1767. Southport National Bank (Southport, CT)

Bank Information

Episode Type
Suspension → Closure
Bank Type
national
Bank ID
660
Charter Number
660
Start Date
May 19, 1903
Location
Southport, Connecticut (41.136, -73.283)

Metadata

Model
gpt-5-mini
Short Digest
c3c9b627

Response Measures

None

Receivership Details

Depositor recovery rate
100.0%
Date receivership started
1903-05-19
Date receivership terminated
1911-07-31
OCC cause of failure
Fraud
Share of assets assessed as good
60.0%
Share of assets assessed as doubtful
13.4%
Share of assets assessed as worthless
26.6%

Description

The bank was closed by order of the national bank examiner/Controller in mid-May 1903 after discovery of large embezzlement by the cashier Oliver T. Sherwood; a receiver was appointed and the bank never resumed operations (final dividends paid later). No contemporaneous articles describe a depositor run—closure was driven by bank-specific adverse information (defalcation). Dates derived from contemporaneous reports (May 19–20, 1903).

Events (5)

1. December 29, 1864 Chartered
Source
historical_nic
2. May 19, 1903 Receivership
Source
historical_nic
3. May 19, 1903 Receivership
Newspaper Excerpt
Ellis S. Pepper... has been appointed receiver for the institution as a sequel to the disappearance of its cashier, Oliver T. Sherwood, who has been missing from his home for a week.
Source
newspapers
4. May 19, 1903 Suspension
Cause
Bank Specific Adverse Info
Cause Details
Discovery of large defalcation/embezzlement by cashier Oliver T. Sherwood (reports estimate $100,000–$250,000).
Newspaper Excerpt
the closing of the Southport National bank of Southport, Conn... This action... was taken in consequence of the defalcation of the cashier
Source
newspapers
5. May 26, 1911 Other
Newspaper Excerpt
Final Dividend Pays Off Depositors in Full... On May 12, 1903... the Southport National bank disappeared cashiers... the bank was closed by order of the U. S. comptroller of currency for two weeks on May 19, but its doors were never opened for business again. Depositors have been receiving this week notices that the last dividend due them will be paid.
Source
newspapers

Newspaper Articles (16)

Article from The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, May 20, 1903

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SOUTHPORT BANK CLOSED. ACTION DUE TO ALLEGED DEFALCATION OF CASHIER. Amount Said to be About $100,000Officials Declare the Soundness of the Institution Will Not be Affected, That Depositors will be Paid in Full and Business Resumed Shortly. Washington, May 19.-The treasury department to-day received a telegram from National Bank Examiner Perkins announcing the closing of the Southport National bank of Southport, Conn. This action, it is understood, was taken in consequence of the defalcation of the cashier, which is believed to have approximated $100,000. The report of the condition of the bank at the close of business, April 9, 1902, shows its resources and liabilities at that time to have been as follows: Resources: Loans and discounts, $140,116; United States bonds to secure circulation, $100,000; stocks, securities, claims, etc., $123,195; banking house, $8,947; due from banks, $33,531; cash resources, $25,645; redemption fund, $5,000. Total, $436,436. Liabilities: Capital surplus and undivided profits, $180,871; circulation, $98,400; deposits, $122,164; bills payable, $35,000. Total, $436,436. Ellis S. Pepper, receiver of the Pynchon National bank of Springfield, Mass., has been appointed receiver. Southport, May 19.-Oliver T. Sherwood, cashier of the Southport National bank, had been missing for some time up to last Wednesday morning, when he arrived in town from Bridgeport by an early train and walked toward his home. He looked haggard and worn and bore the appearance of having travelled all night. Since then his whereabouts have been unknown. Sherwood is about forty years old and has a wife and family. His father, E. C. Sherwood, is president of the bank, and since the defalcation was reported last Saturday, Frank P. Sherwood, a brother of the missing cashier, has been elected by the directors as his successor. There is said to have been no suspicion of trouble at the bank until last Tuesday when a bank examiner came to Southport to investigate the books. Sherwood left town that night but returned the following morning, when he disappeared. Members of the family attribute his alleged action to his state of health, that he has been in bad condiand they assert in his right mind They deny that appeared. was saying tion not mentally when he He had that he dis- had en- he in stock speculation. of many estates and estate his was said own though gaged charge a $75,000 shortage uneneumbered. to is that amount said Al- the to to $100,000, it has been declared banks' soundness would not be affected, as its capital is $100,000 and it has a surplus of $112,000. Sherwood was under bonds of $20,000. Frank K. Sherwood, the new cashier, to-day confirmed the announcement Washington that the bank had but said it was a matter, and weeks at the latest, resumed. All closed or from would temporary four its be doors, depositors, that business in surplus three only he said, would be paid in full, the of the bank being sufficient to meet all demands. The objects in closing, he said, was to enable a careful examination to be made to determine just the conditions of affairs,


Article from The Savannah Morning News, May 20, 1903

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CASHIER SAID TO BE SHORT $100,000. Washington, May 19.-The Treasury Department to-day received a cablegram from National Bank Examiner Perkins announcing the closing of the Southport National Bank of Southport, Conn. This action, it is said, was taken in conseuqence of the defalcation of the cashier, which is believed to have approximated $100,000. The bank's capital, surplus and undivided profits amount to $180,871, and its deposits to $122,164. Ellis S. Pepper, receiver of the Pinchion National Bank of Springfield, Mass., has been appointed receiver.


Article from Evening Star, May 20, 1903

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MAY REACH $150,000. Alleged Defalcation of Southport, Conn., Bank Cashier. The controller of the currency today received a telegram from the national bank examiner in charge of the Southport, Conn., National Bank, which was closed yesterday. It indicates that the defalcation of the former cashier is about $150,000 instead of $100,000, as at first reported. The report of the condition of the bank at the close of business April 9, 1902, shows its resources and liabilities at that time to have been: Resources-Loans and discounts, $140,116; United States bonds to secure circulation, $100,000; stocks, securities, claims, etc., $123,195; banking house, $8,947; due from banks, $33,531; cash resources, $25,645; redemption fund, $5,000; total, $436,436. Capital, surplus and undivided profits, $180,871; circulation, $98,400; deposits, $123,104; bills payable, $35,000; total, $436,436. Ellis S. Pepper, receiver of the Pynchon National Bank of Springfield, Mass., has beeen appointed obset: receiver.


Article from Waterbury Evening Democrat, May 20, 1903

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Southport Bank Suspends. SOUTHPORT, Conn., May 20.-The doors of the Southport National bank were closed and a receiver was appointed for the institution as a sequel to the disappearance of its cashier, Oliver T. Sherwood, who has been missing from his home for a week.


Article from The News & Observer, May 21, 1903

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A National Bank Closed. (By the Associated Press.) Washington, May 19-The Treasury Department today received a telegram from National Bank Examiner Perkins announcing the closing of the Southport National Bank of Southport, Conn. This action, it is understood was taken in consequence of the defalcation of the cashier which is believed to have approximated $100,000. The bank's capital stock surplus and undivided profits amount to $180.871 and its deposits to $122,164. Ellis S. Pepper, receiver of the Pynchon National Bank. of Springfield, Mass., has been appointed receiver.


Article from The Penn's Grove Record, May 22, 1903

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NATIONAL BANK CLOSED Cashier Sherwood, of Southport, Conn., an Embezzler. His Defalcation May Amount to About $100,000-Oficials Say That the Closing is Only Temporary. Southport, Conn.-A warrant was is. sued for the arrest of Oliver Sherwood, cashier of the Southport National Bank, and son of E. C. Sherwood, President of the bank, who has disappeared from this town. Sherwood is charged with the defalcation of nearly $100,000 of the bank's funds. Because of the disappearance of Sherwood, a meeting of the directors of the bank was held here and Frank K. Sherwood, a brother of the missing cashier, was elected to fill his position. Experts were then called in and an examination of the books was made which resulted in the discovery of the shortage. Sherwood was President of the Wilbur Mining Company of Colorado and the executor of a number of estates in this county. It is feared that the mining company and the estates may have suffered losses also, and an examination will be conducted to ascertain if possible the exact amount of the defalcation. Friends of Sherwood say that his disappearance is brought about by insan"ity induced by overwork and claim that Sherwood has been working until late in the night for the last three months. The bank officials, however, are authority for the statement that the books show evidence that the overwork was due to his fear of discovery and an attempt to fix the books SO that the shortage might not be discovered by the bank examiners. Sherwood lived here for many years with his wife and two children. He was forty-five years of age. Frank K. Sherwood, the new cashier, confirmed the announcement from Washington that the bank had closed its doors, but said it was only a temporary matter, and that in three or four weeks at the latest business would be resumed. All depositors, he said, would be paid in full, the surplus of the bank being sufficient to meet all demands. The object in closing, he said, was to enable a careful examination to be made to determine just the condition. Washington, D. C.-The Treasury Department received a telegram from National Bank Examiner Perkins announcing the closing of the Southport National Bank of Southport, Conn. This action, it is understood, was taken in consequence of the defalcation of the cashier, which is believed to have approximated $100,000. Ellis S. Pepper, receiver of the Pynchon National Bank of Springfield, Mass., has been appointed receiver.


Article from The Semi-Weekly Messenger, May 22, 1903

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The Cashier Wrecked the Bank. Washington, May 19.-The treasury department today received a telegram from National Bank Examiner Perkins announcing the closing of the Southport Nationa] Bank of Southport, Conn. This action, it is understood, was taken in consequence of the defalcation of the cashier. which is believed to have approximated $100,000. The bank's capital stock plus undivided profits amount to $180,871 and its deposits to $122,164. Ellis S. Pepper receiver of the Yynchon National Bank of Springfield, Mass, has been appointed received.


Article from New-York Tribune, May 23, 1903

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STOLE QUARTER MILLION. Southport Bank Cashier Led Fast Life in This City. BROTHER SAYS HE WON'T RETURN. [BY TELEGRAPH TO THE TRIBUNE.] Bridgeport, Conn., May 22.-The defalcation of Oliver T. Sherwood, cashier of the Southport National Bank, will amount to at least a quarter of a million dollars. This is learned upon the best of authority. Investigation yesterday of some of Mr. Sherwood's transactions in NewYork revealed a startling condition of affairs. The magnitude of his transactions was far greater than any of the bank directors suspected. Many of these deals the directors refuse to speak about. Mr. Sherwood was until a short time ago a vestryman in the Episcopal Church of Southport. He was a musician, and frequently acted as organist in the church. The reason for the defalcation at first given was that Mr. Sherwood used the funds of the bank, and of everal estates of which he was trustee, to tide over the affairs of the Mount Wilson Mining Company, of Colorado, the stock of which was owned almost exclusively by Southport people. But later developments indicate that the misuse of the funds was due to the fugitive's method of life for the last four or five years. It is known that he led a double life, mostly in New-York City: but since his disappearance many stories are told of his carousing in the cities of Connecticut, and even as close to his home as this city. Sherwood's wife had implicit confidence in her husband, and she was not told of any of his acts of impropriety until last Saturday. When Francis P. Sherwood, a brother, told Mrs. Sherwood she was dumfounded, and has since been on the verge of nervous prostration. Sherwood has floated bonds and notes of the town of Southport to the amount of $100,000, and he took from a box left in his custody in the bank for safekeeping bonds to the amount of $5,000. These he disposed of in New-York, and is supposed to have taken the money obtained on them This is a severe blow for the local Methodist Church Sherwood was trustee of the Francis Jelliff estate and under no bonds. How much he used of this estate cannot be ascertaired. Wednesday noon the Southport National Bank was closed by order of the Controller. Ellis Pepper, cashier of the Pinchon National Bank, of Springfield, Mass., was appointed receiver. Not a word has yet been heard of the fugitive from justice. His brother Francis declares that he does not believe Oliver will ever come back alive. Acquaintances of Sherwood in this city said yesterday that he had been spending much money in the support of a young woman, who posed as his niece, and kept a millinery store in Fifth-ave. The young woman and Sherwood went out riding in an automobile frequently. and she had an electric runabout, with her initials on it, which she kept in a storage room in West Forty-fifth-st., where Sherwood kept some machines. Edward Blakely, a driver of automobiles, said yesterday that he and Sherwood organized the New-York Automobile Company at No. 143 West Forty-third-st. in February, 1902, for renting, stalling and repairing automobiles. Blakely managed the business and Sherwood put up the money to start it. Sherwood sent Blakely to Newport in May last to start a branch there, and sold out the New-York business to Louis Fehr. Later Fehr was sent to Newport, and in his absence creditors of the company stepped in and took possession of everything in the shop. It was said yesterday that when Sherwood disappeared he left on storage in two or three places in this city half a dozen automobiles valued at from $5,000 to $20,000 each. Some of Sherwood's acquaintances in the city said he was an inveterate smoker of cigarettes and that his daily average was about one hundred.


Article from The Washington Times, May 27, 1903

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SSING CASHIER A JUGGLER OF NOTES Passed Through Machine, Came Out Uncanceled. MISLED HIS OWN BROTHER Investigation at Southport, Conn., Reveals Sherwood's Art at Sleightof-Hand. SOUTHPORT, Conn., May 27.-In the investigation of the affairs of the Southport National Bank, which closed its doors a week ago, the manner in which the now missing cashier, O. T. Sherwood, is declared to have manipulated its founds has been laid bare. Sherwood, it is asserted, obtained $150,000 by his operations. The notes given by the town of Fairfield to the Southport National Bank, and which have been paid by the town, were never canceled by Sherwood. About $34,000 of these notes, it is said, were reissued by him. These are held by Bridgeport banks. The question of liability has been raised, and one opinion is that the town may be called upon to pay them. In Need of Money. Whenever the town of Fairfield was in need of money for local improvements, the selectmen would sign a note, and the town treasurer, Francis Sherwood, a brother of O. T. Sherwood, and the teller in the Southport National Bank, would deposit the note in the bank and obtain the loan required. When the loan was repaid to the bank, Francis Sherwood would hand O. T. Sherwood a check for the amount of the note, and O. T. Sherwood would go to the safe and take out the note, place it in the canceling machine, make a noise as if the paper were being canceled. and then place it in a compartment in the bank where all the canceled notes are preserved. Francis Sherwood never suspected that anything was wrong. Notes Apparently Canceled. Apparently, the notes were conceled before the eyes of the town treasurer: but they were not actually canceled. Some of the citizens here say that the town treasurer should have destroyed the notes after they had been repaid. but that is not the usual method here. It was customary to deposit them, after they had been paid, in the safe of the bank for future reference, because sometimes they were referred to as precedents for this or that action. 0. T. Sherwood would say after manipulating the canceling machine, "Now I'll place these notes with the other canceled ones." The bank officers say the way he managed to manipulate these uncanceled documents would make a professional magician envy him. Wild Stories Denied. Mr. Depper, receiver, said that he could not make any statement until the affairs of the bank had been looked into more fully, but he wished to have the wild stories emanating from here, as to the hundreds of thousands of dollars being embezzled and the talk of rewards, denied. The grand jury has found indictments against the missing official for the embezzlement of $100,000. Secret Service detectives are on his trail, but they will not say what clues they have discovered. The sensational story printed in New York that the mayor of Southport has called a mass meeting to discuss the situation is false. There is no mayor of Southport. It is a part of the town of Fairfield. Its affairs are managed by a board of selectmen. No reward has been offered. Business houses here are solid, and, although a little inconvenience has been


Article from The Abbeville Press and Banner, June 3, 1903

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NATIONAL BANK CLOSED Cashier Sherwood, of Southport, Conn., an Embezzler. His Defalcation May Amount to About $100,000-Oficials Say That the Closing is Only Temporary. Southport, Conn.-A warrant was issued for the arrest of Oliver Sherwood, cashier of the Southport National Bank, and son of E. C. Sherwood, President of the bank, who has disappeared from this town. Sherwood is charged with the defalcation of nearly $100,000 of the bank's funds. Because of the disappearance of Sherwood, a meeting of the directors of the bank was held here and Frank K. Sherwood, a brother of the missing cashier, was elected to fill his position. Experts were then called in and an examination of the books was made which resulted in the discovery of the shortage. Sherwood was President of the Wilbur Mining Company of Colorado and the executor of a number of estates in this county. It is, feared that the mining company and the estates may have suffered losses also, and an examination will be conducted to ascertain if possible the exact amount of the defalcation. Friends of Sherwood say that his disappearance is brought about by insanity induced by overwork and claim that Sherwood has been working until late in the night for the last three months. The bank officials, however, are authority for the statement that the books show evidence that the overwork was due to his fear of discovery and an attempt to fix the books so that the shortage might not be discovered by the bank examiners. Sherwood lived here for many years with his wife and two children. He was forty-five years of age. Frank K. Sherwood, the new cashier, confirmed the announcement from Washington that the bank had closed its doors, but said it was only a temporary matter, and that in three or four weeks at the latest business would be resumed. All depositors, he said, would be paid in full, the surplus of the bank being sufficient to meet all demands. The object in closing. he said, was to enable a careful examination to be made to determine just the condition. Washington, D. C.-The Treasury Department received a telegram from National Bank Examiner Perkins announcing the closing of the Southport National Bank of Southport, Conn. This action, it is understood, was taken in consequence of the defalcation of the cashier, which is believed to have approximated $100,000. Ellis S. Pepper, receiver of the Pynchon National Bank of Springfield, Mass., has been appointed receiver.


Article from Waterbury Evening Democrat, June 24, 1903

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NUTMEG GRATINGS Interesting Items Boiled Down for the Benefit of Our Busy Readers. The depositors of the Southport National bank have received notice that they will receive all their deposits, with 6 per cent interest on the saile from the time the bank went into the hands of the receiver. The employes of the New York, New Haven & Hartford railroad, working in the New Haven terminal, have made up a purse of $250 in gold and presented it to Peter E. Bowman, the retiring superintendent who resigned last week to take charge of the Stamford station. The general assembly passed a bill appropriating $10,000 for a statute of Governor John Winthrop and authoriz ing the governor to appoint a commission. The governor Monday appointed ex-State Senator Robert Coit of New London, ex-Governoor McLean and Colonel Norris G. Osborn of New Ha. ven. About 200 men are at work at the plant of the Eastern Shipbuilding Co in New London which closed two weeks ago after receiving notice that its 1,700 employes would demand a nine hour day with ten hours pay. About all of the men who have returned are laborers, but there are enough skilled craftsmen among them to resume work on the big ships.


Article from The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, September 5, 1903

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IN AND ABOUT THE COURTS SUIT FOR $16,000 GROWS-OUT OF CASHIER'S TROUBLE. Attachment Sult-Against Big Company -Poddler Held Under Bends-Charged With Passing Counterfeit MoneySeveral City Cases in the Court. United States Marshal Bishop of Norwich was in Hartford yesterday for the purpose of serving papers in an attachment suit against George B. Fisher, representing the Fidelity and Casualty company of New York, in the sum of $16,000. The suit grows out of the Oliver T. Sherwood affair, the New York company having been on the latter's bond for $15,000 before Sherwood got into trouble as cashier of the Southport National bank. He is now in jail awaiting trial on charges brought against him in connection with alleged crooked work. The attachment papers were served on Mr. Fisher, as attorney, in behalf: of Ellis S. Pepper, who is receiver for the Southport bank.


Article from The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, October 3, 1903

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SOUTHPORT BANK AFFAIRS. Receiver Evidently Preparing to Close Up hose of the National Bridgeport, Oct. -Ellis S. Pepper of St. Louis, receiver for the United States court in charge of the defunct Southport National bank, has made a motion in the civil superior courts which looks as though he was preparing to close up the bank's affairs. Mr. Pepper asks permission from the court to sell the real estate of the bank in Fairfield. He says he has an offer of $6,000 for it and he believes it is for the advantage of the creditors that the property be sold.


Article from The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, April 27, 1904

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U. S. CIRCUIT COURT. The United States circuit court opened in this city yesterday morning with Judge James P. Platt on the bench. The case of the Chapman & Merritt Wrecking company against Greene brothers of Bridgeport was assigned for trial on next Tuesday. Another important case set for trial next Tuesday was that of E. S. Pepper, receiver of the Southport National bank, against the Fidelity and Casualty company of New York. Pepper sues for the amount of Embezzler Oliver T. Sherwood's bond, which was $15,000.


Article from The Daily Morning Journal and Courier, May 3, 1904

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SOUTHPORT BANK BOND CASE. United States Marshal William E. Parmelee of the United States court is serving subpoenas on witnesses to appear in the case of E. S. Pepper, receiver of the Southport National Bank, against the Fidelity and Casualty company of New York, as regarding the collection of the $15,000 bond of defaulting Cashier Oliver T. Sherwood, now serving sentence in Wethersfield. The bonding company claims that the bank had knowledge of the shortages and did not report the matter in time. Stiles Judson appears for the receiver and S. C. Loomis for the bonding company. The case will be fought out before Judge Platt and a jury. Several other cases are assigned for to-day but it is not likely they will be ready for trial.


Article from The Bridgeport Evening Farmer, May 26, 1911

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LAST ACT IN DRAMA OF DEFUNCT SOUTHPORT BANK Final Dividend Pays Off Depositors in Full - Absconding Cashier Released From Prison After Serving Full Term (Special to The Farmer.) Southport, May 26-Depositors in the defunct Southport National bank have been receiving this week notices that the last dividend due them will be paid as soon as they return signed receipts to Ellis S. Pepper, receiver at Springfield, Mass. The dividend is 2.4 a per cent and is the last act in drama which caused the most intense excitement in the town eight years ago and which caused widespread sorrow. The dividend represents the unpaid interest on the deposits which were previously paid, from 1906 to 19:1. It closes the affair as far as the United States Banking department is concerned but its effects will not be eliminiated from the town for generations. On May 12. 1903. Oliver T. Sherwood, cashier of the bank disappeared. He was last seen with a fine looking blond in Stratford. With him disap-, peared a large sum of money the property of the bank and of depositors. A few days afterward an investigation of the affairs of the bank showed a large shortage. The bank was closed by order of the U. S. comptroller of currency for two weeks on May 19, but its doors were never opened for business again. To this day the amount of the dafalcation of the cashier has never been made public. Ellis S. Pepper. then cashier of the Pinchon National bank at Springfield. Mass., was appointed receiver and took charge of the affairs of the bank. Since then the receiver has been gradually paying off the depositors. How much the stock holders were asked to put up to this amount has never been made public. On August 21. 1903. the first dividend of 50 per cent was paid. A dividend of 25 per cent was paid Oot. 3. 1904 and another of the same amount followed July 6. 1906. These dividends cleared up the principal of all the deposits in the bank. The dividend just announced is final. Although the depositors in the bank have been paid in full the stock holders lost heavily. Some of them were ruined. The family of the cashier lost everything and the home of Cashier Sherwood's wife which was in her husband's name went with the rest. The missing cashier had been administrator of estates and trustee of funds to an enormous amount. All of this was swept away with the funds of his own family. Sherwood got out of the country and baffled pursuit for several weeks but was captured at Panama on July 24. He had crossed the continent and sailed through the Pacific. He had passed as "Dr. Sylvester" in his travels and practiced medicine at Panama. He was brought back by Detective Joseph Priest. Sherwood was convicted and sentenced to State's prison for ten years. He was released last June having made about 3 years good time. It is said here that he is now in Europe although friends of the family say that he has been living in New York since his release. The people of this village are averse to bringing up the matter. It was a crushing blow to several aristocratic families whose entire capital was swallowed up in the dealings of the absconding cashier. Besides the bank losses there were half a dozen or more estates whose funds were in his hands. The Mt. Wilson Mining Company was one of the enterprises which swallowed up the money. Millinery establishments and automobiles also drained his resources and those of his clients. The affair will remain only as horrible memory to the greater number of people in the village. There will be a mass meeting of Christian Endeavorers in the SouthportCongregational church Tuesday evening, June 6. An interesting program has been prepared. Cars will be chartered, Final arrangements will be announced later.