Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1904-07-30

| of dissipation was ever known of him
For twenty years he has lived here in
luxury and style far beyond his salary
as bank cashier, but he had property
of his own and rich family connections,
| so his income could easily have been
a legitimate ope. Some have ventured
! 20 praparatory "a flight AMI fell
be;,s & he was ready. The suicide
theory is not borne out by the circum-
stances for had he planned his own
death 1t is not likely that he would
have left all the tell-tale records in the
bank or have failed to protect his fam
lily by putting his property beyond
reach. The most plausible theory and
the one in keeping with the mans
known characteristics is that his faith
ers shortage of nearly fifteen years
ago, then admitted to have been $20,-
1000, was much greater, and that in
stead of having been paid up as the
banks stockholders supposed. the hole
was filled by this forged paper on
which Henry had been paying inter-
est all these years. his pride causing
him to forge and re-forge hundreds OF
notes and then forge more as the inter-
est ate into the banks principal, that
the discovery Of his fathers rascalty
might be put off as long as possible.
Had this shortage then been $4,000 to
500 900 instead of $4,000 as admitted
the interest by this time would have
increased 1t to almost any sum from
500. 900 to 100000 according to what
it amounted to at the start.
- l~t Inf vnot g
the most unexpected calamity that
ever befell this city. 1t is even the
greatest shock to a community's trust
in fellow man that ever startled this
or any other town. Everywhere about
this town and in the minds OF almost
every man, woman and child the con-
viction was established that Henry
Spencer was s'the soul OF honor" When
lhe would announce to his fellow
directors that I'VE can pay five per
cent semi-annual dividend. gentlemen,
there was not one who ever thought of
questioning the cashier. In manner he
was so polished, so dignified. so polite,
so exceedingly exact in business de-
tail that he walked about this COM
munity as living ideal of business
character His father before him had
founded the bank in 1866, when Grim
nell was a community of only a few
hundred frugal living. Christian people.
All these years the management has
been kept in the hands of the spencers.
father and son. The stockholders and
directors. now grown old and gray.
were the pioneers of the town. for
nearly two generations the tall syca
mores of Christian faith and OF
Christian rectitude. The crash now
will ruin several of them few losing
every dollar that they have in the
world but worst of all. Will walk thru
life for the rest of their days. crushed
in spirit and humiliated that they,
whose lives have been so clean and
ideals so high should now be forced
to bear responsibility for mans perfidy
70 the fellow men who loved him.
And the trust Of these men in their
cashier was shared by all. When the
deaths occurred the whole town joined
in the mourning at public funeFal.
The bank directors resolved an express
sion of sincere appreciation of the
wise and eminent service OF our late
cashier. his thorough knowledge of his
business, his uniform courtesy in all
our intercourse with him.. The COM
uercial exchange resolved publicly its
expression of sorrow. Co. x. l. N. G.,
resolved for the loss of it's former cap
tain: the local paper devoted an entire
issue to the obituaries: the 4. P. lodge
resolved and the Masons conducted a
puhlic funeral at the Congregational
church. Probably no citizen of Grin-
nell ever died with greater public con-
fidence in his probity of character and
certainly no community was ever more
unprepared for the revelations Of the
following day. -