The record-union. [volume] (Sacramento, Calif.) 1891-1903, 1899-04-16


check entered there three days after.
1t is evident from the testimony of the
expert" he continued, that the book of
the bank balance with our red book
1t is not therefore necessarily or prop
erly a book of the bank 1t was not
found among the books of the bank,
but in a private drawer of the private
desk of Cashier Hopkins 1t is not
PACED, and is not kept in the form or
style Of a bank book. The books en-
tries record matters that have long
since passed. In no instance are the
entries cotemporaneous with transac-
lions in the bank. The expert said the
books of the bank were well kept
whereas the red book is not well kept
and the entries are irregular and con-
tain errors.
The District Attorney himself Mr.
Watson continued, demonstrates that
it is not a. book of the bank, but only a
memorandum book, kept secretly by
the cashier, who is a party to the al
legged conspiracy, and therefore capable
of writing any figures in a book that
will suit his purpose. His motive was
to deceive, and he may have used this
book for purposes of deception. The adj
violate all the rules of evidence. The
red book was so irregular that after
the failure outside persons were al
lowed to take it away and keep it for
months and photograph it as a national
curiosity"
Mr.. Rothermel, in reply. made the
strong point that the reason Hopkins
did not begin keeping the red book un-
til 1881 was because in that year a law
was passed by the Legislature creating
the state Department of Banking; that
he knew that after that date the books
would be open to the inspection of a
Bank Examiner regularly, and it was
therefore necessary to keep the compul
tations of the defendants share of the
interest secretly
Judge Biddle, in admitting the "red
book said
When the question originally arose
in this case in reference to this particu-
lar book I did not think the District
Attorney had sufficiently established
proof that it was a bank book. The
question now comes in an entirely diff
ferent capacity. 1t seems to me that
an expert could tell better than any
one else what books are necessary to
carry out the system in vogue at that
bank. He swore most positively that
this book is a book of the bank Up to
certain date, he said, the books were
kept in a certain way, and the accounts
compared in the ledger He followed
this up with the statement that the en-
tries formerly made in the ledger were
now found in this book
The gentleman who kept this book
was the cashier, and, to use the words
OF the assistant cashier, he was the
whole bank The question is not
whether the contents of this book are
material or immaterial, but whether 1t
is book of the bank. An expert swears
positively that it is a book of the bank.
and under those circumstances it is
admitted, as he knows more about it
than L do
During the announcement of the deci-
sion the most complete silence prevailed
IN the courtroom, and as the court fin
1shed general buzz of Whispering was
noticeable, and every eye was turned
in the direction of Mr.. Quay. He sat
quietly, and there was not a movement
OF muscle to indicate what effect the
decision had made upon him. A little
later smile came over his face.
After the decision Mr.. Watson made
an effort, apparently, to change the
courts decision by calling attention to
the fact that the court stated that prior
to 1891, before the existence of the red
book" the entries of interest payments
on State moneys were made direct in |
the ledger, whereas there had been no |
testimony to that effect
The Judge stated that he so under |
stood
The District Attorney contended that |
he had said the red book indicated |
a new system to avoid discovery Of in |
iquitous transactions rendered neces- |!
sary after 1891 by the new banking law. |
Mr.. Watson replied that the "red |
book" did not show regular calculations |
of interest, but only three specific IN |
stances
Judge Biddle disposed of the matter |
by saying in brief that the books would |
speak for themselves
Mr.. Goldsmith was recalled to testify |
that the black book" found in Hopkins |
desk is book of the bank This book. /
the Commonwealth alleges, shows |
transactions involving the purchase and
sales of stock in which the defendant |
was interested. The same objection
which was made to this witness tes.i- |
mony in the case of the red book" was
again made by the defense, and the OBJ
jections overruled.
I'm your opinion, is this a book of
the bank?" said the District Attorney. |
Yes, sir, it is a book of the bank"
This was the only question by the
prosecution, and Mr.. Shields cross-ex-
amined the witness.
Mr.. Goldsmith said that his opinion
was based on the fact that the book
explains the nature of a number of
loans made by the bank, not made by
the regular books. These transactions.
he said, dealt with persons who were
customers of the bank, a number who
were borrowers from the bank IN the
stocks mentioned in the book, and some
were against strangers. 1t was dis
closed by the witness what the con-
tents of the books are
The book was formally offered in evil
dence, and the same formal objections I
made in the case of the red book" were
made and were overruled
The blue book was next testified to
and was admitted against the same OBJ
jections as to the other two books. This
book, which was also found in the cash
er's drawer, is also a record of indi-
gidual loans, and shows that the cashier
made loans to Senator Quay.
Court adjourned at noon until Mon
lay morning.
SANTIAGO" MORPHY.