The daily morning journal and courier., 1903-12-16

Due 10 Shortage in Ills Accounts
 Funds About sIs,OOO, secured By In-
 dsmnisy company-PartiouIars of ths
 Sad Occurrence.
 Fearful of the consequences resultant from the finding of a shortage in his accounts, Cashier Asa c. Bushnell, of the Yale National bank, committed sui eide yesterday morning about o'clock in a closet adjoining the directors rooms in the basement of the bank building, corner of Chapel and State streets. The fatal wound was inflicted by a bullet from 32-calibre revolver which entered the right forehead. The bullet passed through the brain and lodged at the back of the head under the skin. Immediately after the dis- covery of the deed MT. Bushnell was tenderly removed to Grace hospital in an ambulance, and death ensued at that institution about 10 o'clock, or shortly more than an hour after the sad occurrence.
 By reason of MT. Bushnells high standing in the banking and financial circles of the city, and his apparent comfortable circumstances, there were many conjectures as to the cause for the rash act. The presence of National Bank Examiner Barrows at the bank shortly after MT. Bushnelrs arrival at the institution and the quick commis- sion of the deed gave rise to rurnors or apparent foundation that all was not right in the accounts. This rumor proved to be founded on fact. for careful examination of the books by Examiner Barrows developed short age which President E. S Greeley last night said would amount to not more l than S1SO00, and that the shortage would be fully covered by the bond filed l by the cashier in the sum of s20,00O, ! given by the Fidelity and Casualty company, of Baltimore.
 President Greeley said further last night that thorough investigation of I all bonds, securities and other valuable { possessions of the bank found them to { be intact, and that there was no possi- < biiity of finding further shortages ull~ 3 less something should develop In corre- spondence, which was improbable, It x is said that most of the shortage was in < cash. about s12000 being in one package
 which is missing
 It seems that MT. Bushnell was ap-
 parently in about his usual health and ! spirits yesterday morning and reached 3 the bank about 8:15, and, going inside, ,E found Mir Barrows, who greeted him
 with the statement that he wanted to
 look over the accounts. The. cashier
 made the usual response, and added
 that he would be ready in few min
 utes. Without removing his overcoat
 he went down the stairs into the base
 ment of the bank and then removed the coat. laid it on the floor and evidently
 sat down or partially reclined on it pre-
 vious to discharging the bullet into his
 brain, for he was found lying prostrate
 on the coat and in pool of blood. The
 revolver was clutchsd tightly in the X right hand. The shot was not heard by
 any one in the bank, and 1t was not < until twenty or minutes or more that a
 search for him was begun and he was
 found in a dying condition by a clerk
 of the bank. The authorities were at
 once notified and he was taken to the ! hospital
 After death had ensued Medical Ex- 1 aminer Bartlett conducted nasty ex-
 animation and gave out as his impress
 sion that the deed was the result of
 illness and a sudden alteration of
 mind.
 The deceased had been connected
 with the bank for the past twenty-five
 years. He was born in Clinton, Conn, I in 1855 and graduated from the Morgan
 school after which he was connected
 with the Clinton National bank. He
 worked his way up in the Yale bank
 from a. clerk to the position of cashier,
 succeeding the late John A. Richardson
 upon the death of Mr Richardson. s MT. Bushnell lived with his wife son
 and daughter at 1919 Chapel street. Mrs.
 Bushnells was notified Of her husbands condition soon after the shooting, and
 was with him when he died. Besides his position in the bank, MT. Bushnell
 held many other important offices in
 some of which he also succeeded MT. , Richardson. He was treasurer of Trim { ity M. ID. church Grace hospital. Yale concIaye, Independent Order of Hepta- , sophs. and of local council of the , Royal Arcanum. The accounts in all of these institutions were looked over : yesterday afternoon and last evening
 and were found to be correct. no dis l crepancies being found. MT. Bushnell } was an active republican and had serv- l ed efficiently as member of the Tenth t ward committee. He leaves an aged ; father and a brother in Clinton The i father is about eighty-three years old
 and was for many years in the under } taking business there, which is now [ conducted by his son. Mrs Bushnell is 5 from Clinton a1so She is a member ol l the board of managers of Grace hospi- I tai. One of the children, a girl is 9 l student at Phelps academy in Mailing. f ford, and the other a boy and younger < is in the New Haven high school. I The death of MT. Bushnell came as
 shock in the community he being wide
 Ily known and greatly esteemed anf
 his death will be greatly mourned
 while the bereaved ones will have ths
 deep sympathy of their large circle Q [ friends
 n The shortage in the accounts of tht :. deceased was due, it appears, to unfor ! tunate speculation in stocks, among hi i. commitments being lines of Atchisol
 common, Union Pacific common ant > also Missouri Pacific, with possibly oth 1T CTS. That he was engaged in speculat D ing in Wall street was unknown to th' ]. (Continued on Second Page.) -------------------------