Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-13
BANK PRESIDENTS FLIGHT,
Full Statement by Son of the Default.
ing Official.

| CHICAGO, H., August 13.-The Tribune
| today says:
Theodore Stensland son Of the fugitive
| Milwaukee Avenue Bank president made
| last night a full statement of his knowls
| edge of the circumstances surrounding the
| flight Of his father and touching the coz
| lossal forgery fraud in the bank.
In a frank narration of the manner In
which the great scandal was made known
| to him, young Stensland not only fatty de-
| MED that he ever had knowledge of the
plot before August last, but submitted
various proofs with which he expects to
| substantiate his story when told before q
| jury. He declares absolutely that he was
| not only ignorant of the steals perpetrated.
but that he never profited In any way from
them.
The young man advanced the belief that
| his father had not fled the country, but has
committed suicide. He also advanced the
| theory that his father could not himself
cause of an impeachment in his control Of
| the pen in recent years.
He thinks also that Cashier Henry w.
Herring could not have sufficiently dis
guised his own distinctive chirography to
perform the limitations, and that therefore
an outside expert was employed for the
purpose of copying signatures on blank
checks.
1t became known last night that young
Stensland late on Saturday had given to
Receiver John G. Fetzer for the benefit OF
the bank depositors a. deed to all the Cook
county real estate held by his father. who
had given him power of attorney. The
property is estimated to be worth $3.50, 600,
The fugitive bankers son was found at q
downtown hotel, where he is staying pre-
paratory to surrendering himself today to
the sheriff the bench warrant for con.
spiracy in which he was included with
Paul o. Stensland and Cashier Herring.
The young man was sought out for the
purpose of obtaining his comment on new
police charges made during the day to
the effect that the son had previous know1.
edge of the entire plot, and that he had
aided and abetted his fathers escape from
the claims of the law.
These latter charges were based on testf.
mony given to Police Inspector Shippy
during the day by employees Of the bank.
Lorenz Boedeker. custodian of the safety
deposit vaults, informed the inspector that
young Stensland had the key to his fathers
deposit, box the day after M the disappear.
that he went to the bank frequently ana
opened the box in the two weeks before the
scandal broke.
fathers box few days after he left town."
said Theodore, in commenting on the infor.
nation, but did not go through the box
until had received an alarming letter from
him nearly three weeks later. knew abso~
lutely nothing about the whhole miserable
affair and never had the slightest suspicion
raised until l finally went through the box
in compliance with my fathers mysterious
The letter, young Stensland said, was
undated
St Paul. 1t contained a key to his fathers
safety deposit box. Theodore said ne
opened the box and found a sheet OF paper
bearing a power OF attorney mace ouT rhfa "
neper Young Stensland took from the box
without disturbing the other contents
After this. said Stensland, things ran
along smoothly at the bank, though he
heard nothing more from his father untl
on Friday, August 3, when he received a
second letter, similar to the hrst
late 70
panion key to the one sent In the previous
letter, stensland continued
"In the letter father asked how things
were at the bank. Then he referred to
having had bad luck in his real estate
deals and the loss of money generally
He said that things at the bank had NOT
gone as they should have gone; and nnaLy
he said that I would find in his vault box
a memorandum OF his Indebtedness to the
bank. After that he devoted couple OF
paragraphs to remarks on the relation OF
father and son, which was unusual between
II went right over to the bank that
afternoon and opened the box and began
to go through the papers. In the midse
of the mass I found a long envelope adj
dress Theodore Stensland.' Above the adj
dress was a notation in my fathers hand
writing:' The list of names in my own
writing is taken from notes which Herring
claims are my obligations.
Below the address was this notations
The little red memorandum book will show
my indebtedness in December, 1901"
II opened the envelope and found two
sheets Of paper. One was list of notes
In fathers writing. The other was a list OF
notes In Hering's writing. Fathers list
totaled 81 ,003 900. Hering's list was not
totaled, but Is proved to be some 100000
or 500, 900 less than fathers"
Young Stensiand said he submitted the
memoranda to Francis s. Peabody, Z. A.
Potter and B. Forgan, bankers, who
were ioath to believe that the memorandum
of forgeries could be anything but a huge
mistake.
Bank Examiner JONES'" he continued,
was unwilling to believe there was a
shortage, and said he would not like to
close the bank and find 1t q mistake. But