Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1905-04-25

down the street as tho expecting some
one to meet him. This continued for
fifteen minutes, when he disappeared.
A Chicago train was due to leave at
about that time, but whether Coll took
it or not is not known.
How Stealing Was Done.
The officers of the bank have ne
bulous idea only of how the stealing
was done. Bigelow in the little that he
has said speaks of classifying the books,
but only in general terms.
The connivance of two bookkeepers
was necessary. They made false en-
tries amounting to many hundreds OF
thousands of dollars on the orders of
Assistant Cashier Coll, who received
his instructions from Bigelow. Sew
eral false entries have been found in
dicating that sums as high as 100000
had been sent to the First National
bank. the Corn Exchange, and the
Merchants Loan and Trust Company,
the Chicago correspondents Of the Mil
waukee institution, when as a matter
of fact the money went into BigeloW's
speculative swamp.
For instance when Mr.. Bigelow de-
sired to draw out a sum of money a
draft or check would be drawn payable
to a Chicago bank. When the account
of the Chicago bank would come back
it would be O. KID by Cashier Coll, and
the bookkeepers who We're in the
transaction would make the proper en-
tries.
Accounts Manipulated.
Collection accounts We're manipulate
ed to the extent of 40 and in some in
stances so per cent, to make it appear
that the reserve fund was INTACT. and
the amount Of the increased collection
fund was diverted to special stock OPP
erations.
The reserve maintained in eastern
banks was tempered with. the books
of the First National being fixed so
that the reserve appeared to be larger
by several hundreds of thousands of
dollars than it really was. These and
other methods were pursued by Bige-
low in looting the bank.
Three Others Implicated.
In the classifying of records and the
manipulation of the reserves, Bigelow
declares he was aided by Assistant
Cashier Coll and two bookkeepers in
the bank. These bookkeepers acted on
the orders of Bigelow, and they have
neither been discharged nor suspended
and they will be called as witnesses in
the criminal proceedings against the
former bank president.
The manipulation of accounts has
been going on for months according to
the statement of one of the directors,
but so cleverly was the work done that
neither the directors nor the national
bank examiners were able to discover
the fact that anything was wrong with
the funds of the bank.
Bookkeeper Weakens and Confesses.
These boollkeepers,, awed by the
magnitude of the defalcations; could
not keep silent. and one of them, with
the knowledge of the other, went last
Friday night to Charles f. Pfister, the
director who has a finger in nearly ev-
erything in Milwaukee, and confessed.
The other directors were communicate
ed with. A special meeting of the
board was called on Saturday night,
and President Bigelow was bluntly ac-
cused of robbing the bank.
BigeIow's Cool Confession.
In confessing Bigelow said he had q
painful statement to make-a confess
sion that he had INSTRUCTED the funds
of the bank, and that an examination
of his books and comparison of fig
ures would show that he was indebted
to the bank to the amount OF over ST.
100000
This money, he said. had been lost
in speculation in wheat and stocks
Not dollar Of it could be recovered
and the only sum he could offer to-
ward recompensing the bank was per-
sonal securities valued at approxi-
mately 100000.
First Losses in Wall Street.
Bigelow said he had become involved
in speculation several months ago
This was on Wall street More re-
Gently he had been a persistent bull
in the wheat market, and recent loss
Wall street From small manipula-
tons of the banks funds, he had ex-
tended the defalcations until his short
age had reached the present stage He
saw no opportunity or possibility of
making up the amount, and therefore
confessed.
Mr.. Bigelow declared that none of
the securities or collaterals of the bank
had been touched. He admitted, how
ever, that he had done away with the
surplus.
1t is stated that the president of the
institution exhibited no particular con-
triton as to his deeds, and apparently
did not realize the enormity of his Of
tense.