The Birmingham age-herald. [volume] (Birmingham, Ala.) 1902-1950, 1910-07-22
J. |. Mcknight Put Under
$4,000 Bond|n Birning-
ham--MiNer In Decatur
STEEL, MILLER & Co. ARE
CHARGED WITH FRAUD
Government Charges That They Sent
Fraudulent Bills of Lading and
Fraudulent Drafts Through
the Mails

Upon warrant charging the use of
government mails for fraudulent pur-
poses, j. 1. Mcknight was arrested at a
friends house, in Shades Valley, last
night. His arrest was effected by a
United States deputy marshal. He was
later released upon bond of $4,000.
At the same time john H. Miller was
arrested in Decatur on an identical
charge, and carried to Huntsville to
make bond. His arrest was telegraphed
to the local government officers here.
The two men are members of the firm
of Steel Miller & Co., cotton brokers' of
Corinth, Miss. and the government
charges that they sent through the
mails bills of lading for cotton which
were forged and upon which drafts were
drawn which were also fraudulent. The
other members of the firm whose ar
rests have been ordered are L. C. Steel
and Gustave Land.
Based on Mississippi Warrant
The warrants secured here were sworn
out before United States Commissioner
r. B. Watts. They were based upon a
certified copy of a warrant secured
against Mcknight and Miller in Corinth.
which was sent to this city to Joseph
H. Montgomery, special United States
district attorney. Upon the copy he
swore the warrants and the arrests were
effected.
Steel. Miller G. Co., cotton firm, failed
at Corinth Miss, a few days after the
Knight Yancey & Co. failure at Deca-
-tur. The failure was for about $4,000. 900,
and the Ney York creditors of this firm
were represented by the same attorneys
who came here from the east to look
into the affairs of Knight, Yancey & Co.
The firm is composed only of the men
who have been arrested or for whom
warrants have been issued and they
have been In the cotton brokerage bust
ness for several years
Since these two failures the United
States government has been specially in
vestigating the cotton failures of the
SOUTH The result was that Postoffice
Inspector w. c. Watson was detailed on
the Steel-Miller case. He unearthed evil
dence to the effect that the firm mailed
forged bills of lading, inclosing forged
or fraudulent drafts to F. Van Griper &
Co. of New York These drafts were
secured. and the men now stand charged
with having designed by fraud or arti-
flee to defraud persons of their money
or property in violation of Sections "a
and 215 of the criminal code of the
United States"
Mr. Watson displayed his evidence to
Commissioner l.. f. Oldham of Corinth
Alcorn county, Miss, who issued a war
rant for the arrest of all the members
of the firm that were known. The war
rant was sworn to by w. E. Stone,
vpff a1 Gfota 1tct~t % 10
northern district of Mississippi
Charges Conspiracy to Defrnud
The warrant charges that on or about
May l, the firm. composed of l.. c. Steel
Gustave Land. j. 7. Mcknight and John
H. Miller, did conspire to use the gov
eminent mails for fraudulent purposes
in that the said Steel Miller G. Co. de-
vised scheme or artlfice to defraud
people of their money or property on
forged bills of lading for cotton by drafts
drawn on said bills of lading for cotton
supposed to have been sold by said
firm
1t is further charged that Mcknight
did deposit under the firm name of Steel,
Miller & Co. letters addressed to F. Van
Griper of New York, containing drafts
and bills of lading for cotton supposed
to have been sold by said Steel Miller
& Co. The government charges that
these drafts were Forged, as were the
bills of lading which were alleged to
have represented so much cotton.
The government further charges that
1t was q scheme devised to defraud in
violation of the criminal code of the
United States.
The witnesses summoned by the gov
eminent in the case against the MEM
bers of the firm of Steel, Miller &c Co.,
are F. Van Griper of New York, Der
nard Ehrhart of Brennan, Germany. e.
s. Elliott of Memphis, Tenn. and w. e.
Watson, postoffice inspector.
The case Is being handled solely by
the United States postoffice department
at the Instance of creditors of the firm
in New York and elsewhere.
The drafts and forged bills of lad
ing which are said to have been sent
through the nails were turned over to
the government by those interested.
The government thereupon gathered
connecting evidence with the result
that the firm members were arrested.
Mcknight Declines to Talk
Immediately after being arrested here
j. T. Mcknight. who is widely known
in Birmingham, was taken before Unit