The Washington times., 1908-11-06
MORSE SENTENCED
TO FIFTEEN YEARS
Judge Hough Sends Former
Ice King TO Peni-
tentiary.
CURTIS GOES FREE;
SUSPENDS SENTENCE
Court Holds That Former Bank
President Was Merely
a Tool.


NEW YORK. Nov. 6.-CharIes w
Morse. former Ice king, was today SEN
fenced to fifteen years in the Federal
penitenuary by Judge Hough, for wreck
ing the National Bank OF North Amer
lea.
Alfred II. Curtis it's former president,
was liberated on suspended sentence.
Judge Hough declaring Lin 70 have been
under the influence OF Morse's master
mind and that mis- efforts at reform had
not been backed by the bank supiEe
board OF directors
Mrs. Curtis was borne fRinting from
the room when her husbands sentence
was suspended
In passing sentence. Judge Hough
said:
after careful consideration. which
was entirely In accord with my views,
together with The position taken 10y the
dist set attorney, / feel that the ends OF
Justice can best be served without in
fictiug a prison term on the defendant
Curtis.
Believes Him Honest.
Il do not believe. and the evidence
does not show, that Curtis embarked
on the illegal transactions with the in
tent 20 benefit himself. He made his
hrst false step when he became sub
iect 10 the mag,eT mind Of his en-
pIoyer. He knew his acts were wrong,
hut he was unable 10 break himself
Of the master hold His feeble efforts
al reform met with little consideration
a. the hands OF a supine board OF di-
rectOra. lie continued IN the illegal
path. hoping against hope that the end
would come and that the bank would
ne has met total financial ruin
through the collapse OF the bank
The evidence shows that his personal
honesty has not been shaken, and i
take this opportunity tC declare my
confidence la him j think that JUS
tice viii be well served by sentencing
him 20 dve years and suspending the
said sentence"
MoTse's Sentence.
Turning 20 Morse. Judge HOugh said:
THE evidence showed that you,
D Morse, fathered an Illegal scheme to use
the bank and the banks funds for your
/ own speculative purposes.
/ If by an adequate sentence, repeti-
tions of your crime are not prevented,
the public viii be entirely at the mercy
/ OF any financial Institutions who cared
/ TO act as you did.
( Il sentence you, Morse. TO fifteen
/ years In the Federal penitentiary
Ask Wnt of Error.
/ Immediately after sentence had been
pronounced Morse, his counsel asked
I for a -TOr on an appeal 70 The
United stat Circuit Court OF Appeals,
and on this a ten days stay OF exeeu-
ton OF the sentence was granted. COun-
sci then appealed for bail 20 be fixed,
so that Morse would not have 10 spend
the interim IL jail
I Mrs Curtis had collapsed while Ju6ge
HOuSn was speaking and she nad 10 De
/ led from the room Dy her friends. She
did not near the sentence had been
suspended OF her husband until ne
/ joined her, a free mcn, IN one OF the
rooms on the corridor. But she was so
weak and disJTaugnt that the news
hardly revived her. She IS almost a
! nervous wreck.
I courtroom, in spite Of the far heavier
burden she had TO bear in hearing
the sentence Of fifteen years ia jail,
remained calm for q few minutes.
( Then the fuu weight of what the
/ sentence meant seemed TO dawn upon
her, and she fell upon the shoulder Of
young Harry Morse and burst into sObs
/ until she. TOO. had 20 be led frcm the
/ room,
/ The crowd that had fHed the court
/ room rushed out into the corridor after
/ Curtis had left the room, and IT had
J heard the sentence Of Morse. The sy M
pathy with Curtis was genuine ana gen
I era1- Some Of the crowd cheered Curtis
as ne passed into the room where his
/ wife was.
/ The courtroom was opened at 1913
/ and in q minute il OVernOWed with
tlroug Morse and Curtis sat with two
deputies and frequent glances passed
/ between the defendants and their wives,
/ both of whom showed much agitation.
/ With Mrs. Curtis, who seemed at the
point of collapse, We're her sister, Mrs.
/ Gardner, and Col S. II. Thompson.
/ Both sought to comfort her. Mrs, Morse
! sat with her husbands two sons, Harry
/ and Fen, in the corner they have occu-
/ pied throughout the hearing Of the case.
I The boys displayed more emotion than
did Mrs. Morse, whose court expert
! enCes in the famous DOdge-A-OrSe hear
ing had evidently t-sd in her a COM
/ pOsure to which the wife Of Curtis was
/ a stranger
Goes Out Free.
/ Accompanied by his wife and sister
in-law, Curtis left the Federal building
q free man and was cheered by the hun
/ dreds Of spectators who thronsed the
corridors.
! Morse. his wife, his sons, and his
counsel, were escorted to the marshal S
room, where they were allowed 10 cou-
verse until u O'Clock, When ne VIII De
/ taken to the ToTbs.
Morse never hinched nor showed the
/ slightest emotion when sentenced, or
at any tire during the morning.
He Is sentenced to The PRISON at AT
lauua, Ga
After an uncomfortable night spent in
/ a cell IN the TOmbs, II was ordered that
! Charles w. Morse ana Alfred II. Curtis,
Z convicted OF mlsapprOpriating funds OF
the National Bank of North America
and OF making false entries, should ap-
/ sentence today
When Morse and Curtis were aroused
\ this morning they were both hagsard,
They had spent the nlghI ia cen NO i-b,
l., The isE7edaraI Tier" Their EeIghbors
were counterfeiters and other offenders
Iagaiust the laws of the United States.
Continued on Second Page.)
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