The Postmaster's Shortage
A former Marysville postmaster is given two weeks to reconcile embezzled funds or face a lengthy prison sentence.
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.
Charles Shaefer, until recently the postmaster at Marysville, was brought before United States Commissioner Emery yesterday for the completion of his preliminary examination. Shaefer had been bound over on the charge of embezzling $177.75 of the funds coming into his hands as postmaster. The court deferred binding the prisoner over for two weeks, that opportunity of making good the shortage might be given. Shaefer is a married man of former good reputation, and will probably be able to secure aid from his friends in Marysville. He stands in danger of being convicted of a felony, for which from six months to ten years in the penitentiary can be imposed.
“The court deferred binding the prisoner over for two weeks, that opportunity of making good the shortage might be given.”
This story captures a common 19th-century practice where courts allowed defendants to 'make good' a shortage to avoid sentencing, a stark contrast to modern federal white-collar sentencing guidelines. The vulnerability of small-town officials to the ups and downs of local finance remains a historical touchstone of frontier administration.
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