The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-18

out even examining them. Next he
began further exploration.
When he found the bankers bed
room he seemed satisfied. On the
back Of a chair was a coat. evidently
that which Compton had worn until
he dressed for the evening. Gard
thrust his hand into the inside pocket
Of his coat and pulled out a batch Of
letters. through which he ran rapidly.
He selected two or three. thrust them
into his pocket, returne2 for the
ledgers. tucked these under his arm
and left the house.
On the way to his lodgings ne filed
a telegram to the Department at
Washington which read as follows.
Compton. cashier In First National
Bank case. guilty. Torrance probably
not implicated. Bank burned tonight
by accompl,ces Of Compton. Cas- COM
plete. GARD.
The manner in which these conclu-
s,ons were reached are typical Of the
methods Of the sleuths Of the Depart
ment Of Justice. Gard had come to
New Beaufort with a suspicion that
Torrance. tho assistant cashier. was
playing the market with the funds Of
the bank. torrance was known to be
placing orders with a Wall Street
broker.
At the boarding house Gard learned
that Torrance lived modestly in a cot
tage with his wife and babies, had not
been seen TO make any display Of
money. was Of sturdy farmer stock.
On the other hand the Investigator
Immediately picked up the facts that
the cashier, Compton. maintained IN
expensive establishment. entertained
lavishly. was often absent from town.
was nervous. high strung. in bad
health.
cashier rather than his assistant. They
led him also to some experimental
testing OF the condition OF the banks
accounts.
He knew that a dishonest employee
Of a bank in a%ppropriating money had
to charge II to some account to make
the books balance. The large, inactive
accounts offer a tempting opportunity
OF this sort: but these we're found TO
be Intact by his ruse Of inducing the
depositors to call for their balances.
1t was to get a better line on the
business OF the community and par
ticu!arly upon the accounts Of Comp
ton that the epecal agent secured en-
1ployment as bookkeeper In Joys gro-
Gerry store. Here he found. In the first
place. that the buying for the Compton
home was wasteful. He found further
that the bills were always paid with
out question and by check. Knowing
OF an old trick that has brought many
Q cashier to ruin. Gard sought a way
to test these personal checks to de-
termine whether or not they actually
found heir way to the personal &C
count OF the cashier.
The cashier OF a bank Ia usually the
individual who opens the mail and has
an opportunity TO cash personal checks
and destroy them when they come in
for collection. charging the amount &c
some account where IL might tempo
rar!ly be hidden. To determine
whether or not these personal checks
were being Juggled by the cashier
Gard. as the grocer's bookkeeper. found
a pretext to send to the bank for q
record Of some personal checks OF
Compton's which he had handled
few days earlier.
The call was made while Compton
was out at lunch and the checks coul'
not be found. Through another dealei
Gard succeeded In getting = recon'
similar request. made with the sam
result. He concluded that Compton
was at least juggling his personal &C
count and charging the moun Of hi
personal checks to some other account
probably loans and discounts.
In various ways the special agen
found opportunities. without seein,
the books OF the bank. Of demonstrat
ing 10 his satisfaction that the &C
counts were being juggled. This wa.
particularly true OF new deposits.
When a cashier Is particularly har,
pressed he may resort to a manipula
ton of the accounts OF current de
posters. The system IL the simples
in the world. When a dep sitor hand
In his money the cashier nte tn
amount in the passbook OF that indi
vidual rs a receipt. Then instead O
entering the money to the iepositor'
credit the cashier puts It in his pocket
Thus there Is nothing I show 10
the transaction but the entry in tn
%passbook, and that may not he pre-
scented for a long time.
The cashier chooses for spoliatio
the accounts hat II IL least llkel
about which inquiries will be mad,