The Portland daily press., 1891-10-14

/ oAntDs snL Lneso extenuating circumstances
| ought to be presented to the Court.
The case seems to me
so TERRIBLY SAD, so DREARY IN THE
WHOLE
and In all its details, so far beyond words ia
the depths OF gloom and grief there are In 1t,
that approach 1t with q sense OF utter op-
| preston: And Yet, l ought TO remember
how slight and minor Is the part which coun-
| sci pay wnen M tne grave question OF sentence
Is before the court. l ought to remember,
and do with satisfaction, that we are deal
| Ing here with question before the court In
regard to which the circle Of your Hon
| or's experience Is full and complete;
that with all your Honor's expert
state and national, and now Of many years
upon the bench, the part OF counsel for men
accused Oh crime, the part OF counsel for men
accused OF crime even when the graVest Is
sues are pending, Is not q strange one to
your Honor; that there is no point OF view
with which the Court Is unfamiliar; and
that there Is no aspect OF the case, nothing
that Is vital or essential In II, which viii
escape the attention and the judgment Of the
eSsrs tSsrs :. ssIsa remember, en- h,o. too, that
ways true, that the court itself Is counsel
| for the accused, the counsel even for the
| guilty, to see that no wrong Is done and TO
see that judgment Is tempered with mercy, II
| buo AhCto VI but case Will Rckullt lIsi
II am well aware that In case like this,
where deep feeling Is excited. the Interest
and sympathy OF counsel may easily carry
them too faI, into an excess, into some ex-
trayagances Of statement, which the calmer
| judgment OF the court will not approve.
| wish to avoid this danger, and therefore
| say at the outset that do not speak In iusti-
ficatioD, or even In excuse, that Is 10 say, not
as rendering any legal excuse for the facts
recited In this Indictment, and now admitted
/ nv the nlpa 0f the dafQnAant. I In
Il hope that no unguarded expression Of
mlns will be construed to mean that argue
that criminality ever shades of into innO-
cence. l speak only In extenuatl0n. dis
cuss only the question OF degree OF Grimm
ality which suppose now is justly open to
| us upon this motion for sentence and upon
| which the court will still be ready to hear
US, the question whether within the limits Of
the crime defined In the statute that OF the
respondents Is
| IN THE LIGHTER OR THE DARKER SHADING.
"The counsel for the government upon in.
| vestigation OF this case has brought forward
| against the respondent two indictments. To
| only two indictments has the respondent
been asked TO plead. In one Of these indict-
| ments mol pros has been entered as to
| one connt; In the other indictment a mol
| pros has been entered as to three counts.
| Every charge which the indictment contains
| of embezzlement Of the funds Of the bank, Of
actual abstraction Of the funds Of the bank,
has been stricken from the Indictment.
| There Is left then. In the indictment, the
| charge OF the wilful misapplication Of the
| funds OF the bank, which, Of course, in
| cludes within itself the legal element Of an
| application to other than lawful purposes Of
the bank, and also includes In itself the legal
| intent. whatever the actual motive may
have been, to injure or defraud the bank.
| Now 1t seems to me Il do not argue from any
knowledge Of what the learned District
Attorney may have intended. but 1t seems
to me that this course OF procedure on the
hat one sd' u the s0VsT8%sns principal IDss cp%s
| which we make here for tae respondent Is
| not denied by the government itself, namely
that the respondents criminality Is In the
means which he adopted, not in his real
motives OF action and not In the ends which
he sought; that he Is not chargeable here
| with the purpose Of using the funds of the
bank to the injury Of the bank for the pur-
pose OF his own private gain or advantage.
/ In the statement which the respondent has
been allowed to make through his counsel to
the court, he says that he does not intend by
bis plea OF guilty to admit the correctness Of
dates and amounts, as he has had no 0ppor-
tunity to verify them, but only the general
fact Of misapplication Of bank funds.
Now argue, may 1t please the court, that
the fair implication from the course of pro-
ceeding on the part Of the government Is that
| the government does not accuse him Of an
abuse Of his trust as cashier for the purpose
Il
gain. i suppose that in the manner In
| which the case is submitted to the court,
| that element Is stricken out OF 1t at the out
set. The respondent says also, and upon
point Of fact, that
HIS REAL MOTIVE NEVER WAS TO INJURE
| OR DEFRAUD
the bank that nothing was farther from his
own thought than any attembt to secure per-
sonal gain at the expense Of be Institution
| In his charge. l have the utmost faith In
the truth Of this claim on the part Of the de-
| fendant The secret Of whatever mystery
there Is here must be sought elsewhere. i
believe. than in any wish or attempt on the
/ part OF the respondent to defraud the bank
| for his own private advantage.
Now. may 1t please the court, let me give
to the court brief statement OF the affair,
| which must be general, OF course. avoiding
details, but which Is the result OF what be-
lieve has been careful examination Of this
| case, an outline, which believe In the main
Is correct and true; and we prefer, If the
court will hear Ii, to come here frankly up
on the facts OF this whole case. The defen-
| dant's position with reference TO the partic-
other facts OF his situa-
tion, but / believe that in my statement
| throughout shall confine myself to facts
| about which. substantially, there Is no con-
troversy. OF course | may be In error, but
i believe that when / have finished l shall
/ not have stated, as matter of fact. anything
| which the learned attorney for the govern
ment will regard 1t as bis duty to controvert
| l hope that 1t may be so.
"The respondent became the cashier I
| the Shoe and Leather Bank, at Auburn, at
i Its organization In 1875, when he was but %
years of age. He had had some experience
In tine Savings Bank at Waterville, but for
/ year or two before going to Auburn he had
been engaged In private enterprises of his
| own, which be continued, more or less. after
| he became cashier. He was young man OF
some means. Of good family. and Of good
| his work with all the enthusiasm Of youth,
/ for IL might almost be said that he was
| mere boy for the place which he had been
| elected to fill; he looked upon 1t as
TINE WORK OF MS LIFE,
and he became absorbed In the new enter
| prise and wholly Identified with 1t. He was
bright, Intelligent, active, and with rare
capacity to do good work In his department.
The directors OF the bank were business
men, whose time was given to their own pri-
| vate affairs, largely engaged In the shoe
business at Auburn, five members Of the
this business In the city Of Auburn; with
| out any experience whatever in banking
that Is to say. in the manage ment OF a bank
Ing institution. unless, possibly, an excep-
| tiOn is to be made In the case OF one member
/ Of the board. who for part Of year had
| been cashier in another Dank.
| zone OF the princlpal.objects Of the estab-
/ lishment of the bank had been, and was, to
| aid legitimately these business interests In
| Auburn. Its policy was always In that di-
| rection. Its loans, as l understand. had
been very largely made In Auburn and It's
| vicinity Under these circumstances 1t was
natural that the respondent, as cashier. and
| as the active, executive man, became closely
identified, so far as the public was concern
| ed, and In point of fact so far as Its
| Interior management was concerned
with the direction Of the bank. l think 1t
| will be conceded that his personal influence
and ability was by far the largest factor In
the success which attended the bank during
the first few years Of its existence. He was
the representative of the bank to the CON-
| munity: he was the man who stood for the
| hank. sustaining Its actual business relations
with the customers, with the depositors,
with the men effectiDg loans Of money. He
| won the confidence of the directors and the
| Community, and the confidence was justified
for years by the success Of the institution.
| lis capital was organized at S100.0O0 and was
| subsequently at different times increased
| until it Is now 100000. Many obstacles
/ confronted this new bank at its organization
i and they were overcome by the diligence and
/ ability of the respondent. Some of these
| difficulties shall have occasion to refer to
later, but In the main. aud with exceptions
| to which l shall hereafter allude, every thing
went we'll with the bank for several wears