Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1908-02-14
THE PENNEY CASE
CONTINUED from Page One.)

was the first mortgaging of Mr.. Pen
news rroperty done with the purpose
| of schen1ing to defraud his creditors
and for the purpose Of secreting money
for himself.
"The referee states definitely that
from the beginning Mr.. Penney
MANNED to do an unlawful act. But
| believe that l may be able to convince
YOUR honor that from the very begin
/ ming Mr.. Penney's acts have been con-
| sistent with lawful purpose he had
| ir mind"
| Mr.. Baker then went on to say that
| this man had been steadily but know
| ingly becoming deeper and deeper in
volved financially.
| He suddenly realized that unless lie
| could make a strike Of good fortune
that he would be obliged to subject
| himself and his family OF the humilia-
| ton of the bankruptcy court With
| this purpose in mind he gathered in
actual money all that he could realize
| upon, his idea being lofty one, and
| a praiseworthy one of endeavorlng TO
, recoup his financial condition by going
| into a new field for the purchase of
| horses in which he dealt.
Mr.. Penney had been buying his
horses in Lewiston and Auburn and
| had come to the conclusion that the
prices were higher than lie could OBJ
| tain the horses for in Boston or Chi
cage and it was with the idea Of going
o Boston or Chicago that he began
the boarding Of this cash.
The counsel for Mr.. Penney then
| went on to take UP in detail all the
| methods Mr. Penney took to collect
the cash and Mr.. Baker said that In
doing this he was influenced largely
by what had been told him by Mrs.
| Hasty Of Auburn from where he mad
bought many horses, namely, that to
| do business in Boston or Chicago 1t
was necessary to have an established
credit or to pay for a stock purchase
in actual cash and as Mr. Penney did
not have an established credit in either
Boston or Chicago he accumulated the
$4,000 in cash in order to carry out TINS
praise worthy purpose to extract him.
self from his financial difficulties by
making a good stroke of business.
Mr.. Baker went on to show that Mr.
Penney had reached that frame of
mind in which his plan seemed to be
not only feasible but absolutely GER
tain of success. "Mr Penney didn't
proceed in this matter as you or l
would have DONE" said Mr.. Baker, to
the coIrt "You or I would have OBJ
tanned a certified check from a bank
and thus gone to Boston or Chicago
a. fn &C
tablish a credit for ourselves, but Mr..
Penney feared that he might have diff
ficulty in obtaining a ratification in
those places and thought that the ac-
tual cash would be better for him."
At this point the court interrupted
Mr.. Baker to ask why Mr.. Penney
didn't send his actual money to Bos-
ton by some safe and competent eX-
press company.
MIR. Baker replied that Mr.. Penney
took an entirely different view of this
matter from that with which you or L
might take and the fear of not being
able to be identified, weighed on his
mind.
'T see," said the court, "he was sem
sitive, !larrassed by creditors and en-
barrassed. I presume that had some
effect upon him.
Certainly it had" said Mr.. Baker
Mr.. Baker pursuing his argument
quoted at length from legal decisions
in bankruptcy cases in which he made
this point:
In order to hold a bankrupt in con-
tempt and deprive him of his liberty
for the failure to produce money which
~.
in his possession it is well-established
principal that the creditors should
prove beyond reasonable doubt, in
fact they should give clear and con-
vincing proof, that at the time of the
alleged concealment of the money the
bankrupt actually had the money in
his possession.
I'm this case. your honor" said Mr..
Baker. Il submit that there is not a
particle Of evidence to show that this
man ever brought back from Boston n
there and there is no evidence to prove
that he did not lose this money in
Boston as he claims to have done, but
Oh the ether hand there is strong CO.
operative evidence and new evidence,
too. from disinterested parties that the
story Mr.. Penney told about the loss
of his money in Boston was true.
There are points about this evidence
which show that he had not planned
to defraud his creditors by any false
story of the loss of this money. for
otherwise he would have more care
fully pointed out circumstances which
would have proved the loss of the
money beyond 4 question.
'All that he says about the loss of
the money is that he had it in 4 pock-
ethook in his coat pocket. that he
mingled with the motley crowd on the
floor of the sale stable and that sud-
denly he discovered the pocketbook
was gone.
He. himself. submitted to a search
by the police inspectors. told to them a
story which has been corroborated in
every detail by many other witnesses.
showed that he was greatly affected
w. his great loss and in fact, your
honor" said Mr.. Baker. "if you will
carefully study the evidence in this
case. YOU will become, as I am, abso-
lutely convinced that Mr.. Penney has
told yo,i ONLY the truth about the loss