The San Francisco call., 1910-01-03

CHARLES ". MORSE
TAKEN TO PRISON
Convicted Banker Issues State.
ment Den0uncing Prose-
cutiOn's Methods
Former ''ICe King Shows Little
Emotion When on Way to
Begin Is year Term

NEW YORK, Jan. with a SUI
preme effort to be cheerful, but with
emotion occasionally getting the better
of him. Charles w. Morse left New
York today TO begin a Is years sem
tence in the federal prison at Atlanta,
Ga, for violation of the nationaI bank
ing laws.
Before leaving the Tombs. where
he had been confined for the. greater
part of the last year. Morse received
his wife and two sons and then the
newspapermen. He was too affected TO
say anything, but he handed cut 4
carefully prepared statement
Morse left Jersey City on the Bir-
mingham flyer Of the Southern railway
at 1915 o'clock in custody of deputy
United States marshals- The party
occupied a stateroOm.
Morse's statement is bitter and dra-
matte. 1t follows:
1 am going to Atlanta to begin
penal servitude under the most
brutal sentence ever pronounced
against citizen in a civilized
country
1 have hoped. with that hope
which comes from a consciousness
of my innocence, that / will not
have 70 close out forever the light
and liberty OF this world under
such an inhUman sentence. 1 felt
that the fact that / had paid a fine
of $1.O0O,000 and served a year in
prison would satisfy the cry for a
victim. and have steadily believed
that the courts would be compelled
10 give me new trial. When i
learned that the private detectives
OF the prosecution were the keep
ers of the jury, that the jury drank
ike men upon Jaunt or holiday
rather than citizens engaged in u
serious service, and that as a result
Two of them rendered Trnfif L
naturally hoped that I would be
allowed another trial by another
jury free of these hostile infiu-
ences.
1t seems. however, that the
courts intend to establish the prac-
tees which make rum drinking "A
part of jury service and private
detectives as the custOdians of a
jury a permanent institution. by
this sentence and judgment / may
be brought to ruin; but the damage
done to me is not haIfaas important
as the injury TO the administration
of justice. i am now up in years.
and must. with the passing Of time.
pass also; but the record Of nv
conviction and the way it was
brought about, viii remain a last
ing and dangerous example OF
government gone mad in search OF
a victim.
Whether I shall serve my fun
sentence [ am not able to say. much
depending upon how the govern
menJ at washington shall look
upon ii. / have great faith that
all right thinking men and women
who know Of me and my case and
who realize the inhumanity OF nv
sentence will make known their
feelings to the president. Whatever
the future may hold in store-lib-
erty or imprisonmeht-I shall en-
deavOr to meet in the same way T
have struggled against the miSfor-
tunes Of the last two wears.
c. w MORSE.
A few minutes before the train left
Harry and Benjamin Morse appeared
for another farewell to their father
He gave them a fond embrace and wept
as they left him.
Morse braced himself for a final pic
ture at the hands of a crowd of news
paper photographers. but he said moth
ing. He read a newspaper after he
had boarded the car. The train is due
in Atlanta at noon, tomorrow.
Mrs Morse did not accompany her
husband to Atlanta. Tonight she said:
t am going TO Atlanta tomorrow.
and / probably shall live there until nv
husband is released. 1 will devote all
my time in getting up a petition to
that end. In the last two weeks have
received thousands of letters express
ing the sympathy of the writer's with
my husband and their readiness to
sign a petition in his behalf"