The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1911-11-11
CUMMINS TELLS HIS STORY
CONTRiDTCTS BRiDLEI VAR
TIN. JR., IS TO TRIST EtND.
says the s33S 900 was Not Raised to
Take Jptptown Bank" stocks but
to Carry OUT Their Merger WIN the
q. Carncgic-tiark WilIIams's Part In n.

ia ,orr> mn rhcir Mcrper WIN tbe
s. ,arncaic-,,,r, Nu,,.ms.s Par, 4, I,
william D. Cummins, executive cha,r-
man of the deIunct carnegie Trust Com
ptnY' VINO If now on trltl IN the supreme
Court Tor the larceny Slii"o, part ot
trust iuhd d"p'ei''I win 'h" @rhog't.
TOOK the witness "i&hi yesterday ana
gave his own version ~ the raising II
the s35o,oOJ tund II which the NiOWo
was part.
Bradley Martin, Jr- 'ormer president
ot tho Nineteenth NP'i bHnh ana wee
preslde'd ot the Ven N"rd"n trust Com
pany, testified early IN the trEI thet the
money was raised II tax" up stocks IN the
Nineteenth and Twelfth Ward banks
pledged for loans 10y Werner. end Warner
Nj. Van Norden, tp prcveht the stocks
from being sold u outsiders by the makers
OF the loans, who vented t. collect
CummiuS fatly denied this. II" as
serted that the m n"r was raised t
further projected merger of the Car
ncgie Trust Comp ny with the uptown
banks, merger planned by Clark Will
iains. ~ that tlnH state superintendent
OF Ranks and that tho money W., lDqnpd
bv the Nm; ,yyr h.n.s aud h.rr,v.d from,
,ba,, 80, ., ,,,.,,l..,,.,,,r + 49,, Z - NJ.
'''' 'l u ''', W y" - y '''''''''
Uleh "pulN'I Tor ~" hanNIhE department
CummlnN testified that II wa~ part Of
Mr. Williams plan tn take the PRESIDENCY
~ tho ,nergad irs,i,ptiops and tb,t NIr
p,iIi,,. - .s,',t.,, ,,..., III.
N'tiliio "e' '''''''''' a. ''"i's'' u He'P
WIN IN" merger IN support 81 tnese
assertions . letter from clark Williams
4
tho rnarrcr ,,Isn and n ,be,l co. EN- vn
=, ,,.
49," ~ 'H NOUNS were "u'I'l III eNl
dence CEmmlns also repudl&tod the 50
called letters Of trust agreement signed
bv r /, Smith ,-ira-nrosid,pt .f tn.
C,-ne-ie ,rr,-, ,.,,,.,,,,, ,,I ..i. -.
- e. -
nave peeh sent % IN" van N,td'' IrN-'
company and the Nineteenth Ward Bank
In ackno owledEment of the receipt of
money raised hv those institutions =,
6no,,,, ,L.. I'll ~, So.
niiIAiI'e '''e o'",' ol 'n' an NnIdeh I'"h7
NufhnI'H@ Na'Iy 'ontrad''ted IN" t"~'l-
mony gwen by Watkins trOrKctt.
Cummiu~'- hrothor-in-law and formerly
presideut of tb, Van Xordar T,,,-, Com.
nany tbat ,,,,,,.,; =, r,,,,,,,,;,,..
paiy' 'ha' ne h".' 'u' NE" over /" urhtiiiil-
Two checks for $4,000" each, the proceeds
of the Van Norden'- part in the trust
fund Tho CheCE~ We're shown TO
Cummlns. He said that he had never
seen them before and did not know tina
they had h""n deposited To- hl- account
IN the Carnegie. lie tried 10 give his
theory concerning tho author of the
trust aErecIl"nt letters. hut Justice
Davis sustained objections to this line
OF testimony. ~ hs did testimony tending
10 SHOW mat Clark Williams and MIR
Rolllns fell out with 'umrlluS and the
resulting failure ot tho merger plan.
lIulnInlnS layln hU f8lltp.r of
early day in Tcnuesse" ant then
Told OF meeting {. {. Dickinson
Wnen tne latter was president of the
Carnegie. Dickinson got him 10 be
come stockhoider IN 1908. Soon after
CuInmlns : trst visit to New YORK, and
,ufhinlhs hecam" n director "a- soon a.
they could elect me" In the fall Of that
year ne became member Of the executive
committee OF the trust company.
But before going into the Carnegie
bulldlng up, Cummins says. he told Duck
mson that ia was planning to float
sooO,oO bond issue on his Nashville
properties and thought that any New
YORK institution with which he became
connected ought 10 help. II was finally
agreed mat the Carnegie would handle
the Issue II tummns would bring in
~ 900 OF deposits
So Cummins hurried back 10 Nashville
and IN short tlrne had secured the 81 go
600 deposits Among the d"po-itors were
the State OF tennessee, most of the large
business concerns OF Nashville and many
or the larger banks in the State The
deposits footed up 10 81 90 OOo
But when lummins came north again
and asked Dickinson about the bond
Issue he says that Dickinson put him Off
and then told him that the Carnegie Trust
Company owed nearly s., ,OOO, 600 TO Andrew
Sarnegie and that he dickinson had
been using the deposits scnt in by Cum
INNS 10 pay Mr., iarneEle back and re-
lease collateral Cumrnln, SAID h" had
asked why the Carnegie loan didn't ap-
pear on the trust company5 statement
but didn get an explanatory answer
The end of the matter was that Cum
INNS was sent South again to raise another
100000 IN deposits, with the promise that
the Carnegie Trust Company would
float 81 ,"", Hn bond issue for the Cum
mlns companies tummlns testified that
he raised the additional ssuu. onr but the
BOND i,oue never got beyond the stage of
being autographed
BY this time he had met Clark Williams,
Jordan j Rollins and Bradley Martin,
Jr., and was on the Carnegie's executive
board But ne dldn I meet Martin until
after Dickinson in the absence OF cum
minis and the latter.s associates, Reich
mann. Moore and George G. trahbc, had
entered INTO deal to buy the Van Norden
Trust Company and had pledged the
Carnegie Trust Company TO the transac-
tion. Al that time Cumrnins said he had
never heard of the Van NOrden Trust
Company or OF four so-called f"rt"rliler
loans Of $4,000 each by which the Car
negie Trust Company was to finance