The Semi-weekly leader. (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1905-1941, 1914-11-25
OvERRULEs MOTION IN BANK CASE.
Hearing by Special Judge Barbour in
Case Of Former Cashier Becker
Held Monday.

nAZle0uESC, MISS, NON. Ao-Dy
agreement of counsel. motions in
the trial of F. F. Becker. former
Cashier of the defunct Commercial
Bank & Trust Company of Brook
haven. came on for hearing in
Circuit Court today with Hon. j.
F. Barbour. special judge, presid-
ing.
F. F Becker, Cashier Of the
Commercial Bank 4 Trust Company,
together with other officers and di-
rectors of said institution, were in
dicted by the Lincoln County Grand
Jury at the September term of Cir
cult Court for receiving deposits
into an insolvent institution know
ing same to be such.
On application of the defendant,
F. F. Becker, he was granted a
change of venue for the trial of his
case to the Circuit Court of Copiah
County.
On the opening of proceedings
Hon. j. W. Cassidy leading counsel
for Mr.. Becker presented the court
motion to quash the indictment
aginst his client giving as reason
therefor a clerical error made by
the Circuit Clerk of Lincoln Coun-
ty in writing up the organization
of the Grand Jury returning the in.
dictment, wherein he enormously
stated that Dr.. V. B. Watts
was foreman of said grand jury
when in truth and IN fact e. r
Lowell was the duly appointed and
sworn foreman.
The judge proceeded to hear tes-
timony on this motion to quash
and after a very extended argument
by defendants counsel the motion
was overruled. Judge Barbour held
that the minutes as written and ap-
pearing in record were sufficiently
clear to prove to him beyond a
reasonable doubt E. R. Lowell, the
party who signed the indictment
and returned it into open court
was the duly and legally appointed
foreman of the grand jury, and that
the indictment was in every way a
legal one and that the defendant
must go to trial on it. The defend
ant was then arraigned by the Dis
trict Attorney and plead not guilty
and the case set for trial on the 7th
day of December.
This promises to be long drawn
out trial. lasting some three or four
weeks and costing the county four
or five thousand dollars.
District Attorney Wall has secur-
ed from the court Subpoenas Duces
Tecum for the following - w,
McGrath. Secretary of the firm Of
John McGrath & Sons, commanding
him to appear In court and to bring
with him the books of said firm
sho ing the value of its stock go
that the court may determine the
value of the securities of that firm
held by the Commercial Bank 4
Trust Company; for j. M. Wood.
Manager of the Merchants Grocery
Company for the same purpose; for
K. W. McNair, Chancery Clerk of
Lincoln County. commanding him
to appear and bring with him all
books and papers relative to the
assignment of the Commercial Bank
& Trust Company; for Lewis Drane,
Cashier of the Bank of Meadville,
to appear and bring with him all
books and papers showing transact
icns between the Commercial Bank
& Trust Company and that institu-
tion on the 5th day of January
1914; for Duncan l.. Thompson,
State Auditor. to appear and bring
with him original statements fled
in his office By the Commercial
Bank & Trust Company as is re-
lquired by law. of its financial CON-
dition for the years 1909, 1910,
1911, 1912 and 1918
| ALI of these books and documents
will have to be transported either
by land or rail, to Hazleburst, and
the County of Lincoln will have to
stand the cost of this transporta-
tion.