Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1931-11-10
.COBLENTZ TELLS
Of SIGNING DATA
EMPLOYED BY PITTS
Takes Stand After Edwards
Testifies Spurious Papers
Were Prepared in Florida.
DOCUMENTS WERE NOT
TO BE USED AT TRIAL
Says Suspicion Was Aroused When
He Was Handed Diff
ferent Pens.

Emory L. Coblentz. banker and poll
tician of Frederick, Md, took the wit
ness stand in District Supreme Court
today and described the circumstances
under which he signed a number of
allegedly spurious authorizations used
in evidence at the recent F.. H. Smith
Co.. conspiracy embezzlement trial.
Coblentz, with G. Bryan Pitts. for
mer president of the Smith Co.. John
H. Edwards, jr., a vice president, and
others, is under indictment for perjury
in connection with the introduction Of
these authorizations, which purported
to Justify Pitts in receiving money the
Government claims he had embezzled.
Edwards who was convicted at the
trial and Is now serving sentence in
Lorton Reformatory, testified earlier In
the day that all the authorizations were
spurious He said they were prepared
a few weeks in advance of the trial,
dated back and treated with acid to
give them an aged appearance.
Admits Signing Papers.
Ccblentz was called before Justice F.
D. Let's today as a Government wit
ness in contempt proceedings against
Pitts and ANY other persons" involved
in the introduction at the trial of the
alleged spurious documents.
on taking the stand, Coblentz identi-
fed himself as publisher and "a for
mer banker" A chain of banks in
Maryland, which he headed, recently
failed
He admitted signing the authorize
tions in question, but said he did so
with the specific understanding they
were not TO be used in any manner at
the trial of Pitts and the other Smith
Co. officers on the conspiracy-embez-
Element charges.
Instructed by Assistant Attorney
General Nugent Dodds to tell his story
in his own words, Coblentz said:
my associates and I undertook the
construction of two buildings in 1926,
one in Pittsburgh and one in Phila-
delphia. We failed to make success
of this enterprise and induced Mr..
Pitts to take the properties of our
hands. He bought all Of the capital
stock and became the owner of the
buildings but requested that we re-
main as nominal heads of the owning
corporations. From time to time ]
signed various authorizations and re-
ceipts calling for the repayment to Pitts
of money he had advanced the owning
corporations, just as a matter OF
course.
Pitts Asked Signatures.
"Then, on September 8, about two
months before the opening of Pitts
trial. l went to his home in Florida
to discuss with him the liquidation of
some Indebtedness between us. which
had no connection with the building
enterprises. After some discussion of
this Indebtedness, however. Pitts re-
quested me to sign some authorizations
on the corporations owning these build
ings. He said he needed my signature
to complete the corporate records for
tax purposes. I reminded him that l
had signed general authorization, but
he said this had been lost.
Il then asked Edwards If it would be
proper for me to sign these papers. He
said it would, and on that basis 1 re-
luctantly signed them.
Suspicious of Pens.
Il noticed that Edwards was hand
ing me different pens and different col
ored inks from time to time with which
to sign the papers. I asked him why
the different colored inks were being
used and he answered that they didn't
want all of the authorizations to APP
pear to have been signed at the same
time. This aroused my suspicious, but
l signed the documents after stipulat-
ing that they were to be used only tol
completing the corporate records anc
were in no wise to figure in the ther
forthcoming trial
AS 1 was coming back to Washing
ton on the train, thought the matter
over and began to wonder whether
Continued on Page 2, Column D.