People's Pilot, Volume 5, Number 31, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 February 1896 — DEFALCATION IS BIG. [ARTICLE]

DEFALCATION IS BIG.

Half a Million Dollar* May Not Cover Barnird'a Shorta*e. Rome, N. Y., Feb. 5. —There was great excitement among the citizens here when it was learned, from an authoritative source, that the shortage in the Fort Stanwix National bank amounts, up to the present time, to $375,000, and that George Barnard, trusted cashier, ex-mayor, and vestryman of Zion Episcopal church, would be found in debt to the bank personally nearly $75,000. Bank Examiner Van Vrankin yet go into the details of the bank’s affairs, nor will he either affirm or deny anything in that connection. A complete examination has not been made, and the shortage, as learned today, has been estimated after a partial examination. One of the directors of the bank said that he would not be surprised if the shortage amounted to $500,000, and declared that Barnard’s personal shortage might reach SIOO,OOO. Barnard committed suicide when his defalcation became known.