Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-05-11
PETITION FOR MORSE
Wife of Banker Secures Many
Signatures at Capitol.
PRAYS FOR FULL PARDON
Senator'S and Representatives. In.
dorse Plea for Executive Clemency.
ON WAY TO ATLANTA PRISON
Goes to Visit Husband in Cell After
Two Days Successful Effort
in Washington.
PRAYS FOR FULL PARDON
ON WAY TO ATLANTA PRISON

Following two days of successful effort
| in Washington in her stirring fight TO
secure liberty and an absolute pardon for
her husband, Mrs. Charles W. Morse left
| the capital at 3 O'Clock this afternoon.
She is bound for Atlanta. there to visit
her husband, the convicted New York
| banker. who is serving sentence of
fifteen years in the pententiary.
Work like that undertaken by Mrs.
Morse is almost epoch making in its
| scope, and it may safely be said that
spectacle like that witnessed during her
visit to the Capitol yesterday has rarely,
| if ever, been seen in the staid old legis-
lative nails
Mrs. Morse came to Washington to Sc
cure the signatures of some of the men
of prominence in the affairs of the cOun-
try to her petitions for a pardon for Mr..
Morse, and as soon as it was nOised about
the Capitol that she was in the building
1t was not necessary for her to ask the
senators and representatives to sign their
names. They sought Mrs. Morse for them
selves. and when she finally left the build
ing she had secured the signed indorse-
ment Of more than 200 of the country's
lawmakers to the petition, which reads:
Text of the Petition.
I'VE pray for absolute pardon for
Charles W. Morse. recently convicted of
a technical violation of the national bank
ing act.
From our knowledge of the circum-
stances, We believe that Mr.. Morse did
not intend to wrong the National Bank of
North America, or any stockhoider OF
said bank, and also because no depositor
suffered the loss of a single dollar.
THE circuit court of appeals. whica
affirmed the Judgment against him. rec
ognized that the punishment which has
been inflicted upon him is unusual.
Even il guilty as charged, he has al
ready satisfied the extreme demands OF
the law, and has suffered not only i'm
prisonment, but keen anguish OF mind
and body, together with heavy loss of
property, by reason of his Incarceration.
I'VE therefore crave the executive
clemency in his behalf. and in asking
this do not hesitate to express our belief
that the great majority of our fellow-citi-
zens would be sratified by such exercise
of the pardonipg power.
wife's Untiring Devotion.
Certainly a wife has never more vail
antly striven for a husband in trouble,
and there seems to be ample evidence
of a nationwide sympathy for her eff
forts. Copies of the Morse petition are
in circulation in hundreds OF cities and
towns, and with them in many instances
there nave gone COPIES OF tne IOfm ietter
which was written by Mr. Morse, under
date of June 10, 1908, to all of the former
depositors in the National Bank of North
America. Informing them that he had 80
arranged that they could get Immediately
the fun amounts of their deposits in that
institution. :
More than 100000 signatures have been
secured up to the present time, and Mrs.
Morse expects to have fully 100000
signatures by the time the petitions are
finally ready for presentation to the
President.
Just before her departure for Atlanta
today Mrs. Morse was asked when she
expected to make the application for the
pardon for her husband, but she replied
that she could not yet anticipate the
exact date. She took occasion to ex-
press her gratitude to the many persons
not only in the capital. but elsewhere.
who have aided her in her fight against
the injustice which Mr.. Morse has suf-
fered. She has established a regular
headquarters at Is Exchange place. New
York. where blank petitions are issued as
rapidly as requests for them are received,
and where the voluminous correspond
ence is handled incident to her campaign.