Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-03-02
Waite,s story,

Last Friday and Saturday s. NJ. Waite told
on the witness stand his Compromised story
of the affairs of the windham County and
First National banks-of what became of
their funds and where he got the money to
keep his "shop," as he termed it, running as
long as he did. The substance of his story
is given in his own words elsewhere in this
paper. The gist of it is that the capital of
the old Windham County bank was entirely
wiped out at the time of the change to q no
tional bank, although some assets were car
ried over which it was vainly hoped for some
months that something might be realized on.
The capital of the old bank was lost mainly
through bad western loans, though there was
some $40, 900 or more of worthless local pa
per. The directors of the old bank, Waite
says, knew that its capital was impaired and
the earlier directors of the National bank
knew in general way that its paper was not
all "frst-class." That the later directors had
any knowledge of the true condition of the
bank he does not undertake to affirm.
After the conversion to the national system
Waite says it was a constant struggle" with
him to carry" the bank along, hoping in the
end to be able to buy up its paper, bring
things out all right and save something for
the stockholders. He says he never drew
any salary or dividends, turned in all the
profits of his private business and ''tum-
bled" in, all told, some $1,000 of private
funds which he has never had any return for.
1t is evident from his own story that in all
the last years of Waite's ''struggle" his one
hope and reliance was on his suit against the
Esteys.
What bearing or effect this story will have
on the case which is now on trial-that of the
bank stockholders against Waite's estate-we
have no occasion and no right to undertake to
say. The arguments in the case are yet to
be heard, and after they have been made the
whole matter will be left to the unbiased
judgment of the referee. II, however. Mr..
Waite hoped to better his own case in the
eyes of the general public, we fail to see
wherein he has done so. He does not deny
that he he'd and kept the management of all
the banks affairs in his own hands, and that
he ran" things according to his own sweet
will He pointedly says, in fact, that no one
but himself knew what the condition of the
bank was, and he didn't intend they should"
NOT, we may add, if forgery, false state
ments to the government, and fraudulent is
sues of stock would keep the directors and
the world at large from knowing what rotten
shell the concern was. He says that he
raised and put into the bank to "save" it az
much as 100000, but when pressed by the
counsel for the bank to tell where this large
sum Of money came from he was entirely
unable to do so, and could only fall back on
a general assertion that much Of it CAM
from the West" that he was helped sey-
eral times by his brother, Chas. c. Waite To
those who know how disastrous nearly all Of
Waite's private business ventures were it will
always remain a mystery how he could hon
estly have possessed himself of so large a
sum of money as he here claims to have
''tumbled" into the bank Until some new
light is thrown on the matter we think it en-
tirely within bounds to say that, now that
Waite has spoken for himself, it will be more
than ever the conviction of the public that
the ruin of the First National bank was
brought about by his own arbitrary, reckless,
high-handed, and irresponsible way of doing
things.