Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1920-06-03


was Ethan Allen III. Mr.. Phillips has
named his colt, Daniel L. Cady."
BETRAYAL OF FINANCIAL TRUST
Delicate consideration for family and as
sociates and community would lead one
to draw the mantle of charity over devel-
opments like that which has stirred YER
gennes and vicinity. History remote and
recent has demonstrated over and over
again. however. that the covering UP or
the screening of one who has yielded to
temptation is not kindness certainly not
to the cause of public morals, much less
to youth who are being educated constant
~ in one direction the other as to the
sacredness of public and financial trust
Somehow it is harder to deal without
gloves with cases of this kind where the
offender or the victim. as the case may
be. has stood high in the community One
hesitates to discredit conditions which
should keep one from falling. whereas
We naturally look for such things from
people who have an environment that
breeds the spirit of crime as we'll as vice
And yet the very fact that a man has
stood high in the community makes It all
the more necessary to visit the penalty
of offending. for il we are to. have one
law for one class OF people and another
law for another class. then we cease to
be veritabe democracy and become
mere respecters of persons in our think
ing and government as well as in our pub
lie morals. The very fact that a man Is
surrounded by influences that would draw
him upward and keep him from falling
makes him all the more deserving of con-
domination for yielding to temptation. In
some respects we agree with the Rutland
Herald's point Of view thus set forth:
The tragic termipstion Of the life of
prominent citizen Of Vergennes. en-
trusted with responsibility and possessing
in no slight degree the confidence of his
townsmen and associates. suggests anew
how very little we know about the man
in the next house, the adjacent store or
the same business block.
MANY alensts and neurologists hold
that no man who does such thing as en-
bezzlng trust funds and then, when fac
ed with discovery who takes his own life
is entirely sane, and certainly that is the
charitable view to take Of it, but the
history of such tragedies hardly bears
out the suggestion in it's entirety
Sudden temptation. swift and over
towering; secret passion for gaming or
speculation; a double life that makes ex-
cessive and irresistible demands on time
and capital: extravagant taste or family;
dulling of the moral sense and the destruc-
ton OF character through vice or indulg-
ence; callous indifference to the rights Of
property. bred by sharp or borderine bus
mess practice-all these are familiar to
the criminologst, but none Of them-on
the face of the facts-seems to apply to
the Vergennes case.
Probably little more will be heard Of
the latter. The officers of the bank have
no doubt already provided against any
loss to depositors or invested capital. The
bereaved family win probably not make
any more investigation further than the
necessities of the case demand There ia
no criminal action to be taken, So the
chances are that the tragedy will pass into
the limbo of mystery in which such cases
rest.
Incidentally, lacking full and explicit
knowledge of the facts, the motives and
the suggested psychology to the case, il
would be impossible even to point a moral
or 'adorn a tale with any completeness,
for which perhaps ones readers might be
thankful"
We can not agree with the view that
there is no moral to be drawn in this case
on the contrary there is very plain
moral. We have not the slightest doubt
that In the case of Cashier Strong as in
that of State Auditor Graham, offending
began with not the slightest intent to de-
fraud anybody.
There was temporary lack of private
funds. 1t would be an easy matter to bor-
row from funds entrusted to their care,
and replace the same when the ship came
IN. The money may have been restored
and this process may have been repeat
ed time and again. Finally there came a
time, however, when II was not possible
to replace the money, and to meet periodi-
cal examination it became necessary to
pad accounts. When that step was reach