The Washington times., 1907-09-09
All Certificates Now
Accounted for by
Bank.
Weird Note Sent From
New Orleans GO
Cashier Lynn.

III 4i4J olSi J NClIOClAlllS NIlC OLS@
appearance of Edwin H. Potts, ab-
Sconding bank clerk of the American
National Bank, supposed to be re-
sponSible for $1,000 in missing
railroad bonds, was augmented this
morning when Cashier R. H. Lynn,
Of the bank, received a peculiarly
addressed envelope containing three
blocks Of the stock.
The stock thus returned, together
with the lot said TO have been hy-
pothecated by Potts in Baltimore,
accounts for all the missing stock,
according TO statement made by
a bank official this afternoon.
Enveloped in Mystery.
The envelope received by Mr..
Lynn, together with the method in
which it vas addressed and mailed,
is mysterious throughout, and bank =
officials are meLIe to throw any
light upon the natter. The address
is as follows:
K. H. lynn, Esq,
1315-1317,
Washington, D. c.
Written within a large circle on
the envelope is IF found please
mail" Inside was found a note.
dated August 6, reading as follows:
Enclosed you viii find three
blocks Of stock. don't put this in
the paper doubtless they viii have
enough in it about me anyway.
Edwin"
The note is written and punetu-
ated as above. and is upon a letter
head of the New St. Charles Hotel,
New Orleans, La.
Potts Didn't Mail It.
! Additional interest centers in the
| whereabouts Of the letter since the day
/ 1t was written. Also IN the manner
and by waom Il was mailed Outside ap-
/
/ thrown the letter from train or ha5
/ dropped II Intentionally upon the street.
/ depending upon some honest finder TO
mail Il. It Will be noted, however. that
/ Potts. taking it for granted that he is
the author Of the letter, failed to put
any street address whatever upon the
| envelope.
| a rather dim postmsrk indicates that
the letter was mailed in the far West.
II reads: Port and San Francisco.
! September 3, 1907, y. D."
The letter reached washington Sep
tember 9. having been en- route six DAYS.
! The supposition is that the letter must
| have been mailed while the train was
| passing through North Dakota.
Supposed to Have Left in July.
Potts is supposed 10 have left Wash
ington the latter part Of July. The fact
that any railroad bonds were missing
from the American National Bank.
where he had been employed, did not
become generally known until almost
a month later, when a portion of the
missing bonds were found hypothecated
IN Baltimore.
! The date of Potts letter, August 6.
! would indicate that ne contemplated
some time ago returning the bonds and
/ bank officials are undecided as TO
/ whether he afteTward reconsidered and
did not mail the letter until September
3. or whether the letter has been IN
| strange hands since the former date.
II Is also possible that the letter OF
return might have been ante-daJed.
Out of Banks Hands.
j President r. \. Harper, when asked
this afternoon If the bank would now
press the charges against Potts, said:
''The matter Is entirely out of our
! hands and It Is not for the bank TO say
one way or the other. The data in the
case is now before the grand jury, and
il is possible that an indictment may
be returned at any time. Under the
/ circumstances. I viii not say that We
[ will press the charges, neither will I
express any intention to drop them.
The matter remains in statu quo, before
the grand jury
Mr.. Harper said that Potts 1eturn OF
the three blocks now cleared up the
shortage from a financial standpoint. 50
far as the bank vas concerned, the
/ whereabouts of the remaining shares
being already known to the bank Of
fcials.