Arizona republican., 1894-01-04
THE FILLER HEARING,
A Decision Will Be Rendered
 This Afternoon.
The Testimony Relates to the Dove tailed Affairs of the Bank and
 the Light and Power Company.

The hearing of E. H. Hitler, charged with embezzlement of the funds of the Phoenix Light and Power company, took place yesterday before Justice F. B. Austin, acting for Justice Kincaid, who issued the warrant for his arrest.
 The defendant was represented by Messrs. Fitch & Campbell, and the ter ritory by Attorney General Heney.
 The proceedings were somewhat sen- sational, although no developments were made in any way different from what has already been published. The arrest was, in fact, made upon a state ment contained in Mr. Hiller's report to the stockholders upon the affairs of the company and in which admission was made of the transfer of the funds of the company to his own use. The bus mess of the hearing, therefore, related to fixing the legal status of the ofense and determining the intent of the de- fendant in appropriating the funds. The defendant himself was the princi- pal witness. The big books of the Hartford bank, of which he WAS cash
 
 shifting of accounts was going on, were put in evidence. MT. Franklin Hall, agent for D. D. Mallory, of Baltimore, and who procured the arrest of the de- fendant, was an interested spectator, but took no other part in the proceed ings than to consult occasionally with MT. Heney.
 The case WAS skillfully conducted on both sides. The attack of tho prosecu- tion was unusually severe and main- tained throughout the proceedings. The acquaintance oI Mir. Heney with the minutest affairs of both the light and power company and the bank was extraordinary, so that the answers of the defendant to all interrogations were anticipated by him and were met by the prosecutors bitter comments upon the apparent inconsistencies of hls conduct in his dual capacity as manager of the bank and of the light and power company.
 The story in brief, gathered from MT. Hiller's testimony. was that on July 25 the wife of H. Ohnick, superintend- ent of the light and power company had on deposit in the Hartford bank $4,000; that Mr. Ohnick told the wit ness that he wished to withdraw the money for purposes of investment; that the witness induced MT. Ohnick to lend 1t to the light and power company. and that the loan was transferred to the light and power company's account, which was also kept in the bank. About twenty days later the bank failed, but before the failure the wit ness withdrew $3,500 of the company's substituted his personal note. At this time, anticipating the collapse of the bank, he withdrew 1,30G more of the company's funds and deposited it in the Arizona National bank to meet early emergencies of the company. He would have taken out more, but was embarrassed by his connection with both institutions and feared that what he had already done would subject him to criticism by the banks depesitors.
 MT. Heney's cross examination be- gan with an investigation of the con- dition of the bank at the time the Oh nick loan was effected. He showed that on that day its cash balance was lower than 1t had ever been, that it's credit abroad was rapidly dwindling ana that it's early collapse was apparent. He also inquired of the witness why he wished to borrow money for the com pany when he had already refused to pay the company's debts alleging that he had no authority to do SO. He call ed attention to the circumstances under which the loan was effected. It was made with the consent Of two directors when three necessarily constituted a quorum. These two were the witness and Judge Alexander both of whom were also interested in the banking company.
 As to the witnesses statement that he felt guilty when he attempted to save 1900 of the company's funds by draw ing it from the tottering bank, MT. Heney asked him how he must have felt when twenty days before he put $4,000 of the company's funds in the same bank. MT. Hitler replied that he did not then know that it would fail.
 "But" asked the attorney general eff you had been an outsider and knew as much of the banks affairs as you did