St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1894-12-06
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THE STREETER CASE.

sidered the charges of embezzlement
and fraud brought against Mr.. Will
liam S. Streeter, late vice president of
the Northwestern Guaranty Loan
Company, and for a second time
the jury have disagreed.
If we recollect cOrrec tly, after con-
sidering the case for something more
than two days, the first jury stood
nine to three Tor acquittal. When
Judge Smith dismissed the second
jury, they had been out continuously
for thirty-two hours, and stood with
in one vote of where they were on
the first ballot, namely: Six for ac-
quittal and six for conviction
County Attorney Nye announced
that he would pursue the prosecu-
ton of this case against Mr.. Streeter,
and tor like reasons, we suppose, he
will not prosecute any other of the
half dozen indictments found at the
same time that the two were, con
corning which the jury were unable
to agree.
-NOW ina IL TIC LCSC iiclS DECil LIlEtl q
second time, and No results obtained
from the theory OF the2rand jury and
the standpoint Of the state, it will
not be out OF place to criticjse TINS
case, and the whole question leading
up to the disastrous overthrow OF
what was supposed to he the largest
institution in the northwest,
no later than February, 1898.
1t is tair to remark that the early
history OF Mr.. L. F. Menage, the
founder of this institution, and the
great success which flowed from every
financial undertaking, impressed the
best business men of the country
with the idea that Mr.. Menage was
the Napoleon of finance" in this
neck of the woods. In fact, one of
the first great business enterprises
which that gentleman undertook,
was in behalf of one of the leading
railway men of the Northwest, and
was of such a magnitude and pro-
duced such results that Mr.. Menage
was able ever after to command this
gentleman and friends on any and
every occasion without regard to
the magnitude of the enterprise or it's
location.
Mr.. Menage had also the faculty of
letting the world know the Upright
and shining side" of all his financial
successes, resulting in a general be-
lief that that gentleman had the |
magnetic power of turning every
thing which he touched into gold.
In the famous suit of Mr.. William |
S. King against PhilO Remington,
which resulted in a verdict involving
more than two and half millions OF |
property, Mr.. Menage being in pos
session of the create portion of this |
property, if not the actual owner, |
startled all his neighbors by prompt
~ settling this great suit with Mr..
King, and paying him off in real es-
tate without whimper and without
seeming to be crippled in the least
After Mr.. Menage had erected the
Guaranty Loan building at an ex-
pense of a million and half, there
were few people in the city who
would have disputed any assertion
which might have placed the wealth
of Mr.. Menage away up in the mil
lions, 1t was this faith which the
people had in this Napoleon of
finance" which led them to approve
of his million dollar venture in Chi
cagO, his half million venture in Seat
tie, and his two million venture in
Galveston.
1t never was any surprise to the
writer that young man who had
never been outside his native town,
and who had been induced to come
to Minneapolis through the influence
OF some of its richest men, to take
position in the Guaranty Loan Com
pany; and when he arrived found it
in the hands of a board of directors,
the equal of which in riches and bust
ness enterprise could not be dupli-
Gated in the city, should have prompt
~ accepted the situation and per
formed whatever duties were re-
quired of him, without question and
with the utmost confidence in the
wisdom and judgment of those men
who directed him.
Under this theory Mr.. Streeter was
no more guilty of embezzlement, or
any other criminal act, than any
clerk employed by the Guaranty Loan
Company. His office of vice resi-
dent and manager was purely func-
tional, and no authority or power
attached beyond that which was
dictated by Menage or his board of
directors.
Moreover there are many good
people in Minneapolis who today
believe that Mr.. Menage himself car
ried but little money with him when
he left the state, and that the pro-
ceeds Of the sale of his home, furni-
ture, library, bric-a-brac, curios, etc,
by his wife, exceeded tenfold the
amount of money which Menage him
self took away. These same people
moreover expressed the opinion en-
phatically that, if Mr.. Menage could
have remained and cared for the
nrnnar-tH- ..rh ,cI, StncAd IL, ha =, . -, 81