The Birmingham age-herald., 1904-12-06
AGED BANKER ADMITS THAT
 HE WAS DUPED Gives an Account of , His Dealings With Mrs Cas-
 sic Chadwick 6AW IhE GAkNEdlt NUltS AGGREGATING $1,25O,OOO Mrs. Chadwick Is Constantly Watched By Secret Service Men, and Her
 Lawyer Says She Is
 Innocent.

os-AoCc1ACA the office of United States district attor- ney's this afternoon, President c. T. Beckwith of the failed Citizens National bank of Oberlin made confirmation re- garding the banks transactions with Mrs. Cassie L. Chadwick. MT. Beckwith said:
 T am either an awful dupe or ter rible fool. 1 guess there is no doubt about my being fool. l know I have done wrong and although crushed to the earth myself, l do not propose to be made a seapegoat to shield the sins of others. The truth is that others also must be called to the bar to answer for their part in this terrible affair." and one of those who must be had is Mrs. Cassie L. Chadwick As The banker spoke in broken sentences and tears were streaming from his eyes. His acquaintance with Mrs. Chadwick be- gan three years ago. The attorneys for Herbert D. Newton the Brookllne, Mass, banker have stated that their client loaned Mrs. Chadwick money only after a note signed Andrew Carnegie" had been endorsed by the president and cashier of a national bank. The men who endorsed the note were President Beckwith and Cashier Spear of the Citi- zens' National bank of Oberlin, o.
 Relating to this matter Banker Beck
 
 transactions with Mrs. Chadwick as fol- lows:
 ssyes, we endorsed the note In addition to one other note for s50OOOO, but o God, never for the purpose for which they were used"
 DO you mean to sgy that there are two $500.000 notes in addition to the note for $250, 0,0Oo?" was asked MT. Beckwith.
 Yes. notes aggregating $1,25o,OO0."
 Tt has not been generally understood that there were two notes for $500.0O0.' was suggested.
 T know it; I know it, but the notes exist just the same" said Mir Beck with
 Made Solemn Oath.
 "One of them is in the hands of the receiver, and the other ought to be in the hands of Mrs. Chadwick. If she has disposed of it. she has done something which she swore she would not do; so please make 1t plain that a solemn oath taken that the notes which bear our endorsement were never to be used by Mrs Chadwick for the purpose of raising money, and she knew it
 Mr. Beckwith, to correct any wrong inn precision, would 1t not be wise for you to state how Mrs. Chadwick induced you to place your signature upon the notes?" My God, I would like to If I thought it would make 1t clear To tell the
 
 tue and transactions covering a period of oyer a year. To tell 1t would take a good half day, and in my terrible condi- tion 1 cannot attempt the task. I can not tell the whole story before I go on the witness stand. must seek advice.''
 Did we have the slightest suspicion that the notes carrying the name of Andrew Carnegie were not genuine?'
 'In Heavens name, how could we have had suspicion? Mrs. Chadwick swore to us and another witness, that she practi- oally saw MT. Carnegie sign his name to the notes she placed before But we said that we must be sure. How are we to know? The answer came in less than two days when a New York attor- ney appeared in Oberlin, who said he was the attorney of MT. Carnegie-his special agent. He vouched for the cor rectness of the claims made by Mrs. Chadwick. We had at least six confer ences with this lawyer last year. two fin Oberlin and Iour in Cleveland.
 "In every way we attempted to make sure that we were engaged in legiti- mate business transaction
 How about the attest held by Fri Key holds, did you see him?" MT. Beckwith was asked.
 Thought They Were Genuine.
 "Yes, many times, and what did we un- derstand? We understood by every word that everything was all right, and that genuine securities were locked up in the vaults of the Wade Park bank 1 don't know now. Why don't somebody find out? That Is the question: Why don't somebody find out?. It was something over a year ago that I learned that w. S Fay and Henry Wurst of Elyria had had some dealings with Mrs. Chadwick They were known shrewd business men. I began to inquire, TOT as busf- ness man, I wanted to exert every effort to turn an honest dollar I guess my in uuiries reached the ears of Mrs. Chad wick in the light of events of the past two weeks | guess Mrs. Chadwick was greatly interested the moment she learn ed that inquiries for business had been made by me. At any rate she came to Oberlin and 1t was there the thing be- gan. I began looking for legitimate busi- ness Mrs. Chadwick. Well you must iudCe for yourself. A second interview and made a small loan. It was prompt ly met In addition We secured consider able splendid business, all transacted in A business way From this on, the story leads into a maze the end wish to God, could see It leads on down to time when went to New York. When start ed. I had in my mind an attempt to raise money on the paper to put funds in the bank When l got to New York, my, heart failed me. for something told me that 1t was not all right. came back home without making any attempt 10 raise money on the note
 Secured Loans From Others.
 Mrs Chadwick had secured big loans from many other bankers. She had met thsse obligations. Would she not meet obligations to the Oberlin bank, my 0ank7 We prayed that she would. and Ve thought that she would. But now I ness the Jig is up and Mrs. Chadwick