Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1924-01-23

l.. A. Clark, accused of the defalca-
ton of Peoples State Bank funds to
the total of $22,500, waived reading OF
the information Monday afternoon
and pleaded guilty. He was sentenced
to serve ten years in Waupun. the
sentence to begin at noon that day.
Trial Took But Few Minutes.
The time between opening of the
case and sentence was but few min
utes. Judge Fairchild of Milwaukee
called the case. A. w. Kopp of Platte
vile. presented the states side of the
case, being followed by Levi Bancroft,
representing Clark. At the conclus
ion of attorneys statements Judge
Fairchild made few remarks and
pronounced sentence.
Reviews History of Failure.
Mr.. KOpp briefly reviewed the his
tory of the bank failure, referring, to
the closing of the bank last June. He
said that j. Harold Pugh had pleaded
guilty to the embeZzlement of $35 900.
Pugh, Mr. Kopp said had pleaded
guilty to more than he had commit
ted. Pugh's defalcations as discov-
cred by the state do not total more
than $4,000.
The special prosecutor said Clark
had been guilty of a heinous crime
that worked untold grief upon nu-
merous men, women and children. He
asked for just, but not a revengeful
nor vindictive punishment
Bancroft Pleads for Clark.
Levi Bancroft, pleading for Clark,
said he would endeavor to disclose
the true path to justice in the case.
He said that Clark at the age of 40,
with an excellent family, wife and
child, had been the victim of unfor-
tunate circumstances. He said Pugh
had been unjustly punished in view
of what later developed.
almighty Dollar, Humanity's God"
cit is peculiar fact that a muir
derer gets off easy, while man who
commits a sacrilegious offense against
our god, the Almighty dollar, is sub
jected to most severe punishment and
criticism" Bancroft said. @
Counsel then went on to trace the
bank collapse as a reflex of the war
period. He said that speculations in
duce dishonor, and that innumerable
instances existed where failures and
disgrace had occurred since the
speculation sof the war period.
A Bitter Public Sentiment.
Three banks failing in the county
caused bitter feeling against the two
defendants. He said that while feel
ing ran high and a general hysteria
existed Pugh had pleaded guilty in
the stress of the moment to a larger
offense than he had actually commit
ted.
Bancroft claimed that Clark was
the only one of the banks officials
who had made an effort to save the
bank by putting money back and by
making, requirements to save the de-
positors money after the bank had
gone under.
CLARK has given everything he had,
his house, his automobiles, even the
ring on his finger has been turned
over" Bancroft said. He then went
on to say that Clark would come out
of Waupun penniless with a wife and
child to support
In asking clemency Bancroft re-
viewed several cases where defaulters
had been punished and come off with
relatively light sentences. In one,
Milwaukee case, embezzlement run
ming into hundreds of thousands, was
punished by years in Leavenworth.
This was an effort to prove that en-
beZZlement cases as a rule did not
receive as rigorous a punishment as
that imposed in the Pugh case.
according to Law and Evidence"
Judge Fairchild asked what the
Pugh sentence was and was inform
ed-17 years He said that he knew
any sentence he might impose would
be subject of comparison, but that
he found himself compelled to ad-
minister the law according to his best
Judgment and conscience, regardless
of public sentiment one way or the
other.
Says Clark Didn't Gamble.
The court then asked how the
money taken had been used and
whether the entertainments indicated
any viciousness of character. Mr..
Bancroft interposed, saying that
storEs had been circulated to create
a prejudice against his client. One
of these stories was that Clark had
shot "craps," a dice game, for $1,000
a throw in Dubuque. CLARK has
never shot craps in his life" Levi
stated. Mr.. Bancroft then said that
Clark had never gambled except play
ing poker in his home or with friends,
that being what is called Penny
Ante" He claimed that Clark had re-
turned everything to the bank he