Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1885-03-28
THE FISH TRIAL.
The Trial OF Ex.PTesidest James ID.
Fish. in the L. =. District Court-sen.
erai Grants Evidence Takeu-The
Court Adiourns Until Monday.

/ NEw YORK, March %.
+ The triai of ex-President Fish was con.
/ tInued today, in the L. s. Circuit.
The def ndant testified that il had been
common practice in New York. fer bank off.
/ cials TO be interested in business outside o.
/ their respective banks. Accommodation
were extended such firms in the way of loan.
and discounts. Mr.. Green, who was vice.
president of the Marine Bank. introduced
| Ward to Fish in 1876, Ward married the
daughter of Green; Ward told the witness
he had opportunities to make money bv buy.
! ing certificates of membership in the Produce
| Exchange, and selling them afterwards to
! prospective members: he would buy certif
Gates for $500 or more, and sell them at ar
advance of $50, $40 or $50; witness lent
Ward money from time to time, to buy Ger.
tificates, and at very short in 8rvals he would
make accountings of the profits.
| Fish then testified that Ward introduced
U. 5. Grant. Jr.. to him; firm of Grant {
Ward WAS formed in 1880; Fish contributed
| Sl0O, 900, and understood that Ward and
Grant did the same
Letters from Ward 10 Fish were submitted
! IN which the writer desired to continue buy
ing the government contracts, in which there
was so much money, and spoke of the :nfiu.
ence possessed by the Grants.
Gen. Grants evidence was next read, after
which the court adjourned until Monday.
Gen. Grants testimony was substantially
as follows;
| never knew was anything more than a
special partner in the firm of Grant & Ward
to the end paid into the firm 500 900 on
May lst. 1884. supposed was worth near
ly a million dollars.
The General was questioned regarding GER
I ta,F L
and Fish, but could not give any positive re-
plies. some letters which he remembered
having received, had, he thought, been re-
turned to Ward.
might state here, Gen. Grant said, al
though don't know whether it would hav e
any effect of not, that at the time | went into
the firm | had a very small income, but had
some money my son had saved for me while
was abroad some money | had left, and
which he had so managed THAI had saved
some of it. and he proposed to- let me have
half his interest in the firm so that | would
have an income to live on, and there was at-
terward an income raised for me, and after
that the firm generously consented to let me
in as half partner, and then afterwards as
whole partner--special. not general-gen
ously, as thought at the time.
Mr.. Root in cross examining the Cen
eral, asked:
Did you observe in the letter which you
received frem Fish, and to which letter, " hich
has been identified by you, and marked for
Identification, "A" being the letter being first
shown you, and which is entirely in your
handwriting, was the answer to any reference
to government contracts!
Al did not find anything of that sort or
| should have stopped but as a matter of fact
| ms hay Va ard, ay
just simply have given me a statement of the
contract of that letter when at his office.
Q-What did you understand to be the
relations of the firm of Grant & Ward to the
Marine Bank?
A-Well, | knew that Ward was director
there, and seemed to have great deal to do
with it, but never suspected cf there being
ANYTHING wrong about it.
Odd YOU at any time know or under
stand that the firm of Grant & Ward had
engaged in government contracts or in furn-
ishing money to be nsed in carving out gov
ernment contracts?
II never knew but one contract, that is,
where he said there was a transaction of that
kind and questioned him about ii and he said
he had Just been out and bought 800, 900
bushels of oats, | think it was, and there
was quite Il large quantity more to be pur-
me the date when it was to he delivered
that the contractor hadn't money to do il
with and he was doing that for certain
stipulated amount, but the contract was to
other parties and said | didn't see there
was ANYTHING the matter with that. The man
had contract from the government for a
quantity of oats, and oats was an article that
| could be purchased very easily in Chicago
market and | said | didn't see ANYTHING
wrong in that as we had no contract. After
ward | began to hear-and that wasn't long
/ before the failure-whispers around that he
was saying he had government contracts and
questioned him about it and he said he had
| no such thing. He said he would not do
ANYTHING that was going to inlure me or any,
| thing requested him not to. and he said he
had no contracts anywhere and never had d
contract of any kind with the government OF
the United States or with the city of New
| York.
Odd James ID. Fish ever ask you any
question about government contracts?
| A-No, sir. | am very sure he never did
| | know if he had asked me | should have
repudiated them and said it could not be pos
| sible.
| Gen. Grant states further that Fish never
consulted him regarding the business of the
| firm.
The General drew out of the firm $1,000
month. during 1888. He put everything ht
had in the concern and left his share of the
profits. He never got them out. The limi
of money he drew from the firm, Cen Gram
said, was $1,000 monthly, in 1888, and $1,000
monthly, in 1884, up to the failure of tht
firm. Everything he hsdin the world, h,
said. was lost by this failure. Ward came
to him SUNDAY night, before the failure. ant
asked him to borrow $3.50. 900 from Wander
bilt to carry the Marine hank over. stating
that Grant and Ward had over 500 900 o.
its credit in the Marine Bank, and Sl30 ,00t
of securities in the vaults of the firm. Gen
Grant did borrow this money. and that tool
all the rest of his property. 1t was proposed
to keep the Marine Bank from failure, as the
/ firm would be inconvenienced should the
bank suspend. Ward did not tell Genera
/ that the firm owed the bank 81 800, 900. hav
! ing overirown its account to that extent, anc
on examination of the books of the firm BY
Gen. Grant, everything appeared to be all
right. Ward assured him that the Marine
Bank was all right if it had time to draw in a
/ few time loans.
BEEF FOR WAR.