Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1907-10-25
FIVE YEARS FOR
THOMAS COGSH|LL
SEYMOUR BANK CASHIER WHO BE-
CAME DEFAULTER IS PUN
ISHED.
WIFE FAINTS IN COURT.
Took Money to Recoup Loss and Is
Dragged Hopelessly Into
Mire.

MILWAUKEE,, Wis, Oct. 21.-A
scene Of sorrow, unusually painful,
even to court attaches Injured to distress
ing occurrences, was enacted in the Unit
ed States district court this morning
when Thomas G. Cogshill, defaulting
cashier of the bank of Seymour, Wis,
was sentenced to five years in the govern
ment prison at Fort Leavenworth, by
Judge Joseph V. Quarles.
CogshilPs wife, who came from their
home at Seymour in the summer to be
near her husband during his confinement
in the county jail, was in the courtroom,
and, after her husband stepped forward
to the bar to plead guilty, her feelings
overcame her and she was carried from
the room in a fainting condition. Cogs-
hill, whose life, until the indiscretions for
which he is now suffering had been
blameless, made brief statement to the
court concerning his crime and the events
which led up to it and which was so
simply told and so convincingly that even
the judge was moved almost to tears
while imposing the sentence.
Arrested in June.
Cogshill was arrested June 10, 1907,
and brought to Milwaukee after heavy
shortage in his accounts had been dis
covered by the directors of the bank.
The grand jury which reported Saturday
indicted him on three counts charging
the embezzlement in December, 1905,
and January and February of 1907 Of
Other counts in the indictment charged
the cashier with the misapplication Of
$4,000 on March Is, 1907, $4,000 on
March %, 1907, and $4,000 on April
20. The remaining counts charged him
with unlawfully drawing notes of ex-
change, one of them for $4,000 coming
to the National Exchange bank. The en-
tire amount aggregated about $4,000.
"a year ago | noticed shortage OF
$4,000 in the bills receivable account"
said Cogshill when he was asked to
plead. II was unable to trace the
source of this shortage, but l tried in
many ways. I then took other funds in
the bank and speculated in wheat on
the board of trade in Chicago, hoping to
recoup the loss. [ can inform the court
that not one cent of the money L took
went into my own personal account.
Every bit of it went in to make up the
original shortage"
Plea for Mercy.
A plea of leniency was made by Cog
shilPs attorney who said that the cashier
had always borne an excellent reputation
among the business men of Seymour,
many of them having written to him and
declaring that they were unable to ac-
count for his actions, They, too, asked
for leniency. The cashiers counsel ex-
planned that after the shortage was made
known, Cogshill had 81 and 500 was
given to his wife, all the rest of their
savings and property being turned over
to the bank in the effort to make up the
loss.
Mrs. Cogshill listened to the plea of her
husbands attorney, and moment after
he had concluded, she became uncon-
scious. Her little son, about 10 years
old, was with her, and she was taken
from the room after she had recovered
from the faint. In pronouncing SEN
tence, Judge Quarles said:
This is one of those inexpressably
sad cases. In this case the court must
administer the law the same as in any
other similar one. All of the sad wrecks
that lie in the pathway of the human
race have che same source. ] cannot I'M
derstand why a man cannot face the di-
rectors of his institution and make a
clean breast of everything instead of be-
coming involved in a game which is
worse than lottery. I realize that you
are not like the professional wrong-doer
and the sentence of this court is that you
be committed to the Fort Leavenworth
prison for a term of five years, COM
napoinp at noon TODAY"