Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-11-05
S. N. YATES CASE.

FACTS CLEANED AT OMAHA IN REGARD TO IT
CONNECTION or TRUMAN BUCK WITH IT NOT
WHAT HAS BEEN REPBEsENTED-TH RANCH
NOT IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH THE CASE.
Correspondence Of the Boston Journal.l
SALT LAKE CRY, Utah, Oct %, 1880.
In iourneying across the Continent your
correspondent stopped a day in Omaha last
week to learn by personal inquiry and inves-
tigation just how much truth there is in the
general impressions in New England that
s. NJ. Waite had put some $40, 600 or $50, 900
into q cattle ranch, which would account for
part Of the large amount of missing money
from the First National Bank Of Brattleboro'.
The public were given to understand at the
time of the arrest that this was the case, and
no longer ago than Oct. 10, w. Ii. II. Level
lyn, United States detective, says, in an
Omaha paper, that ''the ranch cost from
$40, 900 to $50, OOO." Even detectives some
times in judgment, for your correspond
ent visited Jas. Creighton, of the firm of Jno.
A. & Jas. Creighton, bankers and capitalists,
who are among the heaviest and most inhu-
entail men of Omaha, and of whom the ranch
and all connected with it was purchased, and
was shown the papers and all details of the
transaction from beginning to end. No at
tempt at concealment of facts was evident up
on the part of any one connected with the
transaction, and | called upon many of the
leading heaviest men of the city who fully
Endorsed both the Creightons and Mr. Buck
in all possible ways With the statements of
all parties to the transaction, and also the pa
pers connected Herewith as authority, the
following are The tacts The purchase price
of the ranch, including ererythiHg, was Sl4,-
jG4 OF this amount Sli, 600 had been paid
previous to my visit, and the balance of 1854
was paid while l was there, Mr. Buck receiv-
ing his bill of sale receipted in full. The ba-
| sis of the trade was S22 per head for all cat
tie over one year old, with the ranch, all ap-
| purtenances thereto, and all young stock
thrown in. It may be said by way of nfor-
nation that this is the common way such
| trades are made upon the ranches of the far
| West and this is about an average price
| OF this amount Mr.. Buck paid $40, jG4 and
| w. f. Waite $1,000. Mr.. Buck proved to me
the fact thai $1,000 of the money he paid was
in Douglass county bonds and $1,000 in
Saunders county bonds which he purchased
several years ago of the Union Pacific Rail
road Company, and were the direct proceeds
of years Of his own earnings and savings, to-
| gether with a few small successful specula-
| tons entirely unconnected in any way or
shape with any of S. NJ. Waite's family |
was shown the different letters accompanying
the three amounts of money making the
| $4,000 paid by W. f. Waite, which showed
| that to have been received as follows: $1,000
proceeds of a mortgage of the Waite home
| stead in BTattleboro by the mother of w. Z.
Waite; $1,000, personal loan to w. E. by
Harry Lawrence, and $1,000 loan in the same
manner by Prof Charlier Of New York city.
| Thus it is shown that the ranch in the first
| place did not cost one fourth what it was re-
| ported to- and that no money paid for il can
possibly be traced to the rascality of S. NJ.
| Waite. Mr.. Buck says the buying of q ranch
was first talked by himself and W E. Waite
l,.k Al.
talked of or decided upon till July 25 1880,
and the trade was closed September 8, 1880.
He says S. NJ. never went to the ranch, as
has been stated repeatedly, and had no more
to do with the purchase than the farthest
person in the world.
Another fruitful source of speculation
among the papers of New England has been
the dwelling of Mr. Buck in Omaha, which
has been represented and estimated by the
detectives to have cost from $50, 600 TO $685.
600. l visited the house twice during my
stay, and found it to be pretty, homelike
and substantial dwelling, but over-estimated
in value as much as the ranch. Mr.. Buck
produced the deed Of the land, which cost but
$500, and also the building contract, which
was $32l7. OF this amount Mrs. Buck paid
$1,000, which was the proceeds of her por-
ton of her fathers estate and a small amount
from her aunt's estate, added to by saving,
teaching school and its own natural income.
Both Mr.. and Mrs. Buck taught school dur
ing the earlier years of their married life
This $4,000 was at one time invested by S. NJ
Waite, but returned to her quite number of
years ago. The dwelling stands in Mrs
Bucks name. Both emphatieally state that
''they never had cent of money from Mr.
Waite in all these years, sent to us in any
form to loan or invest or hold in any way for
him." and by careful investigation from all
reliable sources there can find no cause for a
suspicion of distrust of the statement Ezra
Willard President Of the Omaha National
Bank, where Mr. Buck has always kept his
private bank account, fully Endorses all said
by the Cashier in his recent letter to Receiv-
er Price, and says the Comptroller of Curren.
) cy has asked the same questions that Mr..
Price did with similar answers, and the Comp.
troller has ordered them to give any inforIna.
! tion regarding the case to Mr.. Price which
may be needed Mr. Buck has given the
bank permission to furnish any interested
party who may call for it full abstract Of
his bank account from his first start. Moth
, ing in any of Mr. Bucks transactions in mon
ey matters has given Mr. Willard or any Off
GERS of the bank cause for the least surprise
. land we know there can be no ground fol
Q suspicion of his having any guilty connection
with the Waite matter" "He stands as wei
i before our people as any man in Omaha.
, ''In taking Mr. Waite into his house in tn,
i ! way he did when he came there sick, he die