The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-08-19
Illinois Bank Examiner Makes
Report on Defunct Milwau-
kee Avenue Institution.
MARVEL HOW CR00KEDNESS
WAS SO LONG CONCEALED
Other Officers of the Bank
Probably Had Guilty Knowl-
edge of DefalcatiOns.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill, Aug. 1s.-Bank
Examiner Jones, in his report to the
Auditor of Public Accounts on the Mil
waukee Avenue State bank of Chi
cago, which was received by the Audi
tor today, estimates the total defalca-
tions through the manipulation of the
affairs of the bank by President Stems
land to be $l,000,000, and possibly more.
He says the closing of the bank was
the consummation of a career the most
remarkable, and in his opinion the most
conspicuous in the history of banking.
On his examination of November /,
1905, everything appeared to be pros
porous and satisfactory, but it his since
developed that in the figures were many
questionable and forged notes, the ex-
act amount of which nobody but the
president can determine. lie is of the
opinion that Mr.. Aisborg, the chief
clerk; Frank Kowalski, the assistant
paying teller, who has since committed
suicide; John Gulinski, the receiver,
and MIR, Esdohr, the paying teller, and
without doubt, others Of the employees
of the bank had guilty knowledge of
many things which were not divulged
by the directors to him.
Mr.. Jones declares that Cashier Her
ing, in swearing TO the statement of
January 80, 1906, perjurcd himself to
the amount of $ls4, $50, and in the April
statement TO the extent of 5000, ,123,
l,,I
tee and the examining committee of the
bank never acted in any official capa-
city and that had they done SO each
member of the two committees would
have found his forged note IN the as
sets.
Blamed Another Man.
Cashier herring he says. denied forg-
ing the notes, and failing to implicate
President Stensland, gave him TO under
stand that an Italian named Demario,
employed in the bank, had been the
guilty party and that Stensland had
given him $4,000. States Attorney Healy
learns that Demario is now in Italy.
Mr.. Jones finds that the Steel Ball
obligations aggregated S1S0,000 and
that they VIII not pay 10 cents on the
dollar The P O. Stensland paper ag-
gregatcs sl45,000, according to United
States examination, aud the paper of
the Milwaukee Avenoe Co-Operative
store and its ramifcations $4,000. The
capital stock of the bank, amounting
TO $250000, and the surplus and undi-
vided profits Of 100000 arc wiped out
and there is still deficit Of $450,000.
The notes which carried this deficiency
were forged paper, or paper; to say the
least, which was questionable, Three hun
dred thousand dollars worth OF Stems
lands subdivision notes were shown
under tho head Of "real estate.h In
former examinations, these notes were
always shown minus the matured cou-
pom and Mr.. Jones was always Informed
that the interest had been paid. Now
he finds that this was not the case and
that the coupons had been put into
package and kept in the cashiers pri-
vate box and never exhibited to the
examiner on previous examinations.
The lossers are divided as follows:
Forged and worthless paper, $780,
800; at least questionable paper. if not
forged 100000; Steel Ball losses,
$fS0000; real estate losses, 1858, 900.
The report says that the examination
Of the bank the years past have always
shown it to be in fine condition and
that the last examination showed abso
mtely no suspicious circumstances Mr..
Jones considers it one of the most re
markable examples in banking that
crookedness on such scale could be so
concealed. He says that even prior TO
the organization Of this bank it is now
common report that many crooked
things were done by the StenslaDds
when they conducted q private banking
institution: