Daily globe. [volume] (St. Paul, Minn.) 1878-1884, 1879-11-22

I Charles r. Minis is not the kind OF man
in appearance, that would be singled out from
q crowd as possessing q capacity and desire
for the manifestation of any of the meanei
aptitudes of human frailty. His appear
anoe, moreover, is not unlike hundreds of go
Der, intelligent citizens in this and every
other community, whose characters are &c
we'll and evenly poised as to escape alike thu
notoriety that attaches to undue elevation OF
prominence of station, and the odium thai
would cling to the commission Of any vios
beneath, carefully guarded responsibility. T c.
II the reader will imagine we'll preserved
man of 81, thick sat and of the average
height, with bronzed complexion, clear skin,
mia blue eyes, open countenance, brownish
hair, with beard and mustache of the same
color, attired In butternut coat and vest
with dark pants, he will have the exact por-
traiture of Charles r. Minis as he appeared
in this city en- route for the Saltwater peni-
tentiary yesterday morning. 7' ''.>. y.
THE STORY OF HIS FALL. ..-
The story of this mans downfall, as fire.
quently repeated, is briefly as follows
While treasurer Of Mcleod county in 1877
a position which he had kept with honor to
himself and credit to the county for a period
of eight years, he became EN- barrassed by q
number Of adverse wheat deals, in which he
had been an extensive speculator. ge.s 80 !.
= In April, 1877, he went long on wheat,
which was then q dollar sixty or over, and
turned the neat profit of $4,000. Shortly
afterwards there came 4 bad break in the
market, and III July, 1877, the prios Of wheat
ran down to or below $130. .-..+......<-., p.
Among those who thought the opportu-
nifty had arrived in which to go long on the
deal was Minis, who purchased with rapid
itY that proved fatal. When the market
touched $1.20 per bushel he bought largely,
and in spite of the downward tendency he
continued to purchase. 80 -~.. PIX.
At $1.1219 he bought 10000 bushels, and
when the market touched $1.O5 he loaded
on 125, 900 bushels more. During the time
in which the purchases were made the mar
ket continued to decline with fearful rapid
ity, and with fatal confidence Minis contin-
ued to margin his deals. .s.sf T.. f.-..,.r
At first he put up snug fortune of over
So, 900, the fruits Of patient industry. With
terrible despair he appropriated small sums,
at first, from the money over which he had
been made custodian. Still the market de.
clined. and when it reached 95 cents per
busfel, Minis was q ruined man, and a de-
faulter to over $38, 900. c---. 4 ~ ,saE- -
The above facts, or history of the defalca
ton rather, was obtained from Minis by a
GLOBE reporter on yesterday, and like hun
dreds of ether cases, his downfall may be
directly attributed to a desire to become rap
idly rich by means other than that afforded
by a legitimate occupation.
The history of the. trial are matters OF
comparatively recent record. The oonvio
ton on the two indictments, the able de-
Tense, the hesitation of the Jury, which
medltated on their verdict seventy-two hours
and over before they could reconcile the Of
Tense with the stern provisions of the sta
tute, which required technical finding OF
the fact without considering the presence OF
absence of o49 criminal intent, are
all familiar 81 to the public
On the first and heavy Indictment, the jury
reduced the amount from $23, 900 to $14,
600, reducing the amount on the second in.
dictment from $1,000 to $4,000. AS re-
quired by the law, the amounts were doubled
by the court. making penalty of 1888, 24o:-
81, the amount appropriated, in addition to
the four years. Imprisonment. sT, u; -
The prisoner has wife and one Guild, 3
girl six years old, upon whom the effect Of
the sentence is simply crushing, while wide
spread sympathy is manifested for Mimi
from all quarters, the verdict being univer.
sally regretted at his own home.
His nerve under the circumstances is ed
mirable, and if manifested under more "a
vorable auspices would be considered heroic
He visited number of old friends and bus.
mess acquaintance in this city: yesterday
accompanied by Sheriff Hopper and Mr.. En-
win, his attorney. He will be taken t.
Saltwater this morning and commences to-
day his four years service. 3s5@. ...-.-