Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1911-06-16
BRENS SHORTAGE
REACHES Sl4,226.79
EXAMINER REPORTS $500 STILL
UNAccEPTED FOR IN ~"
BREAkAGE FUND.
INDICTMENTS ARE EXPECTED
Former Treasurer Said the HoIdups
Got $13,826, but $17,826 Is Gone.
$4,000 MysteriousIy Re-
turned.


Minneapolis, June 15.-State public
examiners reported to Governor Eber-
hart that over and above the $13 $780,
70 of which j. D. Bren, deposed uni
verSity cashier, says he was robbed,
there is shortage of $500 in the uni
versity 'breakage" fund. This short
age still exists, according to the re-
port, after deducting all money Bren
has turned over and the sum of $4,000
which was mysteriOusly placed in
drawer in his office two days after the
examiners had searched it and found
no money there.
AS a result of this report Assistant
County Attorney Nash said that he
would Immediately draw two indict-
ments against Bren. One is to charge
him with embeZzlement of $13,826, of
which he said he was robbed and the
other with the additional shortage of
$500.
These indictments will be presented
for grand jury consideration. Assist
ant Public Examiners Stacy and Ced-
arburg; Miss Ella Whitney, univers-
ity woman to whom Bren loaned
money; Miss Ryan, employed in Bren's
Office; DR.. Murdoch, Bren's father-in-
law; Detectives DeLaittre and BrOd-
erick Edward Nelson, said to have
seen Bren just before and just after
the alleged robbery, and Frank S.
Lyon, Bren's agent in grain specula-
ton, are among those already sub
poenaed.
In explaining the secret report
which went to the governor from the
public examiners, Mr.. Nash said that
it applied only to the ''breakage" fund
and that it is based entirely on Mr..
Bren's own bookkeeping. No effort
has been made yet to check up to see
if his accounts as to disposition of
certain other moneys is correct. His
own figures have been accepted in
toto and still a shortage found.
That $1,000 has been handed over
to the public examiners department
since the commencement of the eX-
animation of the accounts Of j. D.
Bren, treasurer of the university, is
shown by the report
The money Mr.. Bren said he was
robbed of was $13,826.79. For this
sum Mr.. Bren's attorneys assert he is
not responsible. In anticipation Of
shortage in the accounts, Mr.. Bren's
attorney turned over to the eXamin-
ers $40. During the examination the
sum of 81 $50 in currency was found
in the vault of the University. 1t was
discovered in a pigeon hole by Miss
Ryan, bookkeeper, and turned over
to the examiners. Mr.. Bren asserted
he knew nothing about this money.
Mr.. Cedarburg and Mr.. Stacy echo
Mr.. Fritz's views on the subject. The
facts in the case have leaked out from
an authoritative source. The report
was submitted by Mr.. Fritz to Cover
nor Eberhart and there was present
a representative of the county attor-
new in Minneapolis and of the board
CT regents.
Mr.. Fritzs report covers merely a
preliminary examination. In making
the examination it has been necessary
to accept Mr.. Rren's figures and bal
ances. To do anything further would
have required more time than was
given the examiners. Upon the author
itv of Governor Eberhart the public
examiners department will proceed at
once to make a thorough and complete
investigation of all the financial af-
fairs of the university. This is done
with the approval of President Vim
cent, who is as anxious as any one
to have the university completely
probed. In this examination the stu
dents funds will be checked up and
an effort will be made to discover
whether the entries made in the books
are correct. This will be the real test
of the accuracy of Mr.. Bren's accounts.
Mr.. Stacy will call attention to the
fact that the sum of money taken out
by Mr.. Bren, or alleged to have been
taken by him, was much larger than
was necessary. He will show that
most of the students already had been
paid their refunds and that only few
thousand dollars would have covered
the amounts claimed. He also will
argue that the finger prints on Mr..
Bren's collar, where as the treasurer
asserts, he was grabbed by che alleged
robber, are only three slight marks
| extending half way down the collar,
the inference being that if anyone had
grabbed him by the collar for the pur-
pose Of throwing him down, the i'm
prints would have been much palmer
Attention will ho oaI1o6 to ha fao ut
that the buttonholes of the collar were
intact.