilling
: or in fortune. He said if oil reall
. exists it will benefit this whole SCI
ton of country. John O'Brien {
Sioux City inspected the oil find. q
said that it was undoubtedly Petr'
leum and one of the best oil pro
poets he had ever seen. Mr.. O'Brie
I stated that he had had many year
! experience in the oil regions in al
. about Fostoria. Ohio, and has been
l the oil sections of Kansas.
! An accident which may result fata
Nv occurred near Boone. Mr.. and Nh