The Mankato free press. [volume] (Mankato, Blue Earth County, Minn.) 1879-1924, 1907-08-16
MapletOn Has an Affair on
It's Hands.
BEHIND 1T is A MYSTERY
Bond for Five Hundred Dollars i'm the
Hands of a Chicago Party; How
Came 1t There?
From Fridays Daily.

|
| On July Village Treasurer William
Stroebel received letter from Carl
L. Murray, an attorney with offices
in the New York Life building, Chi
cago, who claimed that client of his
held one of the water works improve
ment bonds issued by the village Of
NIapleton July Is, l9OO same being
bond No. for $500 payable with in.
terest at the rate of five per cent,
says The Mapleton Enterprise.
Probably no village treasurer in the
state of Minnesota keeps closer watch
of public business than Mr.. Stroebel
and he knew at once upon receipt of
this letter that fraud was being
attempted and set to work to try to
find out some of the inside facts in
the matter, but to date has secured
no tangible evidence as to how the
bond took legs and reached the hands
of the client of any Chicago attor-
ney.
| Upon receipt of Mr.. Murray's letter
Mr.. Stroebel wrote the gentleman re-
questing that the bond be sent to the
Mapleton State Bank or the First Ma
tional Bank of Mapleton for collec-
ton. The bond failed to put in an
appearance or any response to the let
ter On July Is the Chicago disciple
of Blackstone was again appealed to
with the request that the bond be
sent for collection, that the village
did not want its bonds floating around
the country, and asking that it be
presented for payment. He was also
requested to give the name of his
client so that the village might COM
communicate with him and pay the
bond as it had the money ready and
willing to pay the same Again there
was silence. July 80 another request
was made upon Attorney Murray, but
up to the time of our going to press
he has failed to reply, although Treas
urer Stroebel said to him that if it
was a square deaP' there ought to
be no ,hesitancy in presenting the
bond for payment.
A leading banker of Chicago, at the
request of Mr.. Stroebel, called upon
Attorney Murray to ascertain some
facts in regard to the mysterious
transaction, and he writes: attorney
Murray says his client had been offer
ed the bond by some one. He does
not feel at liberty at present to give
the name of the party offering the
bond. Mr.. Murray advised the writer
that he told his client that the trans
action looked suspicious to him and
advised him to have nothing to do
with it and gave him a pretty strong
talk. 1 would suggest that it might
be well for you to investigate pretty
carefully what become of the bond at
your end of the line
Now as to the facts in the matter.
The bond was paid on July II, 1901,
bv check of $500 sent to the Ma
tional Bank of Commerce of Mime
apolis, $500 being for bond No. l.,
and $500 being for the interest on
the total bond issue of $4,000. A lit
tie matter of exchange amounting to
SO cents was demanded by the bank
and on July %, 1901, the National
Bank of Commerce notified the village
treasurer that they had the bond In
their possession, the matter of eX-
change was adjusted and on July ~,
the National Bank of Commerce sent
the bond to Mr.. Stroebel, the same
having been owned by the German
American Bank of Minneapolis, SO
| that there is a double check on its
payment. The bond was on hand at
| the time of the annual settlement OF
the village on March 5, 1902, when the
account of the treasurer was audited
| bv committee consisting of w. A.
Hanna and c.. j. Laurisch, recorder,
who were appointed board of audit
by the village council. 1t was sup
posed that this bond was destroyed at
that time together with the cancelled
orders of the village, such being the
|
paid by perforations cutting out the
word paid so that it would be neces-
sarv to have an entire new bond
printed in order to secure its repay
ment. That a fraud is being attempt
ed is certainly apparent, but as to
who the guilty parties are and as to
how the bond walked away from Ma
pleton are facts that many citizens
and taxpayers of Mapleton would like
solved, although there is no chance
that they will ever have to repay the
same as the records in the matter are
SO complete that no court in the land
would compel the village to pay the
same. 1t smells of fraud in every
direction, and Mr.. Murray would be
doing but simple act of justice in
giving the authorities at Mapleton all
the information at his command.