The Manitowoc pilot. [volume] (Manitowoc, Wis.) 1859-1932, 1907-10-24
FIVE YEARS FOR
THOMAS COCSH|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. PA
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 c. 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.
Cogshilrs 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 i'll a fainting condition. Cogs-
hill, whose life, until the indiscretions TOR
which he is now suffering had been
bameless 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 Il 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 embezzement in December, 1906,
and January and February of 1907 OF
$229S.
Other counts in the Indictment charged
the cashier with the miSappication of
$1,000 on March 10, 1907 $4,000 on
March %, 1907, and 5000 on April
20. The remaining counts charged him
with unlawfully drawing notes of eX-
CHANGE pf Them for 10000 coming
TO the National Exchange bank. The en-
tire amount aggregated about $4,000.
"A year ago | noticed a shortage of
$1,000 in the bills receivable account"
said Cogshill when he was asked TO
plead. Il was unable to trace the
source of this shortage, but ! tried in
many ways | then took other funds in
the bank and specialized 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 | 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 leuienCy was made by Cog
shill's 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 We're unable to ac-
count for his actions They, too, asked
for leniency. The cashiers counsel eX-
planned that after the shortage was made
known, Cogshll had 81 and $50 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 "A moment after
he had concluded she became unc"n-
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 incXpreSsably
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 the same source. | cannot I'M
derstand why a man cannot face the Iii
rectors of his institution and make "A
clean breast of everything instead of be
coming involved in a game which is
worse than lottery. | realize that you
are not like the professional wrong-doer,
and the sentence of this court is that you
be committed to the Fort Icavenworth
prison for term of five years, com
mencing at noon today"