Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-02-17
THE NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.
Detective Story by J. S. Fletcher

alton, under the circumstances, to
know that the loss would fall upon the
directors, in as much as they them
selves held nearly the whole Of the
snares. But he had to speak Of the
loss-of the serious defalcations which
Maitland had committed. The prisoner
had wisely pleaded guilty. to the first
count OF the indictment. But there were
no less than seventeen counts in the
Indictment. He had pleaded guilty to
embezzling sum of f4S75 odd But the
total amount Of the defalcations, COM
prised in the seventeen counts, was no
lesS-lt seemed most amazing sum J.
than E221 ,5T3 IS Cd. There was the
fact-the banking company had been
robbed of over two hundred thousand
pounds by the prisoner in the dock be-
fore mere accident. the most triHing
chance, had revealed to the astounded
directors that he was robbing them at
all. And the most serious feature Of
the whole case was that not one penny
of this money had been, or ever could
be. recovered. He believed that the
prisoners learned counsel was about to
urge upon the Court that the prisoner
himself had been tricked and deceived
by another man, unfortunately not be-
fore the court-a man, he understood,
also well known in Market Milcaster.
who was now dead, and therefore could
not be called. but whether he was 80
tricked or deceived was no excuse for
his clever and wholesale robbing of bis
employers.
He had thought it necessary to put
these facts-which would not be denied
before the court, in order that 1t
might be known how heavy the defal-
cations really had been, and that they
should be considered in dealing with the
prisoner.
''The Recorder asked if there was no
possibility of recovering any part of
the vast sum concerned.
''Mr. Stephens replied that they were
informed that there was not the re-
motest chance-the money, it was said
by prisoner and those acting on his be-
half. had utterly vanished with the
death of the man to whom he had just
made reference.
"Mr. Doolittle, on behalf Of the
prisoner, ~craved to address few words
to the court in mitigation of sentence.
He thanked Mr.. Stephens for the con-
siderate and eminently dispassionate
manner in which he had outlined the
main facts of the case. He had no de-
sire to minimize the prisoners guilt.
But, on prisoners behalf, he desired to
tell the true story as to how these
three years previous the prisoner had
never made the slightest deviation from
the straight path of integrity. Unfor-
tunately for him. and, he believed, for
some others in Market Milcaster, there
came to the town three years before
the present proceedings, man named
Chamberlayne, who commenced bust
ness in the High street as stock and
share broker. A man of good address
and the most plausible manners, Cham
berlayne attracted good many people
-amongst them his unfortunate client.
1t was matter of common knowledge
that Chamberlayne had induced nu-
merous persons in Market Milcaster to
enter into financial transactions with
him; it was matter of common repute
that those transactions had not always
turned out we'll for Chamberlayne's
clients. Unhappily for himself, Matt
land had great faith in Chamberlayne.
He had begun to have transactions with
him in a large way; they had gone OIL
and on in large way until he was in
volved to vast amounts. Believing
thoroughly in Chamberlayne and his
methods, he had entrusted him with
very large sums of money.
1.-THE Recorder interrupted Mr.. Do
little at this point to ask if he was to
understand that Mr.. Doolittle was re-
ferring to the prisoners own money.
"Mr. Doolittle replied that he was
afraid the large sums he referred to
were the property of the bank. But the
prisoner had such belief in Chamber
Jayne that he firmly anticipated that
ali would be well. and that these sums
would be repaid, and that vast profit
would result from their use.
1.-The Recorder remarked that he sup
s,~No lnl 30 Al
profit into his own pockets.
'Mr. Doolittle said at any rate the
prisoner assured him that Of the two
hundred and twenty thousand pounds
which was in question, Chamberlayne
had had the immediate handling of at
least two hundred thousand. and he, the
prisoner, had not the ghost of notion
as to what Chamberlayne had done with
it.
Unfortunately for everybody, for the
bank, for some other people, and
especially for his unhappy client,
Chamberlayne died, very suddenly, just
as these proceedings were instituted,
and so far it had been absolutely i'm
possible to trace anything of the moneys
concerned. He had died under myster-
ious circumstances, and there was just
as much mystery about his affairs.
CONTINUED TOMORROW