Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1906-09-26
Run to Earth at Tangier, Morocco,
the Man Chiefly Responsible
for the Ruin Of Thousands of
Poor Depositors in His lnstitu-
ton Comes Back to the United
States to End His Life in the
Penitentiary-Days and Nights
Of Misery Since His Flight from
Chicago.

and capture of Paul o. Stensland
president of the wrecked Milwaukee
Avenue State bank, is one of the
most dramatic in the history of those
all too frequent events. Traced from
this city to Tangiers. Morocco, he was
apprehended there by Assistant
States Attorney Olsen, who was &C.
companied by a representative Of the
Chicago Tribune. Not less interesting
is Stenslands account Of the circum-
stances leading to the wrecking OF
the bank and the despoiling of thou
sands of depositors of the poorer class
of the savings Of their lifetime. Told
in detail by the Tribune representative
the story is as follows:
1t was the old story of a woman
scorned that led to the finding Of
Stensland's trail. One of his numerous
friends who thought she had been
in possession of the first hint as to
the fugitive's whereabouts. Her infor-
nation was Indefinite, but investiga-
ton proved it's probable accuracy.
Finally. on August 49, it became
certain that he was in Tangier and
had been for 16 days. The facts were
laid before States Attorney Healy
He was asked if he could send a
man with a representative of the Tri-
bune to an unknown destination
where it was expected to find Stems
land or his trail. Mr.. Healy accepted
the proposition and Assistant States
Attorney Harry Olsen was ordered tc
meet the representative of the Tribune
in New York on Monday, August 20.
The next day Mr.. Olsen and the Tri.
bune man sailed on the liner Kaiser
Wilhelm II.
Paris was reached Monday, August
q, and was left Tuesday at noon.
Madrid was reached Wednesday after
noon, August 20, and Gibraltar 26
hours later. On Saturday morning,
September l, the boat was taken for
Tangier, the Moorish city being
reached early in the evening.
Back to Gibraltar. .
All Saturday night and until four
O'Clock Sunday afternoon, September
2, the investigation proceeded. At
every town Stenslands tracks were
the Grand hotel at Gibraltar 1t was
as follows: Assistant States Attor-
ney Olson had represented himself to
the keeper of the hotel where Stems
land stopped at Tangier as his son.
Stenslald, as has been stated, is trav-
cling under the alias Of P. Olsen. The
names were the same and the two
men do not look unlike. The hotel
keeper believed the story, but could
give no direct information as to
Stensland's whereabouts.
AS he was riding to the hotel at
midnight after getting the governor of
the French bank out of bed, voice
from a Moorish cafe sung out:
II say, Olson, I think know where
your governor is
We dismounted as the hotel man
continued:
You left the old man in Glib A
friend of mine just come over on the
night boat says he saw him at the
Grand hotel"
When we left Tangier Sunday after
noon, September 2, for Gibraltar to
run down the Grand hotel clew we left
25 Moorish and Arab scouts to guard
all the entrances and exits.
Less than an hour after the Olden-
burg, the German steamer bearing
Stensland from the Rock to the Moor
ish coast, reached port our Arab chief
of scouts sent a cable to us at Gibral.
tar announcing the arrival of the boat
and the presence on board of the man
we wanted.
Hired Special Steamer.
We began negotiations for special
steamer to bring us back to Tangier
Finally small steamer was chartered
and permission obtained from the of.
ficer of the guard to leave port.
At midnight we turned tail on the
Rock and headed across the straits.
1t was four o'clock in the morning
when we rounded Malabat Point and
saw the red light above the gate OF
the city of Tangier.
The steamer Oldenburg lay half a
mile off shore. We hauled alongside
and asked If the passengers had land
ed. It was great relief to hear that
they had not, as we feared that If SO
Stensland might have been warned
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