Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1912-07-12

1t is not unusual to serenade and
honor men who have rendered signal
service for their community or coun-
try, but it was left to the citizens OF
Bath, Maine, to honor a pardoned
criminal. In that they set by no
means enviable precedent. Charles W..
Morse, who was welcomed with a
brass band, a parade, cheering and
speeches, had as a banker tried to en-
beZzle large sums of money and 10
bring misery to many homes, and his
penitentiary experience was generally
regarded as but slight punishment
for his misdeeds. On the ground that
he was so i'll that prison life would
shorten his days he was pardoned. But
like most of his class who are freed to
go home to die he speedily regained his
health. No one begrudges him that,
and all hope his remaining years may
be honestly spent, but the citizens OF
Bath can hardly have had sense of
the fitness of things to welcome him as
a returning hero.-Fort Mill Times.
There is no doubt of the fact the in
cident referred to above is suggestive
of pretty bad mess from any stand
point: but as to whether the Times Is
fully justified in assuming toward
Morse the attitude it has, we are not at
all clear. That a criminal is crimi-
nal is not to be denied-not by us. The
thing has been proven. But there is
pretty we'll substantiated story to the
effect that the ice man is the victim Of
other thieves rather than the law, or
rather Justice. It will be remembered
~, nff n
1907, and his indictment grew out of
the panic of that year. AS to just what
the cause Of that panic was there is
still much difference Of opinion; but
there is no dispute of the proposition
that it was unnecessary. The prepon-
derance of expert opinion is that the
panic was precipitated by the Morgan
Ryan crowd primarily for the purpose
of giving Roosevelt an exhibition of
their power, and incidentally to settle
other little matters that were pending.
1t is a matter of common knowledge
amor" other things that Morse, al
ready famous as the ice king, was Sc
riously threatening the supremacy of
the Morgan crowd in the matter of
ocean transportation, and whether the
panic was brought about for the pur-
pose or not, an incident was the squeez-
ing of Morse for the purpose of MAX
ing him give up his ocean tranSporta-
tion holdings. 1t was while trying to
raise credit to save himself the advan-
tage he held that Morse violated the
national banking laws, and put himself
in the power of his enemies. The 9TH
er side was on the lookout for just
such a thing and took the fullest ad-
vantage of it, sending Morse to the
penitentiary. 1t was in connection with
this same panic that Theodore RoOse-
welt gave the steel trust permission to
absorb a controlling interest in Ten
will be remembered that the president
afterward undertook to justify his clear
violation of the law by claiming that it
was necessary for the best interest of
was merely an excuse for helping his
friends there is room for much differ
ence of opinion. At any rate the Nor
gan crowd. to whom the crimes COM
mtted by Morse were a matter of ev-
cry day familiarity, won out. and
Morse went to prison from which he
was released only after the payment of
large sums as attorneys fees and 9TH
crwise. We would not he understood as
taking any pleasure out of the recep-
ton that Morse's home people gave
him the other day: but still we cam
not help thinking that there is as much
reason why the band should play for
Morse as for Morgan, or Ryan or any
of the other fellows who were as much
deserving of term in prison as was
Morse