The Dillon herald. [volume] (Dillon, S.C.) 1894-????, 1910-07-07
II The Stolen Securities. D.
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By RANDOLPH wHAHro~

house of Ellington & Co. would not
open its doors for business that day,
and wild rumors were ut cncc afloat
of . serious defalcation. of robbery.
and all the other things that go to
make cause sufficient for closing
bank. For nearly half a century the
banking firm of Ellington & Co. had
been the one reliable financial insti-
tuition of Lanesville, ard the citizens
mad grown to look upon it rs second
only to the Bank Of England, and to
regard it financially as sound.
1t is easy, then, to account for the
excitement when the news was sect
out that the bank was in serious
trouble. Lanesv!lle had never known
d bank failure, and when this shock
came business was almost suspended.
John F. Ellington, SON of the
founder, was the president of the
bank, and Albert Wallace the CASH
,aer. Wallace was 4 son of a sister
OF Efhn gton, and hoI been taken into
the bank by his uncle and trained up
% its business. There were but two
other employees, for the bank was not
4 great financial institution Mr..
Ellington was man Of moderate
wealth, standing high IN the COM
nuni'y, where he had lived all the
dfty years of his life. Wallace was
affable and had many friends, while
others believed him to be moro cum
ming than scrupulous, but nothing
was known to his discredit
1t was not long before the story
nj tho hanks tncc In Ill
Securities valued at 100000, which
had been placed as a special deposit
in the bank by Il retired merchant,
we're missing, and no one knew when
Or how they disappeared.
They had been given personally
TO Mr.. Ellington, and he, in turn. as
&c claimed, had securely locked them
Il m inner compartment of the bank
vault, the key to which he alone
carried.
II was Known &c some of his friends
Ina: few days before the securities
were missed Mr.. Ellington was endeav-
bring to raise quite a large sum of
c:cney, and had zone to Chicago on
that business. 1t had not been gen.
orally EEown that he was financially
embarrassed. and he would give no
reasoc for his being so anxious to
raise this money, it evidently not
OeirE for the bank
III detailing the circumstances of
the loss ot the securities TO the de-
tcctircs employed TO un-avel the mys-
terry. he !ra.Ely stated that, so far as
he knew. there WIS but one key to
the compartment in which he had
r.aced the Securities. and that key
lad not been out OF his possession a
nonent :r"m tho tine the securities
we're placed there until their disap-
pearance vas discovered by their be-
ing called for.
When the owner called for them,
Mr.. Ellington went promptly to the
vault, unlocked the steel safe and
then discovered the loss The lock
had no appearance of having been
tampcred with, and the mystery was
unnXplaiuable.
As soon as the excitement caused
by the discovery hal subsided a lit
tic. Mr.. Ellington sent for his law
yer, and instructed him at once to
prepare deed Of all his property, Of
every description, to the owner of
the securities. but this property fell
100000 short of making good the
loss.
Tho sy1Epathy of the people was
all with M. Ellington, and none be-
liered he had anything to do with
the Disappearance of the securities.
The most profnse in his tenders of
sympathy was Wallace, tho cashier.
who prof!ercd, when 4 number were
present, to give up his savings, some
$4,000. Us he said, to his uncle to help
him In this. his time of difficulty.
This proffer was loudly quoted to the
credit of tie cashier.
or course. the newspapers got hold
of the story Of the mysterious dis
appearance. and IL was then the fact
Of Mr.. EIlngton's efforts to raise
money leaked out.
He had borrowed froia a Chicago
bank $4,000 Oh collaterals, and
when investigated, it was discovered
that 10000 OF the collateral pledged
was of the missing securities. When
Informed of this fact. Mr., Ellington
foll TO tho Goor ma IL he lad boon
shot He was :eEdcrly picked up and
aakeE to his home, only to die within
a very few hours.
He recovered conseIc Lsness q short
time before he died, and called to his
bedside h:s daughter and her ani-
-arced husband. Q rising young attor-
ncy OF Laaesvflie, and pledged them
mover to cease their e.sr;s until the
mystery wss solve. and his namo
cleared Of all suspicion.
His story was that more than a