Santa Fe daily New Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1885-1897, 1895-12-03
THE NOTED FOLSOM CASE
Wrecker of Albuquerque National
Bank Must Return to New
Mexico Penitentiary.
so SAYS The COURT OF LAST RESORT
Brief Account of Folsom's Efforts to
Cheat Justice-Names of His
Bondsmen-Last Heard of
in Chicago.

The New MEXICAN last evening had the
satisfaction of exclusively printing the
important news from Washington that
Stephen M. Folsom, wrecker of the Albu-
querque National bank and the Albu-
querque Savings bank, had been denied
an appeal from the territorial supreme
court to the U. s. circuit court of appeals
by the United States supreme court. The
court of last resort holds that the circuit
court of appeals has no jurisdiction in
cases of this nature. This fully sustains
the position assumed by United States
Attorney Hemingway in his argument at
St. Louis.
The Folsom case has excited unusual
interest in New Mexico on account of the
former high business and social standing
of the defendant, the large money inter
ests involved, and the able and exhaus-
tive efforts that have been put forth to
save him from the felon's stripes.
Three indictments, containing twenty
eight specific counts or charges, we're
found against Folsom at the March, 1894,
term of the district court at Albuquerque.
These indictments charged him as pres
ident of the Albuquerque National bank
with continually making false entries in
the records of the bank with inteGt to in-
jure and defraud the public and deceive
the officers of the government, and with
embezzlement of large sums of money at
various times.
Besides the many individual sufferers
by the wrecking of the Folsom banks,
about $4,000 of territorial funds we're
tied up thereby and the school funds of
both Albuquerque and Bernalillo county
were seriously crippled.
The trial of Folsom occupied about
two weeks and was ably conducted on
both sides. The defense finally narrowed
down to an effort to transfer the burden
of rascality exposed from the shoulders
of the principal to his clerks. But the
effort was unavailing.
On April IL, 1894, the jury found Fol
som guilty on all the counts, subjecting
him to imprisonment for from five to
ten years for each offense at the discretion
of the court. few days later the court
gave him alive years. cumulative sentence
in the penitentiary.
Folsom appealed to the territorial su.
preme court and pending the appeal he
was at large on bonds. At the ensuing
July term of the supreme court, after an
impartial hearing, the Judgment of the
lower court was affirmed, and Folsom was
landed in the penitentiary on September
4, 1894, where he remained until the fol
lowing December.
Folsom then took an appeal to the U
s. circuit court of appeals at st. Louis,
where the appeal was strongly resisted
by U. s. Attorney Hemingway on the
ground that the court had no jurisdiction
The court at st. Louis was divided on the
question of jurisdiction and so the mat.
ter was certified up to the supreme court
Meanwhile Folsom was released on a
$4,000 bond signed by T. B. Catron, OF
Santa Fe; Banker Calhoun and W. s.
Prayer, of Roswell, and Chas. ". Lewis
and F. W. CLANCY, of Albuquerque. The
bond is made returnable to the court in
st. Louis.
The court of last resort having ad-
versely decided Folsom's right of appeal,
he will doubtless soon be in the custody
of the U. .. marshal at St. Louis, who will
probably return him to the penitentiary
here to serve out his sentence. At last
accounts Folsom had an Office in Chicago.