Waterbury evening Democrat., 1903-12-15
CASHIER IS DEAD.
Asa c. Bushnell of New Haven
 Shot Himself.
WENT TO HIS DESK AS USUAL.

fore Opening Hour-Was Lying in
 the Toilet Room With Bullet
 Wound in His Temple.
 New Haven, Dec 15.-Actuated by an impulse for which his friends and business associates have been at loss for an explanation, Asa 0. Bushnell, cashier of the Yale National bank, shot himself fatally short time before the opening of business at the bank to day. MT Bushnell went to the bank at about S:15 this morning, following his usual custom of being early at his desk Before entering he spoke to a policeman with whom he is acquaint- ed and who happened to be at that mo ment in front of the bank door. The officer noticed nothing unusual in the cashiers demeanor, and says the latter simply greeted him pleasantly ana passed into the bank.
 Half an hour later, when other em- ployes of the bank arrived, they found the cashier lying on the floor of the toilet room in the basement at the rear Of the building with a bullet wound 1n his right temple and a revolver beside him. His overcoat. which had been removed and spread on the floor, was beneath him. Apparently the cashier had gone directly to the basement after 5 locking the outer door of the bank behind him and had fired the fatal shot
 He was unconscious when found and after removal to the hospital gradually weakened, dying at 10 o'clock.
 Business at the bank was resumed as usual. It was said that a statement regarding the suicide might be given out later in the day, but one of the d. rectors declared that a hasty eXamina- ton of the books showed that all the cashiers accounts were apparently in perfect order and that there was abso- lutely no reason to suppose that A1r BushnelTs suicide was in any way con nected with his affairs at the bank. The announcement was made later that Mr Burroughs, a United States bank examiner. was at the Yale National bank early in the dav and, according to one of the bank officials. the exam iner was in the bank when the cashier ; shot himself This bank official. how. ever. secuted the idea that fear of the discovery of a shortage in his accounts led to the cashiers act He said that while the visit of the bank examiner was unexpected, he came here to make his regular semi-annual examination. The official said that he believed Mir BushnelFs mind had become slightly deranged by overwork and phy sical in firnity and that this would prove to be the real cause of the shooting. Other friends of the dead cashier said he had at times complained of weariness due to .overwork, and slight sickness.
 Mir Bushnell had been cashier of the bank since last January and previous to that time had been assistant cash fer. having been connected with the in stitution for twenty-one years. H. was 47 years old and leaves wife and two children
 He was born in Clinton, Conn, and came to this city as bookkeeper twen- ty-three years ago. Last January he succeeded John A. Richardson as cashier of the bank and also as director of Grace hospital, the institution in which he died to-day. His wife is member of the board of managers of the hos pital. One of his children, girl, is q student at Phelps academy in Waling- ford and the other. boy and young CT. is in the New Haven high school. Mir Bushnell was a church member and belonged to the '. M c. A. He was also treasurer of the local chapters of several secret fraternities
 Dr O. J. Bartlett. the medical ex- aminer. made his report this afternoon. He found that the bullet had entered the right side of the forehead, close to the temple. The verdict was suicide, with no motive assigned.
 A Statem ent of President Greeley of the hank was issued at half-past I this afternoon and was as follows: "A. c Bushnell o1rr cashier, has taken his own life. It is evident that Mir Bush- nell has been sneculating in stocks to a limited extent and was indebted to the hank for small amount which is anply covered bv surety bonds. United States bank officials are now engaged in making an examination"
 From competent source it Is learned that the alleged misappronria- tion Of flIrds nv the cashier will be less than $15.0OO. "A