New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1914-11-14
His Aid BareS Business
MethodS-BankS Add
TO Theft Charge.
SLIPS ONLY RECORDS
OF S6SS,602 LOANS
Clerk Tells of Check Trans
actions in Borrowing
Money for Stores.

Geneseo, \. Y, Nov. l3.-Ihe soclAi
possibilities of Henry Siegels trial
we're made the most Of to-day, wheh
half a dozen members of the Women
knitting Club brought their WORK 10
court and sat busily making garments
for the Belgian sufferers as they us
tened 10 the testimony. Their faces
were too gentle TO remind one OF
French Reign Of Terror days When
the women sat knitting as my
watched the guillotine do its work
hui nevertheless, there was something
svmbolical about them, for knots ana
meshes their needles made were no
more entangling than the network OF
evidence the prosecutions witnesses
were weaving.
Frank E. Champion. Siegel's conn,
dental man in charge OF his allegeo
fraudulent private bank, IN the Foul-
teenth Street Store, told Of the way
he manipulated and juggled the bar
accounts and dealings with the otAer
Siscel enterprises st the dictates OF
Vogel and Siegel. He was preceded on
the witness stand by Louis A heloei'
Oliver I. PLAT and Albert q. Oxenham,
assistant cashiers of the National
Bank of Commerce, who strengthened
The evidence in regard 10 the alleged
folse statements, whereby 1t Is charged
Siegel stole money from the oanh'
Champions testimony of the way IN
which the bank was advertised Drousnt
the first real comedy rehel mo .n
trial that the jurors nave hau ti IN
80 measures used 70 create the I'M
n~ession that the Siegel private oanE
"a all the safety and attributes OF
. savings bank, without violating tne
100 law prohibiting the use OF the
,ror6 savings" in connection WIN
private bank.
Ran Close TO Law.
90 knew by experience that It was
s,s;nSt the law, because in former
6srr ran in the old Siegel-Cooper
80 we came so near 70 the line we
Trere warned by the State Banking De
nartment." Champion SAID, ana thsn
vent on TO tell of advertising meth1Gs
nsed in the second bank TO keep WITHIN
tbs law. A notice accompanying elec-
trotyped advertising cuts sent 70 new"
nancrs for Henry Slegel & 20, pr
20 bankers" was introduced IN EVIL
dorce reading as follows: Papers
,,,,bIisbing the above 'ad' are cautioned
lot 10 publish same under the Hollow
mo classifications: Savings Banks, IN
,oSsst Notices for Savings Bank Depos-
;tors Rank Dividends. To publish un-
der any of the above classlncatons IS
Violation of the state banking law. >,
"Our 'ad' can be placed with the az
&c eevings banks in papers where no
.cIeesifcation is given or when they are
ciassifed as follows: Financial, Dlvl-
bends. Interest Notices, Private Bank
ers. Interest.
eve prefer TO have our 'ad' at top OF
ssvings banks, but elias sified as Flnan-
cial' If our 'ad' cannot be placed
either over or in the adjoining column
TO savings banks, or under, II dlnereht-
" classified, don't publish. o.,
Also there was circular WIN
nicture of the little steel banks sofa 10
depositors TO drop their nlckels ana
pennies in at home and bring 70 the
hank. The caption Of this circular read;
"85 cts. for 81 savings banks" II evaded
the law by having the savings" releF
TO the picture. -, -, 80
hank was drained Of S2,600,OO0 by loans
Tnsde 10 the other Siegel enterprises.
All evidence of these loans, he SAID, was
concealed in the banks books by repre-
senting the Fourteenth Street Store,
The Simpson- Crawford Company, Slegel
and all the rest as cryptic ngures ana
charging the loan accounts TO THESE
figures only. :5 Io,+
record of lust where the loans were
made. Siegel had personal access TO
all the books, he said, and visited the
bank two or three times week some
times the loans to the stores were SIM
DIV carried as cash items" the only
record being on slips Of paper he kept
in his drawer, there being no book
entry.
there was S6Ss 500 40 in loans carried
only on these slips of paper and not
entered on any books at that time"
"What became of the physical cash
that was deposited in the bank" Mr..
Train was asked.
"Some was deposited in banks" he
said, "and some of it was carried IN
bags up TO the main office, where Mr..
Vogel and Mr.. Siegel sat.
Mr.. Train succeeded in drawing from
Champion the story of the measures
taken, in addition 10 the cipher entries
in the bank ledger, TO conceal the loans
made TO the various stores.
al would be instructed" he said,
chat the Simpson Crawford Company,
rne fOuFlttHlu aAAftN ~t'AN N- VIZ
Henry Siegel Company, Of Boston, were
10 have a sum of money, usually a
round sum Of $4,000, $4,000 or S25,-
600 ] would draw checks for odd
amounts.
How Money Was Shifted.
"For example, | was told, July H.,
1912. to draw two checks to the order
of Henry Siegel & Co., bankers" he
said. zone for S12,62O az and the other
for S7379 5S. Together these checks
aggregated $4,000. | was told TO in
dorse them over to the Simpson Craw-
ford Company"
The items were carried simply on the
cash item" slips, no entry being made
IN the Siegel bank ledgers. The odd
amounts were drawn TO cover up the
fact that they were round sum loans TO
the various enterprises. Sometimes the
money was passed through twenty-nine
transactions.
Before telling Of the bank in the
Fourteenth Street Store he told of d
similar institution he ran for Siegel
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