The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-12-23
SMITH GOES TO THE PEN.
He Gets Five Years for a Big Larceny
From the House.

The Brush Electric Company's For
mer Collector VIII Take Another
Trip OF, But This Time Will Not Go
to Texas-Tried to Implicate the
Bookkeeper in His Statement to the
Court, But It Didn't work-Result
of Two Damage Suits in the City
Court.
B. z. Smith, who was charged with
having embezzled nearly s1,7OO from the
Brush Electric Light Company last
spring, was tried in the superior court yes
terday, and was found guilty of larceny
from the house of goods over the value Of
$50, for which he was sentenced to serve
five years in the penitcntiary.
Smith will be remem bered as the de-
faulting collector of the Brush Company,
who used to take small amounts out of
his collections and report that the bills
represented by them had not been paid.
May /, finding that he was about to be dis
covered in his little game, he took pack
age containing 1914 out of the safe while
he was left in the office alone for few
minutes, and skipped. His experiences
out west, in Texas and other places were
given in the MORNING News, together
with the story of his capture and return
to Savannah in charge of Sheriff Will
ford, of Upshur county, Texas, at the time
he was brought back.
FIVE AGAINST HIM.
There were five Witnesses put on the
stand for the state, but none for the de-
Tense, Smiths statement being all the de-
Tense that he made. BOokkeeper Court
tenay testified that he had left the Office
to go to dinner May /, and when he went
out he left Smith in the Office. When he
returned Smith was gone, as was also a
package in the safe containing 1914. The
door was found locked and the conclusion
was that Smith had taken the money as
no one else had been in the Office. The
other witnesses were put on the stand to
complete the links in the chain of evil
dence, and quite strong case was made
out.
| In his statement to the court Smith
made some sensational charges which
were not borne out by the facts. He said
| that Courtenay had admitted to him hav-
ing at times used some of the company's
money, which he intended to make good.
| He said that Courtenay had told him he
was in the same box with him, and that
| Courtenay had left the Office that day
| just three minutes before himself, and
| that he had advised him to leave town.
He said he did leave that day. Smith
practically admitted his guilt in his state
| -NANtAe SAAN NAANtSS' va ~ ~ A4RAANNSN S'A~
| bookkeeper.
THE BooKKEEPER's STATEMENT.
! Mr.. Courtenay was put on the stand in
rebuttal. He admitted one thing only,
that he had found shortage of S5S in the
returns made by Smith about a week be-
fore May /, and had told Smith unless it
was made good by May he would report
the matter to Mr. Hamilton. Smith said
he would make it good, but failed to do
so. Mir. Courtenay made this amount
good himself, because he had not told Mr..
Hamilton of the matter at the time it
happened Mr.. Courtenay denied posi-
lively all other statements made by
Smith.
The jury was out only five minutes and
returned with a verdict of guilty of lar
ceny from the house over the value of $50
which is felony. Smith was not prose-
cuted on the charge of embezzlement in
his collections, but only on the offense of
larceny of the amount he had taken from
the safe. Judge Falligant sentenced him
to five years in the penitentiary
Smiths wife sat in the court room Just
behind him during the trial, and seemed
overcome with emotion during the entire
time. Smith was defended by Attorney
E. I. Davis.