Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1922-02-28
MORSE INDICTED
Continued from Faee one)

both covering identical transactions
and accusing the same persons. One
| charges a conspiracy to defraud the
United States by defrauding the
United States Shipping Board.
United States Attorney Peyton
Gordon, it was stated, will require
the defendants to appear in the dis
trict Of Columbia supreme court for
arraignment when they can be re-
leased under $4,000 bond in each
case.
In a statement issued after the in
dictments were returned Mr.. Morse
charged that 1.-The indictment, which
is terribly unjust, as will be proven
later. l believe was secured because
| Of personal feeling against me on the
part Of Attorney General Daugherty
and certain present officials Of the
United States Shipping Board" Mr..
Morse's attorney, Wilton J. Lambert.
said that indictments against Mr..
Morse and his associates would
never have been returned had they
been permitted to appear before the
grand jury and that defendants all
will be promptly acquitted as soon as
the real and actual evidence" is
presented.
The contracts between the Emer-
gency Fleet Corporation and the Gro
ton Iron Works and the Virginia
Shipbuilding Corporation. on which
fhn 81 ~ ;o{
ments were based, incurred an
amount said to approximate $40. 000,-
900 No estimate was made, however,
in the indictments of the full amount
which the defendants are charged
with having mis&ppropriated, and
Fletcher Dobyns, Of Chicago, special
assistant to the attorney general, Who
prosecuted the Investigations for tho
government. declined after the in
dictments were returned to. estimate
the amount Of money out of which,
it is alleged. the United States was
defrauded. but it was understood the
sums which the government alleged
were misappropriated amounted to
several million dollars.
The indictments charged the de-
PENDANTS specifically with falsely
pretending to the Shipping Board
and the Fleet Corporation that the
ship building corporations they rep.
resented would be able to erect and
equip with their own funds Ship
building plants of sufficient size to
enable them to carry out contra cts
given them by the Fleet Corporation
and to proceed without delay to the
construction of vessels The inten
ton Of the defendants. it was alleged.
was to obtain large sums of money
from the Fleet Corporation by false
ly representing that said sums would
be used for construction Of vessels,
and to divert large sums from the
ship construction for the erection and
equipment of plants and housing
facilities and thus convert the funds
to the use of the shipbuilding cor
pcrations and themselves and to de-
lap ship construction.
The indictments further charged
that the defendants falsely pretend
ed that large sums Of money were
due from the Fleet Corporation as
progress payments, and obtained the
money when they knew it was not
due. Similar charges were made
that when the defendants represent
ed that their corporations have in
vested large amounts in shipbuild-
ing plants. and for that reason al
legged the plants were adequate Sc
curity for loans and advances. they
defrauded. all the time knowing in
truth and in fact the corporations
would not have invested in their