8
THE SUNDAY" OREGOXIAX, TORTLAND, JUXE 18. 1922
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Albert H. Sporleder, Who, as Presi
dent of the Milwaukee-Irving State
Bank of Chicago, Is Said to Have
Allowed q Shortage of More Than
$500,000 to Go Unreported Because
He Feared He Would Be Haunted
by Peacock's Ghost.
A HALF MILLION dollars has disap
peared from a Chicago banlrand a
ghost is charged with being the
chief accessory after the fact. Legal re-,
sponsibility for the shortage rests with
Everett R. Peacock, a former president;
Albert H. Sporleder, who succeeded
Peacock, and several others. But the real
responsibility, according to Sporleder and.
several Chicago neurologists, is charge
able to a wraith and the most Intangible
sort of wraith at that.
It was Peacock who manipulated his ac
count at the Milwaukee-Irving State bank
in such a way as to bring about the illegal
withdrawal of the missing money. Testi
mony to this effect has been placed be
fore the state attorney.
But when Sporleder became president
of the bank and discovered the irregu
larities he went to Peacock, he say3, and
threatened him with exposure unless im
mediate restitution was made.- Peacock
answered by telling Sporleder that if he
didn't keep quiet, he, Peacock, would kill
himself and that his ghost would stand on
Sporleder's doorstep and haunt him.
Dread of Exposure.
Sporleder, much shaken by the threat,
went back to his bank and thought it
over. He decided after a while to say
nothing and that perhaps matters would
get better. Instead of that, he says, they
got worse. A shortage of $260,000 in
overdrafts mounted to nearly half a mil
lion by the time affairs got so bad that
the bank examiners caught the irregulari
ties and the directors were notified.
Details of the "check - kiting" opera
tions whereby the overdrafts in question
were made, were conveyed in statements
made to the state attorney by Peacock,
Sporleder, Miss Clara Rahn, Peacock's
secretary, and Harold W. Anderson,
former cashier of the bank. The state
attorney announced that he would ask for
the indictment of Peacock, : Sporleder,
Anderson and several others. -
Sporleder's . statement of the threat
made by Peacock came at the end of his
detailed confession to the state attorney.
He said: .
"When I first took over the bank I
found several irregula-rities, but they
were not .for large sums. Mr. Peacock
xs one of' the largest depositors and I
tnought It best to carry him along, even
though some of the things were distinctly
shady. . .
"Finally, when the full magnitude of
the situation came to me, I went to Mr.
Peacock and told him that unless he made
immediate restitution and straightened
things out I would have to put it all be-
fore the bank directors and the state at
torney. " 'Do you remember the Paul Stensland
bank case?' he asked me. He knew that
I had lived-within a few doors of the
Stensland home and could not help but
know of it.
'"You remember that a broker com
mitted suicide because of that" case.' he
continued. 'If you want my ghost on
your doorstep, go to the state attorneys
and the directors. I'll kill myself if you
do. I can't face the world if the crash
comes. You can save me if you will.
Without you I haven't a chance and I'll
kill myself as sure as the sun rises, if you
force the disgrace.' -
"After that I thought things might
come out all right' and went along with
him. Instead of coming out all right,
however, they all went wrong and I be
came involved deeper and deeper."
What passed through Sporleder's mind
between the time Peacock made his threat
and his final decision to stick by his
predecessor, even Sporleder hasn't been
aDle to tell with any accuracy. But from
tue known facts, Chicago neurologists and
psychologists who have been interested in
the psychological aspect of the case, have
reached certain interesting' conclusions.
Sporleder was not v a man who was
known to be superstitious. . Under ordi
nary circumstances he would, hare
' laughed away the thought that anyone he
had known might come back and haunt
him. What gave him pause at first was
the possibility that Peacock might end his
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William R. Leigh's Sensational Canvas, "The Reckoning," Which Repre
sents Graphically a Man in the Grip of a Succession' of Fear States. '
Was Such a State of Mind, Chicago Neurologists Declate,.Thai ' Prevent
ed Sporleder from Exposing the.Allted Bank Shortage'.
life.' He evidently took seriously this .
threat. . .. : ., . .- . '.
As he sat turning over this possibility:
in his mind,' however, the ghost thought
kept recurring with greater frequency.
The association between Peacock's death
and his reappearance as a ghost grew
closer and closer, as Sporleder's-mind re
volved in an ever-narrowing circle, until ;
what was considered at first as childish
and fantastic was now accepted as cred
ible. . "
And once the ghost was accepted, the
possibilities of what might happen to him
il Peacock should die and haunt him,
became manifold and terrible. : His mind
passed through a succession' of fear states
in which he imagined himself being
dogged to his grave by unforgetable
shapes and beings.
After a while, of course, Sporleder
brought himself back to a comparatively
rational state of mind, but the harm had
been done. He' had developed what the
psychoanalysts call a complex. He could
never think rationally on the subject of
ghosts. Whenever he tried to, his'sub
consclous mind would interfere and he
would pass off again into a succession of
fear states.
Thus it was that Peacock's threat pre
vented Sporleder from making an expos
ure of the bank shortage.
According to those psychoanalysts, who
follow the Freudian school, there are
. many cases in the history of psychic re
search whe're rationalist and materialistic
persons have been brought to believe in
ghosts and their power to inflict harm,
within a comparatively short span of
time. In fact, it is an exceptional human
being who couldn't be brought to such a
state if conditions were right. . And once
. those standards, of judgment which kept
him from being what is called supersti
tious were 'destroyed, he would straight
away become a prey to fears. ;
The reason for this, they declare, is
that every human being has an inherent
wish for immortality. When some of them
are normal, they may conceivably ' tell
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themselves that personal immortality
doesn't appear to be logical. . But if cer
tain' unnatural conditions are brought to
bear upon them, the wish to Be immortal
will become stronger than their rational
processes and what they would ordinarily
call unreal become real. For the wish
has become a belief. -
" ' In Terror, Confesses.
,v Those who believe in personal immor
tality: are more easily led to a belief in
ghosts, it is declared. It is often the case
that the mere-removal of the influences
of one's normal environment will bring
this about. !r'
In his statement to the state attorney,.
Everett Peacock admitted that he had
looted the 'Milwaukee-Irving State bank
THE HAND ON THE SHOULDER - BY MEREDITH
(Continued From Page 3.)
Searles was not a place where social
matters could be discussed comfortably..
. A buzzer summoned Marian to take dicta
tion, and she was unable to parley longer.
"This is the very limit! . I'll go, but it,'s
the last time. Don't you dare come here
again!" But she laughed as she seized
her notebook.
"It's all so perfectly wonderful!"" said
Frances, with her most innocent air.
"Paul and I are so happy about it!"
; s "Get out of my- office!" commanded
Marian. . .
.The motor trip proved to be the pleas
antest of, excursions. Marian's deter-
. mlnation to maintain a severe dignity
yielded under Mrs. Adams' cordiality and
good humor. Paul declared that his
father's speech was the best h had ever
delivered,-and Paul himself, , at the din
ner served in the courtroom of the new"
building, acquitted himself well; when
called on unexpectedly to say a few words
as a lawyer who had lately fought In the
defense of America. --r"
"I'd call thia a perfect day'," said
How This Official Akord
'ing to His Own t Statement,
Became Involved in s a
$500,000 Defalcation, Be
cause the Guilty Per
son Threatened, to
Commit Suicide
' and Haunt Him.
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for ?486,000. He further admitted that
he obtained an additional $155,000
through loans from six other banks and
that of the entire $623,000 he onid ac
count, for only. $25,000. When these
overdrafts were put through, Peacock
was president of the Peacock Seed com
pany. He said that he and Albert Spor
leder had at first realized . money on
checks that were no good and that the
checks had been covered by money raised
from the conversion of stock and bonds
belonging to the bank. ' ' .
Harold W. Anderson, the cashier, said:
"I was ordered to pay the money to Mr.
Peacock by Mr. Sporleder on checks
drawn by Mr. Peacock for various
amounts ranging between $5000 and $10,
000. There were no funds to cover thpse
Frances as they started on the homeward
drive by moonlight.
Frances and Paul changed their plans
suddenly and decided to be married in
June. In spite of the rush of pre-nuptial
entertaining, Frances found time to look
in upon Marian now and then at the office.-
.
"You're certainly making It hard for
him!" said Frances one noon over a department-store
luncheon. "Mrs. Adams
was terribly peeved that you refused her
invitation to dinner. She's awfully keen
about you! There's something queer
about you, Marian; nobody seems to hate
you! But what's going to happen if you
dodge the dear. man every chance you
get. He's getting desperate."
"It isn't pleasant to be dodging a man
you ' admire, of course," said Marian.
"But you ought to see that the gulf is too
wide. Oh, not his years, but ten thou
sand other things!"
. "I believe you're in love as much as I
am,", said Frances. "And isn't love wonderful!"
ypnoTizea
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vereite Peacock. Former President; o) ' the Bank He Is Char gtidWitli Looting
checks, which, onMr. Sporleder's order, I
carried as cash assets.
"The checks were presented by Charles
P. Gascon, secretary of thp Peacock com
pany, and were in the name uf tt firci.
TKe thing started In April, 1921, and
went on for a long time."
After questioning Mr. Peacock, the
state atorney sent for Miss Clara Rahn,
Peacock's secretary. She admitted that
there were irregularities practiced in the
handling of the Peacock account at the
bank for a year and a half past.
She said she had been present at con-
ferences between Mr. Sporleder, Mr.
Peacock, Mr. Gascon and Harold W.
Anderson, former cashier, at .which
methods for taking money from the bank
were discussed. ' She said she had, on
"No, it's, perfectly awful!" Marian re
torted. The night of the wedding Mrs. Adams
took charge of Marian, 'carrying her to
the Dennings and. keeping close beside
her. ' t
"You needn't be afraid of any of these
people. If you find them staring at you
it's only because you're so handsome.'
Just before the bride and groom left,
Marian saw Paul and his father standing
apart, talking earnestly, but both were
smiling. And in the most natural way
in the world the right arm of John B.
Fearing stole across Paul's broad shoul
ders and clung there a moment.
Marian heard someone saying:. "It's
not often you find father and son as
close as they are. . fou might think they
were brothers.".
There was dancing on a platform built
out from the veranda, and Marian was
awaiting the first of the partners Mrs.
Adams' enterprise had enlisted for her,
when John B. Fearing walked toward
her. ... ' .' -
""Waiting for Bob Reynolds? Well,
JClara Rahn, Secretary of Everetfe Peacock, Testi
fied She Attended Meetings Where Plans for
Getting Money Out of Chicago Bank Were
Discussed.
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order from Mr. Gascon, signed fictitious
names to checks which were later cashed
at the bank. She told of minor transac
tions, but insisted she knew nothing .of
$500,000 worth of hidden assets 'as
charged by the prosecutor.
When the directors first found out
about the shortage, the missing amount
was immediately made good. In his
statement of the case made for the bene
fit 'of depositors, State Attorney Edgar
Jonas said: '
"It is only fair to the board of directors
to point out that, while the shortages
exist, it is not the depositors who will
lose. The directors and the itockholders
are the victims. . The bank, I believe, can
and always could pay dollar for dollar to
its depositors."
NICHOLSON
cut the dance and I'll apologize later. I
made Paul and Frances a promise that
I'm going to keep unless you run away -from
me."
He was1 leading the way down the
veranda steps, slowly an4 composedly,
and with nothing to indicate that he was
bent upon anything more important than
showing a dark-eyed girl the stars. No
one semed to take note ot them, and in
the box-bordered walk, away from the
lights and music, Marian felt suddenly
that the rest of the world had gone away
and left her.
"I didn't kno'sv it could happen," Fear
ing was saying quietly. "I thought I was
beyond all that. Every day you fill my
mind and heart. - You came at a time
when I needed help, though you didn't
know you couldn't have known. I love
you; I love you very dearly. I should be
so proud of you Marian!", .
It is possible that Bob Reynolds, madly
searching the premises for his missing
dancing partner, did not see their first
kiss, Marian suspects that he did.
.. (Copyright, 1922, by Meredith.
Nicholson.).
Mir