Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1905-11-30

IN COURT
CASE OF E. II. SKINNER, BIZ
MlNeHAM BANKER, ENDS
QUICKLY Z
INDICTMENT
FAULTY
The Defense Springs a Surprise When
First Witness ls Examined-skinner
Was Charged With Fraudulent Bank
'ns-shortase Of $4,000 Alleged.

'ns--shortase Of $4,000 Alleged.
After hearing the testimony Of the
first witness in the case of. the State
VS.. E. H. Skinner. charged with fraud
ulent banking judge F. W. Eichelberg-
er this afternoon directed verdict in
favor OF the defendant and the case
wnlch mas attracted so much attention
IN southeastern Iowa on account of the
prominence of the defendant came to
q sudden end. The grounds for tho
dismissal OF the case was that the evi.
dence did not agree with the alleSa.S
tons In the Indictment.
MI. Skinner was charged with fraud
ulent banking the specific case mon
TONED IN the indictment being that
on Saturday November s. he accepted
deposit of $1l0 from George c. Riley.
MT. Riley was the first Wit
ness examined this afternoon,
and on cross examination when
the attorneys for the defense ATTEMPT
ed to show that the deposit was made
for the firm Of Riley & Hesbacher and
argument ensued as to the admissabil-
ity of the evidence and resulted In the
ruling that the testimony was not in
accordance with the allegations in the
indictment. n
The case of the state VS.. E. H. Skin
ner, the former banker and merchant
OF Birmingham, who is charged with
fraudulent banking, was called for
trial before Judge F. w. Eichelberger
in the district court this morning. In
the Indictment returned by the grand
jury of Van Buren, county 1t Is charged
that Skinner accepted deposits for the
| bank after he knew he was insolvent.
| The selection of jury occupied sew.
eral hours and was followed by the
opening statements Of the attorneys
1t was expected that the trial would
last ten days or two weeks and the
case gave promise Of developing one of
the hardest legal battles Of the. October
| term. e.. L. McCoid of Keosauqua
county attorney of Van Buren, county
| William Walker eof Keosauqua, and
County Attorney w. w. Epps fof Of
tumwa were conducting the case on
behalf Of the state. Judge JIG. Mitchell
| F.. NJ Hunter and w. H. C. Jaques of
Ottumwa, and Judge w. I. Babb of
| Mt. Pleasant were the counsel for the
| defendant.
Prominent Business Man.
E. H. Skinner was engaged in the
banking business In Birmingham for
! about twenty years. was prominent in
the affairs of the community and was
held in high esteem. He also conduct
ed q mercantile business in Birming-
ham IN connection with the bank and
with his brother, owned store in
Stockport, small town near Birming-
ham. On November 8. 1904. he closed
the store and bank and fled petit.
ton in bankruptcy.
It is charged In the indictment that
Skinner received deposits for the
bank on Saturday. November 5, and
at that time knew he was insolvent.
On Monday, November z, deposits
were received and we're marked, "spe-
cial deposits" After the closing Of
the bank these deposits were returned
| to the depositors. did E. H. Skin
ner know that he was insolvent when
he accepted the deposits on Satur-
day?" was one Of the principal ques-
tons to be determined BY the jury. .
Claims Of the State.
It was the claim, of the state accord
ing to Attorney Walker who made the
opening statement, that e. H. Skin.
ner had been insolvent since 1885 and
that he was aware Of the fact. He
said that they would show by Skin
ner's books that his liabilities exceed
ed his assets by nearly $4,000 in 1885,
and that the difference grew larger
year by year as shown by the books
of the defendant until the time he
closed the bank and store, when the
liabilities were nearly $4,000 greater
than the assets Attorney Walker said
that few months before Mr.. Skin
ner failed new bank was organized
in Birmingham and that almost imme-
diately the banking business of Mr..
Skinner began to be affected until he
finally found it necessary, a few days
before closing, to borrow money In
! order to pay the checks that were
presented from day to day.
Thought He Was Solvent.
On the other hand 1T was claimed by
the defense that Mr. Skinner did not
know that he was lnsolvent when he
accepted the deposits on Saturday, but
| but honestly thought that his assets
were considerably larger than his liza
bilities and that he was amply able
to pay all creditors If given time to
realize on his promissory notes, &C.
counts. etc. 1t Is claimed that 1t was
on Sunday, November 6. that he con-
suited his attorneys. Michel & Hunt
er, in Ottumwa. and that Monday ev-
ening was advised by them to go into
bankruptcy. A careful invoice taken
after the closing of the store Is said to
show that the assets were nearly &c.,
600 in excess Of the liabilities.
The opening statement in behalf of
the defense was made by Judge J. G.
Mitchell, who said that 1t was not a
question of whether Skinner had rea-
son to suppose that he was insolvent
when he accepted the deposits but
whether he actually knew that such
was the case. Only in the latter
event he said, would the defendant
be guilty as charged in the indict.
ment