The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1906-04-17

the Men.
Savannah, Ga, April 13.-Benjamin
d. Greene and John G. Gaynor were
sentenced by Judge Speer in the fed
eral court today to serve four years III
the federal prison at Atlanta, Ga, and
to pay each a fine of SJ75, 745. 90, the
amount they were charged with hav-
ing embezzled.
Upon one indictment the SEN
tence was to two years and upon
each of the indictments four years, but
the court directed that the sentence
might all be served cOncurrently,
which reduced the term to four years.
With the allowance of three months
off each year during which the behav-
iOr of the prisoners may be good, the
sentence may be further reduced to
three years. The fine need not be
paid if, on completing the sentence, the
prisoners make affidavit that they are
LoC pOC1cNCFCIu III hIOAO idH
dollars. In lieu of paying the fine,
they then may serve thirty days
longer.
Counsel for prisoners announce that
an appeal will be taken. An order of
court grants ten days for the filing Of
bill of exceptions, upon which a mo-
Hon for n noTr tria1 will no Drp6j-
Gated.
Judge Speer in sentencing the pris-
oner said:
The most ~stainful judicial duty
is the imposition Of a sentence to PEN
al servitude. This is peculiarly true
when those convicted are men Of fine
intelligence, men of affairs, men who
have had the opportunities Of educa-
ton or who have been trained by the
teachings of experience. Peculiarly
painful is that duty when the convict
ed have filled positions of responsible
ity, of honor and trust. All Of these
cOnritiOns are present in the duty be-
IOIo u1t oIIC vi liz ~ O1AS hAS
been distinguished by his state, has
been an important official of one Of the
great political parties, a man of large
acquaintance, perhaps with mixtures
of earnest friends. The other is a
graduate of distinction OF our great
military academy at West Point and
l.. 49, 1890 ,-o. - 1aofoin ! n fh0f
famous corps Of engineers whose ros-
ter bears such ame as Robert b.
Lee and George Gordon Meade, a
corps whose record was stainless be-
fore the occurrences which have been
developed in evidence here.
Il am told that it has been cynically
said by a famous New Yorker that no
man who has a million dollars can be
convicted of crime in America. The
verdict of this jury of plain, clear
sighted honest Americans has falsifed
such pessimism. Of that jury it may
be said that there is perhaps not a man
who cannot trace his ancestors to a
pdII1Ol VI TIC lSNolu(IOh "11Sh rs
fishes American independence.
1T is true as l have often declared
that to the homogeneous Americanism of
these southern states when they are
plainly shown their duty, our country
NAV ever look with confidence for the
enforcement of its laws and for the
maintenance of its institutions. Nor
can it be questioned that these insti-
tutiOns are in jeopardy if such fragrant
spoliation of the public treasury as
proven in this case could go unwhipped
of justice. The settled policy of our
national legislature to appropriate
large sums for the improvement OF the
revenues of interstate and foreign
trade and commerce which are under
the express control Of that body makes
it supremely important that such ap-
preparations should he honestly eXpend-
ed and guarded it'll that higid fidelity
with which our government has ever
defended the moneys of the people
gathered into the Golfers Of the treas
ury by the exercise of the taxing
power of the constitution. The success
full and UNPUBLISHED spoilation of the
public treasury is perhaps the surest
sign of national decadence.
For you'd personal suffering, merit