The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1916-01-14

D'Nean Stafford of Seneca, Mo-,
was elected President of the First Nat
ional Bank yesterday afternoon, TO
succeed Judge William &. Schaefcr,
who served as the head Of that insti-
tuition through the reconstruction pc
riod. Mr.. Stafford will take charge at
once.
The election of the new head Of
The bank followed closely upon the Sc
lection of i new board of directors,
which precipitated spirited contest.
Two sets of men were voted upon.
One favored Harry l.. Machen for the
presidency of the bank and the other
supported Mr.. Stafford. Those IA
voring MIR Stafford held more than
fifty per cent of the total amount Of
stock in the bank.
The names Of Major GibOney
Houck and Dr. Otto +. Forster were
on the slate Of the friends of Mr..
Stafford, although they preferred Mr..
Machen. Major Houck and Dir. Fors-
ter, therefore, polled the largest votes
of all the names considered. With
them were elected, Mr.. Stafford, Ben
son c. Hardesty, John L. Miller, DR..
L. F. Popp and George A. Bell.
The slate arranged by the friends
of Mr.. Machen, were: William B.
Schaefer,, c a. Vandivort, a. NJ.
Tinsley, Clay Lutz, Albright Wal
Their, DR.. Forster and Major Houck.
When the various leaders lined up
their votes for a final count yesterday
morning, the situation stood: For the
Stafford slate-47S vtes; for the Ma
chen directors-72.
When it became known that the
friends of Mr.. Stafford held a slight
lead, Harry Albert, VINO controlled
forty votes, Topped from the Machen
lineup into the Stafford band wagon.
Joseph Yeager, with twenty votes that
he controlled, also deserted the Ma
chen crowd.
This gave the supporters Of Mr..
Stafford 53S to 412 against them. If
these sixty votes had not left the cor
raj, according to the leaders of the
Machen contingent they would have
won According to their statements,
they had ten more votes nailed down,
but when those sixty left the trenches,
the Machen men threw up the sponge.
Although 53S votes vas the total
strength of the Stafford men, John l..
Miller polled 54S. DR.. Forster, in or
der to keep from voting for himself,
cast ten votes for Mr. Miller, although
Miller was on the rival list for di-
roctorS. Dr.. Forster received $40
votes and Major Houck $50, both get
ting the full strength Of all the votes
cast.
Mrs. Ella Dempsey, who owns !hir-
ty shares Of stock, remained neutral,
as did two stockholders in Mcclure,
ILL.,, who hold five shares each. There
were thirty shares contested and these
we're not allowed to be voted.
The election OF DIR. Forster and Ma
jor Houck came as distinct surprise.
Major Houck was one of the principal
leaders in the movement to elect Har-
ry L. Machen president Of the bank,
and DR.. Forster was strong for Ma
chen. Neither of them suspected they
had been chosen by the supporters Of
Mr.. Stafford, because both had made
their views known several weeks ago.
DIR. Forster received his second sur
prise Immediately after the result of
the election had been announced, when
the new board convened and selected
him to succeed himself al Vice Presi-
dent. Both Mr.. Stafford and DR..
Forster were elected without dis
senting ballot.
The new president of the First Nat
ional Bank is a native of Missouri,
and son of the Ozark Mountain