The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1910-07-21

Fidelity Trust Company--Would
Have Left Only An Empty Shell
If He had Not Been Found Out.
Was Very Economical In His
Private Life.
Louisville, Ky. Especially Little
would soon have been left of the FL
deity Trust Company but an empty
shell If the busy hands OF August
Ropke, now In Jail on the charge of
making false entries, had not been
stayed in their dishonest operations.
The partial report Of the expert ac-
countants now in the hands of ].
W. Barr, Jr, president of the insti-
tuition, shows that Ropke was dip
ping into the banks funds at the
rate of $4,000 a month for the
past year and half
The great bulk of his peculations
came in the last two years, during
which period he is alleged to have
stolen more than 100000. The ex-
animation by the experts who have
been at work on the books shows
that his early thefts were in large
part restored and were compara-
lively insignificant alongside his op-
erations since 1908.
From this period up to the time
of his detection the size of the
amounts taken grew by leaps and
bounds. They started at few thou
sand a month and increased until
the gigantic sums Of 100000, $685.
600 and even as high as $50, 900
were stolen in single month. The
books tell in minute detail how Au-
gust Ropke. the 81 ,S00-a-year CLERK.
bookkeeper and assistant secretary,
became stricken with frenzied fear,
only to steal staggering sums in the
hope of winning back the early
losses. At the rate Ropke was with
drawing money from the bank in in
creasing sums, had he gone on unde-
tected for another two years, it
would have taken millions to replace
the peculations.
Nearly A Million.
Although Mr.. Barr has issued no
statement of the exact amount of
the thefts from the banks strong
box. he has figures, It is said, which
are within a few thousand dollars
of being final. Wien the official
statement Is given out ny Mr. Barr
1t will be seen, it is said, that the
banks total losses run in excess of
100000. From one source comes
the statement that the sum may
reach $650,000, but will not go as
high as 100000. The directors of
the trust company, 1t is stated, have
decided to issue $1,000,000 Of ad-
ditional capital stock at par, and in
well-informed circles this is taken
to indicate that the shortage will
be in the neighborhood of $1,000
600.
The examination of the books
have taken a backward course. The
size of the shortages of the present
year filled the banks officials and
directorate with a panic which con-
tinued to lessen as the thefts rapid
ly decreased upon " further retro
spective examination. 1t was thought
at first that Ropke had been stealing
at the clip of 100000 a month for
years, and the thought of what the
shortage might be was staggering.
But the farther back the experts
went, the smaller the shortages be-
came, until at the end OF few years
they became insignificant, and it was
seen that the defalcations could be
easily weathered by an institution
with the firm financial foundation
of the Fidelity.
Sentence May BE Forty Years.
There has been much speculation
as to the maximum punishment that
might be meted out to Ropke upon
conviction. 1t is apparent from the
examination of the banks books that
Ropke is liable to indictment upon
as many as 20 counts. Following a
conviction upon each count and the
assessment of the minimum penalty
of two years for making a Ease entry,
Ropke now faces a cumulative sem
tence of 40 years, The opinion
around the Criminal Court is that
Ropke and the bank officials will
probably agree upon gertain of the