Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1880-06-25

he recovered there, the margin on the bonds
at Washington, the $4,000 of collectible
notes in the bank, etc, Will about meet the
liabilities outside of the corporation. The
stock of the institution is scattered all
through Windham and Windsor counties in
Vermont, Cheshire and Sullivan, in New
Hampshire, and Franklin, in Massachusetts.
The original stOck-book cannot be found,
which lends additional color to the theory
that the defauter has made fraudulent issues
of stock for collateral for personal loans.
Waite himself owned the largest block of
stock. or some ISIS, 900, to $4,000. Other
heavy losers are Warren Parker of Putney.
director, who had some $4,000 in the
concern, and being an old man and some
what broken down. has let Waite do as he
pleased. rarely attending the meetings. W.
p. Richardson of Chester, also a director
who has not directed: Druggist Pierce of
Chester and Deacon Wilder of West Brattle
boro. who has long distrusted Waite but
didn't think he could lie as badly as he turn
cd ont to have done. One widow in Brattle
bOro loses 81, 100. her all. and another old
woman $4,000, all she had in the world.
Many more find the labor of lifetime gone,
the savings on whose dividends they de
pended for support. Probably score Of
course of absolute poverty could be counted.
Those who have any property still left will be
liable to assessment, if one is necessary
THE ESTEY SUIT.
Nearly ten years ago, Mr.. Waite became
connected with the famous organ patent suit
of Burdett against Estcy which has been car
ried from court to court till it now stands be-
fore the Tnitnd States Supreme Court on an
appeal from a verdict in She district court of
far rNf I'm tNla init rtn
went into this after it had been running for
some time, furnishing the capital for the
prosecution, the expenses of which have been
immense. Such lawyers as Z. J. Phelps of
Burlington, Senator Edmunds and f. W.
StOughton of New York have been employed,
the latter of whom is said TO have received
ST, 900 in fees. One expert who was on
the witness stand twenty y-seven days received
800 day Mr. Waite stuck TO the suit
with his usual bulldog tenacity as much for
the sake of carrying his point as the prospect
of pccuniary gain from verdict in his favor.
This drain upon his purse is believed by the
people of BrattlebOrO to be sufficient to ac-
count for the disappearance Of the money.
The Republican says editorially, of Waite ::
The details of the affair, disclose an astOnsh-
ing lack of anything like thorough cxamina-
ton by anybody into the condition of the IN
sitution, and exhibit the remarkable success
of Col. Waite in maintaining his well-known
autocraiic methods at the expense of every
body. Here was man who influenced, per-
suaded and bullied set of intelligent and
honest men for years by tie force of an ag-
sressive, magnetic personality. lie sat on
his bank like "a nigger on the safety-valve,
was power in local politics, fought railroad
wars, pushed from court to court Il great
patent suit, and yet retained peace of mind
enough to sleep nights, and went through all
the social forms with as much serenity as
came natural TO him. His townsmen respect
the ability which enabled Silas NJ. Waite to
do all this, even while contemplating the
wrctchcd wreck which he has made of him
self, in the presence of the ruin wrought by
his brilliant, constituencies course in crime.
1t speaks well for human nature that his
neighbors even those who fought the fugitive
most violently in local affairs, have now few
harsh words for Waite. But his career and
its end furnish 4 monumental warning the
transformation scene which makes one Of
the best known men of the Connecticut
valley stand before the world as the greatest
criminal which his locality has produced is
most impressive. Its morals are obvious. ="