The Fugitive Banker Returns to Bellingham
After fleeing to California, J.H. Welty returns to face charges of bank wrecking and embezzlement.
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.
J.H. Welty, formerly of the Home Securities Bank, surrendered to officers in Bellingham on a charge of wrecking the bank. He has agreed to plead guilty to embezzlement after being in hiding in California. The Tribune notes that his voluntary return saved the county $500 in potential reward money, despite local newspaper efforts to stir up depositors against him.
“Watty, the fugitive banker, is no longer a fugitive banker. He came of his own accord last week and gave himself up to the sheriff.”
Bank failures were a recurring trauma in the early 20th century, often leaving depositors destitute. This story captures the era's frantic local journalism, where newspapers acted as both investigators and agitators in civic scandals.
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