Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1881-03-11
WINDHAM COUNTY COURT.
The Famous Case, whitney We. the Firs
National Bank, ON Trial.

~
The whole of Tuesday afternoon was occu-
pied in securing jury, and the panel was not
completed until the opening of the court on
Wednesday morning. it being necessary to
summon new jurors over night, in order to
obtain twelve men who had not formed an
opinion. Following is a report of the trial
j. ID. Whitney Us. First National Bank of
Brattle6or0. This is an action of trespass on
the case founded upon the defendants neg
igence. Plea, general issue trial by Jury.
The evidence on the part of the plaintiff
showed that in July, 1868, the plaintiff was
the owner OF $4,000 worth of Z $40 U. S.
Treasury notes. That he carried them to de-
PENDANT bank, and requested Mr. Waite. who
was then its cashier, to exchange them for
b.2O U. S. bonds, and that Waite consented
to do so: That on the 23d day of July, 1868,
he called at the bank, and Mr. Waite deliver
ed TO hlm eight go q. s. bonds, of the de-
nomination of $500 each. Waite did them
up, put them in an envelope, and handed
them to the plaintiff, saying, "You can leave
them here, if you choose" Plaintiff then
asked Waite il they would be safe to which
he replied, ''As safe as our property" and
that they kept nearly all the bonds in that
and adjoining towns, Plaintiff told him that
ne ne would leave them, and did SO; whereupon
waite wrote plaintiff 8 namo, put them into
the safe within the bank vault, and gave him
receipt therefor, which read as follows.
FIRST NATL BANK OF BRArr1EBoRo.)
Brattleboro Vt, July 49, 1868.
Received of j. D. Whitney four thousand
dollars Tor safe keeping as a special deposit
s. NJ. WAITE, c."
That the interest coupons became due and
payable thereon on the first days of January
and July of each year, and that the plaintiff
ana from time to time call at the bank and re-
ceiye his interest thereon. Sometimes, when
plaintiff called at the bank for his interest.
either Waite, Mr.. Sawyer (the assistant cash
ler), or Mr.. Guild (the teller), would take out
his bonds, cut off the coupons and pay him
In currency therefor; or, if they were in a
hurry, they would ask him whether he want
ed the coupons or the money for them, and
he, preferring the currency to tho coupons,
they would pay him, and tell him that they
would cut of the coupons at their leisure
In July, 1869, when he went for his interest
his package of bonds was taken out and ex-
hibted, and he discovered that the envelope
contained four $1,000 20 bonds instead of
the eight $500 bonds, and he inquired what
1t meant; to which Mr.. Waite replied that
they had occasion to use some smaller bonds,
and took the liberty TO change his, thinking
that he had as lief have the $1,000 bonds as
the $500. That he again saw the bonds in
January, 1870, and took his interest as usual,
and also again in July, 1870, when he was
paid in gold, and left the gold in the package
with the bonds in the defendants safe. That
again, in January, 1871, the bonds were
brought out and coupons cut off, for which
he received his pay, and on the same occasion
took away the gold in the envelope and left
his bonds TO be returned again to the safe.
This was the last time plaintiff ever saw his
bonds. In'June, 1871, he heard that the bank |
was robbed, and on the following day, June
9Th, he called at the bank and saw Mr.. Saw
yer, and asked him how it was with his bonds
to which he replied that plaintiff would have |
to wait until Mr.. Waite returned, who was at
the time in New York. After Waite got back |
he called to see him, and as he stepped into |
the bank Waite said to him, II am sorry to
say your bonds are gone" but that they were |
doing all they could to recover them Said |
the bank had been robbed and plaintiff |
bonds had been taken, with large amount |
OF other bonds belonging to the bank and |
other depositors, and also a quantity of cur |
rency. That defendant never had returned |
his bonds, or paid for them.
Tho plaintiff then introduced evidence |
against the defendants objection showing |
that the defendant was in the habit of receive |
ing similar deposits from other persons, |
which was lost in the same way also evil |
dence tending to show that the bonds of 9TH |
er depositors in years after when they called |
for them, had become mingled with the bonds |
Il
would inform them that he had sent them to |
the city for safe keeping, and after several |
weeks he would produce an equal amount of |
bonds and deliver them to the depositors
and in some instances would pay them their
value in currency.
The evidence ON the part of the defendant
tended to show that the bonds Of the plaintiff
were taken as an accommodation to him and |
for no other purpose that the plaintiff never
paid the bank anything for the keeping of
them nor offered to pay anything therefor
That the bonds in question were never min
gled with the bonds of the bank or in any
way or form whatsoever were ever appro-
priated to the use of the bank, or by any of
Its officers, servants, or employees. That they
were kept in the same place they kept their
own, which was on an iron shelf in the safe
which stood within the vault of their bank,
and which was tbs safest place they had.
That Mr.. Whitney's bonds or the package
containing them was in the safe both the day
before and the day of the robbery of the
bank. That the bank was robbed by sneak
thieves between twelve and one o'clock on
the 7th day of June, 1871, and while Mr..
Sawyer was in the bank alone, Mr.. Waite
having left for New York the afternoon be-
fore, and Mr.. Williston the president and
Mr.. Guild the teller were at dinner As evil
dence tending TO show the robbery, the de-
PENDANTS introduced Mr.. Sawyer who testified
that on the day of the robbery, while alone,
man came into the bank and purchased draft
of 800. He then produced bag of gold and
silver which he desired to exchange for cur
rency that Sawyer counted the specie several
times, but failed to make the same amount
that the stranger claimed and the stranger f.
nally said the specie belonged to lady and as
there did not appear to be much of it as she
had represented, he would take it back TO her
and therefore gathered it up and left the bank,
oil NH l. 81 |
toward the vault door. Messrs. Guild, Saw
yer and DIR. o. II. Post testified that the
bonds were in the bank, together with
large amount Of currency, on q shelf in the
safe short time before noon on the day of
the alleged robbery, and were missing, to-
gether with other securities in the same place,
at o'clock of the same day. That the bonds
have not been seen since then. That for two
days preceding the robbery three men had
been stopping ut the West Brattleboro hotel
who had with them a team consisting of a
span of calico or spotted horses, aud that
little before noon on the 7th day of June they
left the hotel, going towards the East village
that the team was seen by several between
twelve and one o'clock hitched on the street
near Ferdinand Tyler's; that Immediately af-
ter the stranger had left the bank this team
disappeared and was next seen passing
through the West village towards Whining
ton that two of the men before they reached
the West village went off through Esteyville,
towards Bernardston and the third man took
tho team back to North Adams, where it had
been procured. The two men who went
towards Bernardston, or two men answering
their description, called that night at the
house of Porter Chaplin in Guilford, near the
Massachusetts, line and asked for something
to eat. They had with them bundle which
they seemed to take unusual care of, and
they did not stop to eat their food after it
was prepared, but acted as though they
were afraid of being caught and in other
ways seemed anxious TO escape observation.
The man who went back to Adams with the
team was the man who had hired the horses
there three days before, claiming to be a