Bryan morning eagle. [volume] (Bryan, Tex.) 1898-1909, 1908-11-07
FIFTEEN YEARS GIVEN.
Pathetic Scenes Attend the Sem
fencing os Morse.

=
New York, Nov. 6-Charles W.
Morse was sentenced to fifteen years
Imprisonment by Judge Hough in the
United States court. Sentence on Cur
tbs was suspended. The sentence on
Morse is based on the verde tof guilty
of misapplication of funds of the Ma
tional Bank of North America and
making false entries in the books of
that bank. 1t is understood that if
Morse goes TO prison he will be CON
fined In the government prison at At.
lanta.
Charles W. Morse, at one time an
ice king, steamship king and CONTROL.
ing force in a long string of banks in
this city, whose personal fortune was
little more than a year ago estimated
at S22,O00,000, and Alfred II. Curtis,
former president of the National Bank
of North America, spent Thursday
night in a cell in the tombs prison.
When they arose simultaneously
with hundreds of others in the grim
city prison they faced a possibility
of many years behind iron grated
doors. Sentence had been deferred
to Friday when the jury returned the
verdict, but it was only "a few hours
away when they tumbled out of the
rude hunks in their narrow cells at
the call Of command from the guard
who patrolled the corridor on the Fed
era tier Both Morse and Curtis
passed fairly restful night, accord
ing to rrison guards
Anticipating an unusually large
number of spectators when court
opened Marshal HenKel took Morse
and Curtis to the building nearly two
hours before sentence was to be pro.
nounced. Both men appeared to be in
much better spirits than when they
left the court room Thursday night
Mrs. Morse reached the court room
soon after her husband and took her
place at his side. Mrs. Curtis came
about an hour later.
Ten days stay OF execution of SEN
tence on Morse was granted by Judge
Hough. II is understood that notice
of appeal will be filed Immediately.
Morse was parolled in the custody OF
Marshal Henkel pending any action
that may be taken during the ten days
stay granted by the court.
The scene in the court room when
sentence was pronounced by Judge
Hough was a most dramatic one. The
wives of the two prisoners, who had
been constant attendants at court
during the entire trial. We're present
early as IL anxious to cheer their hus
bands by their presence in the trying
ordeal which confronted them. When
the real test came, however, il was
the husbands and not the wives who
proved the comforters. Morse sat like |
a stole when he heard the words that |
him to prison. There was |
scarcely tremor of an eyelid. Curtis, |
too, accepted the news which came TO |
him-good news in his case--with the |
same lack of emotion that character
lied his former chief
AS the truth of what Judge Hough's |
words meant flashed through her mind |
Mrs. Morse, who through all the trying !
days of the trial, preserved an unruf- |
fled demeanor, collapsed in her seat, |
buried her face in her hands and be- !
gan TO sob convulsively. Still Weep |
ing she was led away to an ante-room,
where a moment later her husband !
held her in his arms and sought to |
console her
Nor was Mrs. Curtis any more pre-
pared for the nervous strain than Mrs.
Morse. When the judgment of the |
court was pronounced she tainted and |
would have fallen had not kindly hands
,unpprf cd her