Colfax Bank Cashier Vanishes with $11,000
A small-town banker has absconded, leaving his depositors with a massive, unexplained hole in the books.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
News was received by telephone from President Barrett of the First National Bank of Colfax, Washington, to the effect that Charles F. Russell, the bank's cashier, is $11,000 short in his accounts and has fled. A reward of $200 is offered for his arrest. Russell had lived in Colfax for nine years, always occupying a high position. Investigation by the bank examiner first led to the discovery of the shortage, and Russell initially promised to explain the discrepancy to bank officials, but he failed to appear at the appointed time, and a search for him has begun.
“Charles F. Russell, cashier, is $11,000 short in his accounts and has fled.”
Bank failures and internal embezzlement were hallmark panics of the 1890s, when local banks operated with far less regulatory oversight than today. The story of a trusted local figure fleeing town with depositors' money mirrors the fragility of trust in early frontier financial institutions.
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