Ottumwa tri-weekly courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1903-1916, 1907-08-20
WIFE OF INDICTED
SEYMOUR BANKER
DEFENDS HUSBAND
Mrs. Leroy Ware Threatens to Send Prom
Trent Wayne County Men to Peniten-
tiary If Spouse is Convicted

Jamison, who hated leaving his com.
portable bed for midnight ride of six.
teen miles in a raw March wind
BUSINESS connected with my insur.
anee.' was the answer, and then In a
checking whisper 'The bank" "Tll
go with you Roy" said Jamison. and
as tHey passed through the streets of
the aeeping town Ware said to his
companion. Seymour will awake to
new conditions in the morning.
The two men drove to the home of
Lewis Miles and the three sat until
dawn talking 1t over. Exactly what
passed between Miles and Ware mas
never been known But at daybreak
Aaron Evans, the president of the
bank, and DR.. Cover, one of the direc-
tors were sent for. The old president
of the bank upon his arrival at Miles
Office asked Immediately to talk with
his cashier Ware was In state OF
mental collapse which was painful to
see, but Mr.. Evans greeted him as If
nothing had happened. Lets talk 1t
all over" he counseled kindly, "and
see WHAT can be DONE"
I'll never live to bear this disgrace"
said the desparing man. '.I'l; kill my
self" Cover. who had been his close
friend and family physician for de-
cade, said, mo, Roy, If you are going
to talk like that we will lock you up"
And then he talked to him Of his duty
to his family, and all that, and Ware
handed MIN 38-caliber revolver from
his hip pocket, saying, "You are right,
Cover; I'll take my medicine like a
man."
The trip was made back to Seymour
and Ware placed under guard in his
own home. He was then suffering
from the effects Of fall received in a
runaway accident and was under a
physicians care for several weeks fol-
lowing. Ten of the leading despositors
and stockholders In the bank signed
his bond. Then the grand jury met
and two indictments were returned
Several of the men on the bond be-
came angered because Ware did not
make clean breast of everything be-
fore the grand jury and demanded
their release. At the July session Of
the grand jury three more indictments
were returned. Ware went home to
his wife in panic. His despair NOV
ed her to say something then which
she mad been longing to say for some
time. She faced his enemies with this
assertion, They are making scrape-
goat of Roy, and II he sees the inside
of states prison I'll see that he takes
some others with him." Tns cat was
out of the bag at last and the people
of Seymour were treated to a sensa-
ton Of many startling disclosures
They are still waiting apprehensively
Never llsed a Dollar
Roy Ware said the other
day that he never used dollar of the
banks money. He admits that he falsi-
fed the banks records but says he
did not make the first false entry.
Ware sat in the little parlor of mis-
fathers home in Seymour when he
made this statemnt. His own home is
leased to Mr.. Frye Of Corydon. who
was appointed receiver Of the bank
AS he talked, Ware held copy Of the
Saturday Evening Post in his nand.
He had Just finished realing story in
by Will Payne.
The story has to do with bank
failure and the punishment meted out
to bank teller in order to satisfy the
law. The story interested Ware. The
bank teller had to go to states prison
for year because he had over-certi-
fed check with the free and full con-
sent of the banks officers. But the
law was appeased with out entailing
any hardship upon the officers.
~ did wrong" said Ware, closing ais
nervous hands, to keep them quiet,
while he talked "The trouble start
ed nine years ago. Some of the men
who knew about 1T at that time are
dead and some of them are out Of the
bank. Some others are still In the
bank. With me 1t was case of being
loyal to my employers. was weak, |
admit It, But want to say That there
will be something more definite heard
from me when the proper time comes"
a Peculiar Position.
The officers and directors Of the
Farmers and Drovers' bank have thus
been placed in peculiar and humiliat-
ing position. They are standing to-
gether to a man against the whisper
ed comments of Roy Wares friends.
The situation has resolved itself into
one which will eventually make bit
ter enemies of men who have been
lifelong friends. One thing Is not de-
Lieu Ny SlluSl AdCIlOu. Ills lS IudL
the conduct Of the banks affairs was
monumental piece of carelessness
and neglect which is unprecedented In
banking annals.
AS late as last week Receiver Frye
unearthed unopened mail which con-
tanned good checks. Several hundred
dollars have been added to the bank
assets in this way
Where the money went no one will
say But the way In which the rec
ords were juggled is now known to
all. The people had such confidence
in Ware that many Of the depositors
did not trouble to take certificates for
money deposited On top Of this when
the bank was declared defunct deposit
tors stood in line with certificates to
the amount Of 100000 which did not
appear on the books at all. The direc-
tors of the bank say that men paid
of notes and when asking for the
notes We're kept as part Of the
banks assets.
The records show that a note of
S1,7OO given by the Seymour Tele-