Cameron County press. [volume] (Emporium, Cameron County, Pa.) 1866-1922, 1908-11-12
FINDS MORSE AND
CURTIS GUILTY
JURY I'M FAMOUS TRIAL AT NEW
YORK CITY RENDERS ITS
VERDICT.
THE BANKERS GO TO PRISON.
The Jury Recommended Clemency in
the Case of Curtis, but Made No
Such Appeal for ex-king
of Ice Trust.

New York City-Charles w.
Morse, until a year ago a dominant fig
ure in the world of finance, and Alfred
II. Curtis, former president of the Ma
tional Bank of North America. were
found guilty Thursday night in the
criminal branch of the United States
circuit court on charges of misapplica-
ton of funds and falsifying the books
tional charge of conspiracy against
the prisoners, but the jury acquitted
the men on this count.
Within five minutes of the time the
jury had rendered it's verdict Judge
Hough had refused to entertain mo-
tion for bail and had committed the
two bankers to the Tombs prison.
Judge Hough said that he would hear
any motion the lawyers for the prison
ers desire to make at 1920 o'clock
Friday morning. His decision made it
compulsory for the incarceration of
Morse and Curtis in cells in the Tombs
prison until today.
The federal statutes provide mini
mum penalty of five years imprison-
ment for falsifying the books of bank
and penalty of two years imprison-
ment for misapplication of funds. No
alternative but imprisonment is pro-
vided for conviction on the charge Of
falsifying the books of a bank. The
maximum penalty on this charge is ten
years imprisonment. The jury recon-
mended clemency for Mr.. Curtis but
made no recommendation in the case
of Mr.. Morse.
There has been wide interest in the
joint trials of Morse and Curtis on
charges growing out of the failure of
the National Bank of North America.
1t was brought out in the testimony
that Morse had made large loans from
the bank through so-called dummies"
and that Curtis had enabled him to do
so. The money thus obtained was used
to finance the Morse ice pools and
steamship operations.
United States Attorney Stimson, who
has had charge of the prosecution of
Morse and Curtis, said after the prison
ers had been taken to the Tombs that,
according to his computation, the pris-
oners had been convicted on "a counts,
all of which are combined in the
charges of misapplication of funds and
making false entries in the books of
the bank. The latter charge also in
cluded the charge of making false re-
ports to the comptroller of the cur
rency.
Curtis is hoping for suspended SEN
tence because of the aid he gave to
the government attorney. When on
the stand Curtis frankly told of all the
financial operations in which he and
Morse had been associated. This fact,
coupled with the plea for clemency
made by the jury, might, he thought,
secure for him suspended sentence.
The financial career of Charles w.
Morse was among the sensational de-
velopments of modern finance. Rising
from successful operations in the ice
business, Morse soon acquired repu-
tation for company promoting and trust
organizing. At the time of his gaining
control of the Bank OF North America
he had already acquired control of a
number of local and out of town banks
which became known as the Morse
chain of banks. At the height of his
fame, he was director in 26 corpora
tiOnS and hanks