Milford chronicle., 1912-01-26
MORSE PARDONED
BY PRESIDENT
Bank WTeCker will Be Re-
leased at Once.
MAY NOT LIVE SIX MONTHS
cemmutation Was Granted by Mr..
Taft on Report That Prisoner Is suf-
ferine From lneurable Disease.

I
Taft on Report That Prisoner Is suf
ferine From lncurable Disease.
Charles w. Morse, the former New
York banker who was sentenced to a
term of fifteen years in the federal
penitentiary at Atlanta, Ga, is now a
free man.
President Taft cOmmuted Morse's s
sentence to expire Immediately. This
clemency has come so late, however
that Morse probably will never agat
know what real freedom is.
Brigadier General George H. Tor
ney, chief of the bureau of medicine
and surgery Of the army, gives Mr..
Morse less than six months to live,
and in General TOrney's opinion the
end would come within thirty days il
the former fnancier's confinement as
a federal prisoner continued.
1t was on this report by the army
surgeon that President Taft finally de-
cided to end MOrse's confinement,
which has extended over practically
two years. Attorney General Wicker
sham concurred in this action, and
the cOmmutatiOn of the sentence was
announced following a conference at
the White House.
Here is the official statement given
out at the White House:
The president commuted the SEN
tence Of Charles w. Morse to expire
at once This action was taken on the
recommendation Of the attorney gen.
eral, based ON the following report Of
Surgeon General TOrney: A careful
review OF these reports make it clear
to my mind that he (Morse) is suffer
ing from a combination of diseases
due to degenerauve changes which are
incurable and progressive. The reports
show that both The condition Of the
kidneys and of the heart are growing
worse. l regard the attack Of cardiac
dyspnOea, or heart block, from which
he suffered on the morning Of the 18th
instant, as an ominOUs occurrence. In
my opinion the prisoners duration Of
life will in all probability be less than
one month if kept in confinement, and
in the event of his release, under COM
Of sentence, it is not prob
able that he will live six months "
Charles w. Morse was convicted in
the federal court in New York on
Nov. 5, 1908, of having misapplied the |
funds and made false entries in the !
books og the National Bank Of North .
America, of which he was vice presi. |
dent. He was sentenced the next day /
to fifteen years in the federal prison F..
at Atlanta
He began service Of his sentence Of
fifteen years at the Atlanta peniten-
.iary in January, 1910, after making an
extraordinary legal fight.
Before the panic OF 1907 Morse's op-
srations we're the subject Of comment
n the financial district. The conserva.
ives feared he was verextending
himself. When .he panic came he had
4 string of four important New York
banks, the American Ice company and
he Consolidated steamship company
which was a merger Of the coastwisa
companies.
In the panic he was eliminated from
everything and then came the crimi-
lal prosecution. IN passing sentence
Judge Hough said that Morse had
ised the bank and the depositors'
money for mis- own speculative pur-
roses. If such schemes did not entil
evere punishment the public is at the
nency Of advenuurers rich enough to
luy up the control Of a bank"