The Glenwood post., 1905-12-16
BANK WRECKERS
HOW THEY GAINED CONTROL OF
DENVER BANKS.
CHAIN OF BANKS PLANNED
Scheme for Bank kitins by Which
Men Without Capital Expected to
Obtain Control of Many Millions.


Men Without Capital Expected to
Obtain Control of Many Millions.
Denver.-lf the several thousands OF
Denver depositors, and the many thou
sands more stretching through the
chain of Imboden banks from Denver
| to Boston, would care TO know of the
crew that had charge of their affairs
and that robbed them of anywhere
from 81 100000 to 81 100000 headed by
| the Denver losses OF $1,000 all
| they have to do is to glance at the cor
| respondencc that is being set before
| the jury in the criminal division of the
District Court in the trial OF lmboden
| and Hill, as reported in the Denver
| dailies.
After letters from Wiley to In
boden and from lmboden TO his subor-
dinates had been read in the West Side
| Court Wednesday, G. b. Whitley was
recalled to the stand and continued his
story of the alleged conspiracy 10.
| wreck The Denver Savings Bank.
The principal part of the testimony of
fered was contained in the correspond
ence of lmboden, Hill, Hull and VIII
fey. All wrote very freely and the re
suit was number of startling state
ments. Some of them follow
| IF we tell anybody we have bought
the Denver Savings, it goes to all our
| enemies and to h goes our play
house,. II. Hill.
We must not carry too much Hin
paper-not appear to be favoring the
Bank of Commerce. because some fool
bank examiner will stumble onto It'll
and raise h-with us.'-H. l.. Hull
ut may have been your duty as
president to refuse my last request for'
loan, but it is my right to know the,
reason for the refusal. Leonard In
| boden.
81 know you and Hill are WORKING
against me and for that d bank -,
Leonard Imboden.
You know that wnen we bought
that Denver bank it was not as an in
vestment, but it was TO help us out
! with our other two banks at McAles-
ter and Enid. Leonard Imboden
In return for being elected president,
of the bank. Wiley signed an agree
ment to pay out $4,000 to take up a.,
loan on the Boston bank and secure
its stock, renew ii $4,000 loan TO Hin,
pay another S50,000 to the credit OF
lmboden and 10 stand ready to resign
on the request of lmboden.
lmboden. Hill, ct al were con
fronted with what is perhaps the most
| damaging evidence the prosecution
has. It was their own letters, written
TO each other. in which they went into
the details of their schemes. Their
| signatures were attached TO them in
their own handwriting.
There in black ana white Hin re
| ferred to the Denver Savings Bank as
| their playhouse" when he wrote In
boden that if the latter made it
| known that they had bought the local
| bank, to Il goes our playhouse
In another letter Hin divulges the in
| formation that the control of the Den
yer Savings was purchased for $780,
| 900. but only trihe over $4,000.
| which represented EGmonson's debts,
was ever paid
Letters from lmbodcn showed him
| latterly in the guise of a doubling
Thomas" and he accused Hin. Viii
| fey and others who were on the
| ground of trying TO defraud him. He
| was constantly demanding that he be
! allowed to draw upon the local bank.
| His own letters show that he secrrcd
| more than $4,000 nut he wanted
| more. The correspondence also
showed that lmboden was TO reccive
| 100000, and all this for merely put
| ting Wiley in as president.
The letters showed that while VIII
| fey did not exactly approve of the I'm
| boden-Hill methods he was as clay in
| their hands to do with as they pleased
! Imboden's letters showed that Wiley
| was under his thumb and had signed
| an agreement 10 make certain loans
/ at the dictatiOn of his master and to
| resign the position when told to do so
| by Imboden. In other words the let
| ters proved that lmboden was master
| of the situation, Wiley a figurehead
and Hill, Hull ana others his lientcn-
ants.
In one letter the statement was
made that the Denver Savings Bank
must not appear to be making too
| many loans to the Fort Worth Bank
and must not carry too much of HIS
paper. because some fool bank exam
iner might stumble onto it and raise
h with u.s." Throughout and IN
all the letters the frenzied financiera
poured out their innermost thoughts
on paper. signed their names to them
and coniided them to the care of ths
United States mails.