The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1884-05-08
MILITARY FINANCIERING.
How Swain Loaned Money and Took a Bill
of Sale on an Officers Piano.

of Sale on an Officers Piano.
WASHINGTON, May THE Swain court of
inquiry met this morning. More than two
hours were occupied in reading the report of
the proceedings yesterday, and the statements
made by counsel and the testimony taken. Mr..
Bateman then continued his testimony. He
testified to the circumstances under which he
had withdrawn his charges, made April 16,
which, he said, were that General Swain had
agreed to secure withdrawal of the suit against
him (Batemen) on the due bill about which the
trouble arose, and to surrender this due-bill and
refer the whole matter to arbitration. Follow
ing this the courtroom was cleared while the
court considered the question whether the testi-
mony of Bateman in regard to the charge of
negotiation of fraudulent pay accounts should be
heard in private. The court decided to hear the
testimony in public.
Mr.. Bateman stated, in reference to the nego-
tiation of pay vouchers, that Colonel Morrow
had come to his Office in company witt Col.
MeKibben, of the army, with a letter of in
PRODUCTION from General Swain. Colonel Morrow
said he wanted to borrow some money; the
firm rejected his application. On the same day.,
later in the afternoon, General Swain came into
the office of Bateman & Co. AS usual, he and
the witness went out for a drive in the witnesses
coupe, and he asked the witness why the firm
had not let Morrow have that money, He told
IL MIlueSS IUdJ ulOITOW WAS d COlOutlO vi OcD-
eral Sherman's staff, and was perfectly
good for the sum in question.
The witness then decided to advance
Colonel Morrow a moderate amount, and the
latter came in next morning viii his vouchers
already fixed up, and the firm advanced him
$1,000 on them. The witness thought they
covered four months pay; they were for the
months next succeeding the day on which the
advance was made. The witness learned after
wards that there were three other vouchers out,
covering the same four months pay from Colonel
Morrow. A few days afterwards, Swain was in
his office, and he and the witness talked about
that he (Swaiml had himself loaned Colonel
Morrow some money and had taken a bill of sale
on his piano for security. This
statement angered the witness, and he asked
Swain: How in the devil is it that you refused
to loan a brother officer 500 or $125 without
taking a bill of sale for his piano, and then send
him to me with duplicated pay account for a loan
of 81, 500p Swain then told him that Morrow
was going to use this money to take other vouch-
ers up. The witness then wrote to McKibben to
call at his Office, and Colonel Morrow came down.
The witness said to him: You perpetrated a
fraud upon us" He clustered up and said:
'How dare you say that L committed a fraudlH
He denied that there was any fraud on his
part, and asked if General Swain had not
told him that he Morrow had taken to him
(Swaim) a schedule of his debts and had told him
the vouchers would be taken up before they were
due. Colonel Morrow afterward pleaded that
perhaps he had got into this trouble by not IN
derstanding finances. The witness stated that it
afterward turned out that the vouchers on which
the money had been drawn by Colonel Morrow
called for about So, 900 or four on five months
pay, and that the vouchers he had received were
the last of the lot. These vouchers had been
gathered up from different Bankers who held
them and an arrangement entered into between
the bankers to hold them.
Mr.. Chandler then introduced q statement in
writing, which, he said. embodied the charges al
luded to in the last paragraph of Batemenls let
ter to the Secretary of War, which had been
called for by the court yesterday. This was, in
substance, that after certain bankers of this city
became involved with Morrow's pay vouchers,
they made the best arrangement they could to
protect themselves, all of which was known. Ae
cording to this statement, Gen Swaim's letter
claimed that there was about 800 due
him from Morrow, and he came to Bateman
with q demand that the bankers should pay him
that sum. threatening, if they did not, that he
would SO squeeze" Morrow at the War Depart
ment that none.o of the bankers would get their
money from Morrow on these vouchers. After
reading this statement, Judge Advocate Scott
announced that it vas probable he would find it
necessary. further along, to ask for some further
Specifications in respect to the charges in the
latter part Of Bateman's letter, as he did not be-
lieve this statement embraced all there was to be
offered. Adjourned.