The daily morning journal and courier., 1905-04-25
HEAVY DEPRECIATION.
tcontinued from First Page.l

I
 to make it appear that the reserve fund was intact. and the amount of the increased collection fund was di- verted to special stock operations. 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 sew eral thousand dollars than it really was. These and other methods were pursued by Bigelow in securing money from the bank. In the falsifying of records and the manipulation of 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 rnanipula- tion 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 exam iners discovered anything wrong with the funds of the bank; The first inti-, nation that there were, irregularities came to Charles F. Pfister, director, Friday evening". when an employe of the bank gave Mir. Pfster information sufficient to start an investigation. Then followed a meeting of the directors and the confession. r.r ,i As soon as the directors ascertained f,,lI AZ To e.yo were taken to protect the depositors and other creditors. Charles r. Pfis- ter subscribed $600o00 to fund to make good the surplus. John I. Beggs, president of the Milwaukee Electric Railway and Light company gave $30o,000; William Bigelow, a brother of the president, added $1OO,0OO to the amount. Other directors subscribed lesser sums until the amount, raised reached $1, ,635,000. *a
 Prior to this the directors had been in conference with bankers in Chicago and New York. As a result $1,000,000 was sent to Milwaukee by Chicago bankers before the news of the defal- cation was made public. Several hun dred thousand dollars in gold was transferred to the First National bank by local banks so that institution was prepared for 8 run.
 When the bank closed this afternoon some 2,000 'depositors were waiting for their money. Nearly $100O000 was paid out in two hours. and many cus- toners, demanding the closing of their accounts, had not been served. One of the first callers was a business man who presented a check for $10O,000," the entire amount of his account. He was followed by the city treasurer, who drew $500 000 of city funds. Withdraw als in sums ranging from 1000 to $10,- 900 quickly followed, and by 2 o'clock in the afternoon a line of people extend- ed from the bank east on Wisconsin street to Broadway, and in the other direction around the, corner and north il, East Water street. The Chamber of Commerce was one of the concerns that was quick to withdraw it's funds. The state of Wisconsin has several hundred thousand dollars in the bank, which was not withdrawn to-day.
 The depositors in, East Water street were besiegng the Wisconsin Trust Co.,, the savings bank department of the First National bank, and the run on the savings department assumed the great est proportions. Depositors of large amounts apparently ceased withdraw als after the facts became well known, and those who sought their deposits were customers of the savings bank. But while many savings depositors were seeking to withdraw their funds, other persons who believe in the sound ness of the bank were coming forward with deposits, and when the bank closed there was a line of depositors to coun- terbalance the line waiting to withdraw money.
 When the bank was cleared at the hour of closing, hole was cut through the plate glass window in the Wiscon- sin street front, and until 8 late hour this evening depositors were there leaving there money.
 Officers of the bank are preparing for any possible run tomorrow. A request has been made for a detail of twenty policemen, and an extra force of clerks will be employed to handle the business. Money is on the way from New York to strengthen the resources of the bank,