The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1882-04-08

BOSTON, April ID. .. MorrlsOn, arresteu
Wednesday night for obtaining checks to the
yalne of $40. 600 from the Honorable Charles
Francis Adams, was arraigned in the Boston
court this afternoon and in default OF
$25 900 was jailed to await action OF the grand
jury. The real name of the prisoner is James
alias the kid" and but little Is
known of him by the Boston officers, except he
has the reputation of a professional banco
player. :
John l., Norton wanted for completely in
the Adams swindle was in Taunton this morn
ing. Having left Mansfield just before the de.
tectives arrived. He drew from the BRISTOL
county savings bank $500 deposited there in his
own name, and it is thought he has gone to
New York The money received on the $17,-
800 check which Mr.. Adams was induced to
sign has been refunded by Mr.. Fernald.
A cunningly devised attempt to extort mon
ey from the Hon. Charles Fir ancis Adams, and
blackmail his family, resulted in the arrest of
the principal rascal concerned in it on the ten
o'clock night train to New York on Wednes-
day night The facts are as follows: 1t has
been quite generally known that for two years
past Mr.. Adams, who is now seventy-six years
old, has been in failing health. he mas Of late
withdrawn entirely from active and social lie,
and his memory has become so impaired that,
while he can talk quite we'll OF occurrences long
passed, che retains little and confused recol-
lections of anything recent. As he is man OF
perfect routine of life. his family have put oil
having him attended by any one in the streets
fearing that a consciousness of it on his part
would agitate and disturb him, and so hasten
his decline. He is very generally know n, and
no accident had ever happened to him. Appai.
emily gang of operators, who make business
of preying on elderly persons, somehow became
more or less cognizant of these facts and work.
ed him for plumber. The first intimation Mr..
Adams's family had of what had taken place
came through the Merchants Bank, at which
Mr.. Adams is the Oldest depositor. On
Friday last notice came to Mr. @. ii. Richard
son, Mr.. Adamss clerk, at his office, No. ~
Court street, that Mr.. Adamss account at the
bank was overdrawn. AS it happened, the bal
ance on deposit at the bank at that time was
unusually large, amounting to about sis, 900,
the notice theteof occasioned great surprise and
upon inquiry IL was found that on Wednesday,
March 20, check for $17 800, regularly signed
and endorsed by Mr.. Adams, but filed in by
another hand had been deposited for collection
by another depositor in the Merchants Bank,
and the amount had in due course been trans
ferred from Mr.. Adams's account to that of
the othet depositor. The check on which this
transfer was made proved to be one in every
way calculated to excite suspicion. 1t was not
one of Mr.. Adams's usual checks, nor was 1t
filled in by him, while the figures at the top in
which the amount was expressed were heavily
and clumsily painted over in way suggestive
of raising" Inquiry was then made OF the
person who deposited this check. He stated
that il had been brought to him for collection
by party whose name he gave, but OF whom
he protested to know nothing. He further
said that the suspicious appearance OF the check
had attracted his notice, but that after some
hesitation he had deposited it. telling the party
that he must not draw against it until the fol-
lowing Monday, by which time it would GER
tainly be known if everything was all right.
As the SIT 800 paid on the unknown check was
still in the Merchants Bank to the account to
which it bad been transferred, that account
was at once trusted, and the whole matter put
in the hands of Detective Heath for investiga-
ton. When the check was shown to Mr..
Adams, he had no recollection of ever having
seen it or signed it; nor was he able to recall
any transaction with which it was connected.
His memory was a complete blank on the sub
ject. He pronounced it forgery. The law
partner of the persont through whom the check
was deposited next called at Mr. Adams's office
and informed Mr.. Adamss sons and their coun-
sci, Mr. Richard Olney, that the check repre-
senetd sum of money lost by MIR. Adams in a
gaming transaction. 1t was intimateG that the
party taking the check from Mr.: Adams was
perfectly willing to come forward ii guaranteed
against immediate arrest and tell the whole
story. He was accordingly sent for, and appear
ed at Mr.. Olney's office ar four o'clock Monday
afternoon last.
The interview which now took place was
selves j. s. Morrison and j. +. Norton, the
latter having a desk or Office at Pemberton
Square. They made no pretence at conceal
ment, counting implicitly, as the principal,
Morrison, frankly said, on the belief that Mr..
Adams and bis family would rather pay almost
any sum of money than allow the story to get
publicity, he proceeded to give his account of
what had taken place. Acknowledging him.
self to be professional banco player, as it is
called, he said Mr.. Adams had been spotted as
good subject for plumber. He (Iorrison) had
then Joined him on the street, near his house,
as he was leaving his house to take walk, on
Tuesday, March 18th, at about II a. M, pre-
tending to be son of an old political friend of
Mr.. Adams. Making himself extremely po-
lite, he had asked permission to accompany
him on his walk, and had, by degrees, beguiled
him to place on Boylston street, where his
gang operated. On one pretence or another,
he had then induced Mr.. Adams to enter the
house and room in which the game OF banco
was then going on. While there he said, Mr..
Adams appeared to be confused and not to
know what was being done; but he was finally
induced to sign and indorse three checks,one
for $780,. one for $1,6C0, and third for
$780, largest one only of which had been
presented Morrison frankly said that he
didn't think Mr.. Adams knew at all what he
was about; that he (Morrisonl had pretended
finally he had left the house and
walked home with him, quieting his
agitation, and telling him that the thing
would be all right, and leaving him at his
own door. A confederate had then waite he'd
and seen Mr.. Adams presently come out of
the house, accompanied by two ladies, enter
carriage, apparently quite serene, and go off to
drive. 1t was concluded, therefore, that he
had made up his mind to let the checks be
paid, that the game had succeeded, and the
plumber was safe. The man then went on in
perfect confidence to describe how he had done
10 6ofD pcsy,rr nrf0 of
willingness to be brought face to face with
Mr.. Adams, and his confidence that he would
never deny the story or diSavow his signature.
Norton, it was professed, had not been present
in the banco room. He had simply advanced
Morrison money ON the check. His only in
terest was to get that money back. At the
same time he made no pretence OF not being
a confederate in the banco business, and the
two with an effrontery which was absolutely
astonishing, referred to their numerous trans
actions in the kind of "papers," as they called
it, giving even the names of. victims, and
describing how, after a sufficient amount Of
they always submitted ard paid up.
Finally they intimated their perfect faith that
Mr.. Adams family would submit and pay
up in this case. They. would never
ter an hours conversation the fellows with
drew The next day, on promise that they
should be returned they sent in to Mr.. Olney
sor examination the two outstanding checks
for $1,000 and $3.50. which also proved to be
signed and endorsed by Mr.. Adams and filed
up in another hand They were, however,
quite regular in appearance and if presented
first would undoubtedly have been paid before
detection. Fortunately, the conspirators in
their over-confdence tr ed the largest amount.
Meanwhile, neither Mr.. Olney nor those
about Mr.. Adams were able to get from him
any confederation OF the conspirators story.
His memory was a blank He could not re-
member where he had been at the time fixed,
or separate the occurrences of that day from
those of any other. Neither on that day in
question nor the succeeding days, until the adj
pearance of the check, had there been any
thing in his manner indicative of agitation or
that something unusual had occurred. He
was placid and serene as usual. Finally, how
ever, on Tuesday last, the member of his FAM
lily most accustomed to the working of his
mind, touched the right chord. The result
was the gradual eiciting OF a narrative con-
fused and disconnected, il is true, but still cor
in so many particulars with the
story told by Morrison as TO leave no reasona-
Bile doubt that he had been the victim of
fraud substantially such as Morrison had de-
scribed. He could be in no way induced to adj
NIT however, that he had signed any checks.
The substantial facts of the case being thus
ascertained, it was felt by Mr. Adams and his
sons that but one course was open to them; that
however painful and distressing the publicity
of such matter, there was a duty to the pub
lie which they had no right to leave undis-
charged. The rascals must be prosecuted to
the extent of tue law. Accordingly on Tues
day, the day after the interview with the two