The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-02-28


hitherto very dimly understood facts in
regard to mercantile agencies and their
methods Of doing business. 1t was rev.
citation not of the most pleasing charac-
ter to agency men, and created a good
deal of talk and bitter feeling Mr..
Wiman was promptly held responsible
for its authorship. Now, as a matter of
fact, Mr.. Wiman, his friends say, not
only did not write the circular, but was
unaware of the fact that it was pub
lished.
Although totally innocent of the
authorship, the credit of ii has ever
since been laid upon his shoulders, and
il is supposed that r. g. Dun & Co. had
ever since felt embittered towards him
on this account
The Amount Said TO BE S2s9,OOO.
n copy Of the letter addressed to the
district attorney, which sets forth the
nature of the complaint in detail, con-
tains the following:
''Wiman was a salaried manager for
Mr.. Dun, with such powers only as the
contract gave him, with additional
power to draw checks. The property
of r. G. Dun & Co. was not his property
in any sense. The moneys Of r. G.. Dun
e Co. were not his moneys in any sense
and the profits of r. q. Dun & Co. were
not his profits in any sense. And yet,
by various ACTS Of embeZzlement
through Misrepresentation. conceal
ments. breaches of his agreement, mis-
use Of the powers confided to him and
gross usurpation of powers with which
he was not trusted, he succeeded during
the years 1883. 1890 1891. 1892 and up TO
February, 1898 in stealing from Mr.. Dun
the enormous sum of 1929. OSLO. That
sum he owes Mr.. Dun today"
NEW YORK. Feb. 24.-Perhaps the
cold wave which reached the great
metropolis last night penetrated to the
cells in the old Tombs prison. where,
restless and anxious, Erastus Wiman lay
confined, and today he was as cheerful
and apparently cOntented as a man could
be under such circumstances.
The knowledge. however, that he was
to walk forth from his prison before an
other sun set Hay have had its influence
IN raising his spirits. and when at lis
he emerged from the prison door into
the cold crisp air from the west his eyes
frightened and his step quiCkened, max
ing the deputies who had him in charge
hasten to keep up as they moved toward
the general sessions building. where his
bondsmen We're waiting before Recorder
Smythe. reporter Joined the party,
and as they hurriedly walked along he
said:
Your friends have been working hard
to secure your release on bail. Do you
ihtbW VIII u - VIII ido SuiCttutu III
procuring your release today"
No; / do not" said Mr.. Winlan. but
my boys father-in-inlaw, Mr.. G.. II.
Deere, showed me a check for $4,000
when he visited Inc in the tombs yester-
day. and 7 told him not to he too pre-
cipitate. My hesitancy about procuring
bail will be explained later. All ! shall
say 10 you now is that a man should not
be judged by what he does for himself
but what he has done for others"
As soon as he reached the general ses-
sions building Mr.. Wiman took out his
card case and wrote an order on the
American news company for "A number
of copies of his book, Chances of Sue
cess" which lie distributed among the
reporters who were waiting in the dis
trict attorneys office.
Recorder Smyth was i'm his chambers
and when everything was i'll readiness
he signed the bail bond.
Mr.. Charles Deere, who is a rich manu-
facturer at Moline, Ill. and who is the
father-in-law of young William u.
Wiman, who is dangerously i'll, went to
the city chamberlain's office this morn
ing. He was accompanied by Mr.. Albert
G.. Cole of the firm OF Tracy, Beardman
q Platt and there deposited twenty-five
81 900 bills Assistant District Attorney
Unger as soon as he received word Of
the deposit made out the necessary
papers.
bond the party went to Clerk CARROTS
office and there Mr.. Deere answered
number of questions. As soon as he
had answered them satisfactorily Clerk
Carroll said: You are discharged Mr..
WimanA
The released man hurried from the
building accompanied by Mr.. Deere and
another gentleman and FASTENED TO his
home on Staten island.
Mr.. Cole informed the reporters that
Mr.. Wiman will be called on to plead
TO the indictment for forgery on which
he was arrested in part one of general ses-
sions on next Monday at IL O'Clock
The last paragraph Of Mr.. Wiman's
book, to which he called attention this
morning. reads: AN impress of ones
active life on the community in which
he resides for it's great and lasting bene-
fit in locality 50 plastic and so prom
Using is not an unhappy thing TO look
back upon. In achieving a work Of
magnitude as is here going forward mis-
takes and follies have been committed.
But ii is the rounded life of a man that
must form the basis of the estimate of
his success or failure. At the final ac-
counting, perhaps. it will be what he
has done or tried TO do for his fellow
man, rather than what he has done for
himself by which he will be judged. BY
that standard on Staten island, as else
where. the writer of these lines will be
content to abide the verdict"
Gen. Tracy's Letter.
The following letter in relation to the
charges against Erastus Wiman is sent
out by his counsel, Gen. Benjamin F.
Tracy, ex-secretary of the navy, in vim
dication of that gentleman:
NEW YORK, Feb. %.
ST have seen for the first time this
morning the indictment against Mr.
Wiman and have learned the history of
the case and the facts upon which the
indictments are founded. 1 am entirely
satisfied after such examination that
Mr. Wiman has committed no crime and
unless I am greatly misinfOrmed, the
trial will develop a state of facts
which will show that Mr.. Wiman is not
only not a criminal, but that he has done
nothing that can seriously reflect upon
his honor or integrity as a man. / am
not in the habit of trying my cases in
the newspapers, but in view Of the ex-
tent to which this course has been taken
by Mr.. Wiman's enemies and a certain
part Of his supposed friends, sthink IT
only just to him that should make this
statement.
BENJAMIN +. TRACY