Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1909-02-22
Says c. ". Morse Of Fl
.nancia| Furry Of 1907
Alleges That Whole Panic las
Been Charged to Him.
Bitter Against Those Who He Says
Have ili.treated Him.

h4 has been confined in the Tonbs
pending an appeal to the federal cir
cult court of appeals.
Rclcated efforts have been made
since the conviction to induce Mr.
, Mors. to express his views on the sub
ject of the accusations against him
and Of the conditions associated with
the great financial crisis OF 1907, which
rcsu,tcd IN mis- downfall.
Saturday to ii reporter Mr.. Morse
made his first authoritative statement,
speaking, as he himself declared. after
careful consideration Of his situation
and Of the conditions antecedcnt to his
calamity.
Mr.. Morse looked sharply at the
newspaper man and condensed MS
feelings a sigle sentence:
Il am the panic of 1907.
"For some time" continued the for
nler vice president Of the bank of
North America. there was great
speculation as to whether it WAS d
. Roosevelt panic. or a Morgan panic, or
a rich mans panic but at last it was
determined by common consent that /
was the panic and as such panic
have been indctc and tried as pan
cd. hove been denied bail as panic.
'In order to iadict it, try it and Jail
it, it was necessary to have It trans
migrate into some human being; and
so with little publicity and about 100
counts in one Indictment. and Il gencr-
al charge Of conspiracy through which!
to let in perfect charges of otherwise
incompetent evidences, the transmigra
ton was easily brought about and /
was compelled to stand for the loss Of
every dollar and the ruin of every
home ana the bankruptcy of every
business in the Ianic of 1907, and this
in tho face Of the fact that the acts for
which / was indicted and tried oc
cured almost wholly in 1905 ard 1906.
II do not complain that | must bear
tnc burden OF nv mistakes. but it is
hard for a man who knows as much
about the banks and banking of New
York as | do to convince himself that
he is justly confined in cell when
the things for which he is confined
have been the daily practice and are
the daily practice in banking in New
York at present.
Il did what most other bankers have
been doing for years. and are doing to-
day and will continue to do after am
dead and gore-I speculated with my
own money for myself. made my
profits and bore my losses.
The bank specialized through me
openly made its profits. every dollar
Of which was accounted for and dis
trbuted among its stockholders, who
rojoiced ut it's prosperity.
Il never used one dollar Of the
banks money for my own account.
and this WAS known to the United
States government officials before |
was indicted. No less a distinguished
person than Mr. Stimson. United States
district attorney, knew this. for he was
tn, attorney for the bank during the
happening Of the events for which |
was indicted, tried and convicted.
"As an evidence of the fact that I
was selected as the proper person on
whom to saddle the disaster OF the
panic. you have only to recall that I
summoned the controller of the cur
rency 10 produce the reports which had
been made to him upon and concern
ing tie affairs of the bank of North
America and to bring with him the
reports so that they might be put in
evidence. ard he fatty refused upon
the stand to produce the reports and
was allowed to so without producing
them, the United states government
thus on2a ging, in my judgment. in q,
deliberate suppression of the evidence
which would shed light upon the trans
action
ut Is not known where the control
Ter OF the currency got his instructions
,At 20,
not unlikely that he got them before
lie left Washington. as [ believe it is
generally understood that while this
trial was had in New York. it was
planned. pushed and carried ON from
washington.
The government had been cunning
for seven years for a rich malefactor;
this mad been the burden of it's litCrd-
ture. both iii message and in speech.
Il was reputed to be rich, and I~was
indicted as Il malefactor. This fur
nished the setting for the whole play.
Il know how vain it is to protest
from a prison cell against those oc-
cupying seats of high authority. l
now upon how many dear. ears that
protest will fall since it comes from
Il man who has been held out to tho
world rs the uespoiler of other peo-
pies fortunes and the wrecker Of
banks.
but the time viii come when the
withholding of important evidence by
the national government in the trtal of
one of it's citizens. however humble
he may be. will be regarded AS Il great
er crime and a more indefensible out
rage than any misdemeanor denounced
by the revised statutes OF tile United
States.
Il have been sentenced practically |
for life to a federal prison for what
the statutes denounce as q misde- |
nieanor. Every fair-minded man IN
the country knows that my sentence
does not represent the just measure !
Of any punishment which l or any /
banker deserves. but that instead it |
rather represents that wrath, cNecu-
i've and otherwise, which has been
for these seven years.
to expend its force upon
some malefactor when ne has been
taught.
certainly the district attcrneT was
correct WHEN he said the Morse case
xas making precedents.
..rrta 6rvt precedent it established