Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1923-11-07
Jury GIVES
AGED BANKER
CLEAN BILL
ENLIGHTENMENT Charge
Not Proven.

jury Saturday evening, after three
hours deliberation, brought in a ver-
dict of mot guilty in the case Of The
State VS.. G. H. Basford, charge of en-
bezzlement of $11,500 of funds of the
Peoples State Bank, now defunct. APP
plauSe swept the court room when the
verdict came. 1t is said that the first
ballot stood three for conviction and
nine for acquittal and that it took con-
siderable argument to bring the min
GRITTY around. However, and all for
the best, a unanimous verdict was
reached and the aged banker stepped
from the court room free man.
Jury Without Delay.
Mr.. Basford went to trial Friday
morning and jury was secured with
out difficulty The jury was all men.
j. Harold Pugh took the stand for the
state and told an even and connected
story of the incidents surrounding the
night of March 80, 1922, when the
money was taken from the bank vaults
and subsequent events up to April 10
when the missing funds found their
way back to the bank again. Pugh's
story, in brief and substantiated by
L. A. Clark and Geo. Clementson, is as
follows:
Pugh Takes Stand.
On the afternoon of March 30, 1922,
Mr. Pugh told Mr.. Basford not to lock
the combination on the inside vault as
he intended to work that evening and
would require certain papers. He
came back at $50 and found the vault
doors open. Money was scattered on
the floor and three obsolete combina-
ton cards lay on chair. The main
funds of the bank were missing Pugh
called Clark and Basford asking them
to come to the bank. Clark came but
Basford did not Together Clark anu
Pugh went to Basford's home and
found him partially dressed. They
called Clementson and all went to the
bank together.
Call 1t "An Inside Job"
At the bank all three denied to
Clementson any knowledge of the loss.
Clark and Pugh declared it to be IAN
inside job Basford said little except
to advise notifying the insurance com
pany Pugh and Clark demurred at
this saying that it was so apparently
"an inside job that instead of getting
insurance money all three would be
arrested.
Following that the quartet adjourn
ed to ClementsOn's office, where
; grilling began Nothing was elected
by Clementson. He finally asked the
three men to each bring a package to
his office the next morning at $50.
One of these packages would contain
the missing cash. ClementsOn a d.
rector in the bank, would replace the
money and not know who was guilty.
Only Pugh brought package. 1t con-
tained-a pair of overalls.
The party broke up about midnight
each apparently going home. In real
ity Pugh and Clark went to the Glenn
entson home Pugh went home at
a. m. and Clark remained with Glenn
entsor until dawn All three were
convinced by that time that Basford
had taken the money.
Borrowed TO Tide Over.
Early in the morning a loan OF
I 81 900 was made from the Union State
/ Bank. $1,000 was borrowed from S.
/ w. Doolittle. Clark went over the al
most impossible roads to Blooming
ton and returned that afternoon with
/ $4,000 borrowed from the bank there.
The total of these funds tided the
bank over the disaster and business
went on as usual
To put the bank in the clear note
for $11 900 was made out. Mr.. Bas-
ford signed it. When Clark returned
from Bloomington the note was cred
tied with around $500 payment.
Pugh and Clark agreed to stand the
shortage between them, pending de-
velopments.
Pressure was applied upon Basford.
He was accused of taking the missing
funds. He finally admitted having
been in the bank the evening of March
80, but denied taking the money. Two
or three days later he brought $1,000
in currency back to the bank, saying
he had borrowed" it.
A few days later Clark went to Chi
cago and returned with detective,
named O'Day Basford was under
constant surveillance. Nightly his
house was watched. His garage was
broken into and searched Effort was
made, unsuccessfully, to get into MS
house via a cellar window.
BaSfOrd Returns Money.
On the eve of April 8, ten days after
/ the money disappeared, persistent
| attack was made upon Basford's veil
of reticence. He was shadowed going
home. That night his house was bonn
barded. front and side doors and his
! wire kept hot with telephone calls
| He neither answered the door nor the
phone. Early the next morning Clark
/ received a call asking him to come TO
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