The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1933-10-20


Information on the theft
was Withheld, said Governor
Paul Y. McNutt, with the
hope that through secrecy the
money might be recovered.
However, the Governor and 9TH
er state officials were chagrined
that the tneft should have been
aired in newspapers as $1,000 teach
ers arrived in the city Thursday to
attend their state convention.
On Sept. 80 william P. Cosgrove,
chief examiner for the state boaru
of accounts, received a report from
William A. Marsh and Ross 'Gecke-
meyer, field examiners, on the theft
1t was made at request of Robert
B. Hougham, Indiana State Teach
ers' Association president, who said
the three bonds were missing Sept. s.
Bond List Checked
They disappeared from the de
post box some time between April
and Sept. /, according to the re-
port.
March 81. Mr.. Teckemeyer, in the
presence OF all members of the
board of accounts, checked the en-
tire bond list, ana all were present,
the report states. Since then
Hougham and board members twice
have opened the boxes containing
the bonds to clip coupons, but did
not reach the box in which the
missing certificates should have
been.
Serial numbers of the missing
bonds are: SIG, a $4,000 bond;
Ssh, a $4,000 bond, and 6305, a
SIS 900 bond All were government
bonds due in 1943. The total amount
of bonds in the fund is $12 ,931 800 .26.
Board Members Bonded
Board members and Hougham are
bonded, and robbery and burglary
insurance is carried. The insurance
company has been notified, but no
payment has been offered.
Some difficulty might be expert
enced in collection of insurance in
asmuch as the date of theft is not
known and the board members have
been changed since the last inspec-
ton of the bonds.
There has been no definite re-
fusal by the company to pay the
Governor said One handicap is
that we have no record at the bank
of the inspection last March"
The bonds were kept in vaults of
the American National bank, for
merly the Fletcher American Ma
tional bank.
Blame for the disappearance of
the bonds was shuttled back and
forth today from one administration
to the other.
Floyd Williamson. state auditor
said today that he had "a suspicion
of where the bonds went, but re-
fused to enlarge on his views. He
said there was no record of the visit
of the former board of trustees TO
the safe deposit box on March 81
Former Governor Harry G. Les
lie, speaking over the telephone
from his home at Lafayette, said:
Notice Posted in Banks
The board of trustees function
ing in my administration has a
clean bill of health. 1t is for the
present administration to shoulder
the responsibility Of the missing
bonds"
Chief Mike MorrisSey and Detec-
tive Chief Fred Simon denied that
the city police had been called in to
investigate the case. Governor Nc
Mutt and other state officials aban-
doned the practice of making the
field examiners report public when
the theft of the bonds became
known.
Notice of the loss together with
the bond numbers have been posted
in banks throughout the country.
Reports from a high state Off
cial that the federal reserve had
cashed some Of the bonds and traced
them to a small Indiana town
could not be confirmed today.