Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1916-09-07

Copyright by w. q. Chapman

81 CopyrIght BY
1T IL astonishing" said Gard. the
bcokkeeper. 'how few people know
anything about their own businesses
u Take bank accounts, for instance
Many people have money In bank
which lies there inactive. There Ia
not one man In Ave. having such an &C.
count. who can tell the amount Of It."
3 This statement was launched dur
G lng the evening meal at Mrs. Hud-
Il sons very respectable boarding house
In tho prosperous little town Of New
Beaufort. which slumbers In one OF the
4 valleys Of central New York.
\ must take issue with you there.
vsntured the elderly rector OF the Epis-
4 copal church who, being widower,
boarded with Mrs. Hudson. 7. for in
II stance. have managed to save little
money for old aga and can tell the
amount OF II To penny"
And know Just how much have
"a deposit" Insisted Miss Dolan. the
school teacher.
"And am quite sure Of mine." as
serted buxom widow who had collect
"a life insurance.
As test OF my contention" said
/ Gard. n am willing to pledge . box Of
candy to each Of the ladies and cigars
b the gentlemen who will set down
the exact amounts of their inactive &C.
counts In the First National bank and
then prove their figures correct by ap-
plicAtion to the cashier"
This proposal appealed to those who
Md been drawn into the incipient con-
trovsrsy. Next day they asked for the
figures, and each had won his reward.
Gard seemed chaErined that his theory
should have thus gone to the winds,
but he cheerfully stood treat.
For he had established fact very
important to him. The inactive ac-
counts Of the First National bank OF
New Beaufort were intact.
This was one OF the first steps in an
Investigation Of q financial institution
which. while seemingly In the best Of
condition, was suspected OF having
bsen looted for hundreds OF thousands
Of dollars. Special agents OF the de-
partment Of justice knew that an of.
ncial Of the bank had been trading
heavily In Wall street and that he had
lost. Gard. = member OF this new de-
tocttve force Of the federal govern
meat. had been sent to investigate.
Representing himself N q bookkeeper
Ne had secured position with the
leading grocer and had come 10 board
with Mrs Hudson.
He stayed three weeks. At the end
Of that time he reported the shortage,
nxed the blame upon the man re-
sponsible for II. showed the methods
used. cited the accounts from which
the money had been stolen. told what
accounts were still intact. Yet he had
never been inside the bank. had seen
none OF Ito books. had consulted with
nobody fam iiiar with them, had re-
ceived no confessions. The manner In
which he accomplished these seeming
" impossible ends illustrates most ex-
collently the methods used by this new
detective agency OF the government.
II Was strange conspiracy of CIR
cumstances that brought to New Beau
fort detectives from three different
services on the night. two months
later. that Conrad Compton. the enter.
prisinE citizen and banker. wss giving
his big party.
There was McCord. : plain-clothes
man from New York. McCord would
not have been In New Beaufort but
tor the ramincations Of the New York
police department In keeping track OF
these middle class criminals who live
through the trade Of burglary cali
ing that h sometimes refined into art.
And the police department would not
have come into possession OF certain
ZIP II "Speck" Thompson had not done
Ais BIT up the river and returned to
hts old hAunta 10 broken that he chose
to become = stool pigeon because he
Wa no longer up to second story
work.
Gpeck had found that Dutch" shro-
der had arranged To crack safe and
that the scene Of the cracking was
New Beaufort. He had tipped the
matter on TO the police. and hence Nc
Cords presence In 4 community that
was far from metropolitan. He repre-
scented tho nrst OF the detective serv-
hoes.
The second such service was reprs-
esnted BY Ogram Newton. bank q.
Aminer In the service OF the treasury
department. His district was central
New York. For three years no had
h0en taking IN occasional look into the
Aoola Or the various national banks
ek hia district. checking up assets and
Habilities. inQujring into the value OF
the papar held BY tho banks. Two
weeks before Conrad Compton gave
M party Newton had heen In New
Beaufort and had gone thoroughly into
Ne affairs % the hank. Ita hooks were
@1dsls Of enlcisncy and thers vas no
Jaw 10 - found In any Of its securi-
Ties q ioans. Newton md given the
lostitutica his O. r ard Aad PASSED
- fo olhsr towns.
LIT there was feeling Of unrest