Evening star., 1932-08-17
Testimony Shows He Signed
Personal Obligations When
Funds Were Low.
PAYMENT MADE LATER
WITH ARLINGTON MONEY
Alexandria Bank President Tells of
Transactions Involving Three
Debts of Treasurer.
BY a staff Correspondent of The Star.


ARLINGTON COUNTY COURT
HOUSE, Va, August 17.-Prosecution
charges that E. Wade Ball, former
treasurer of this county, used public
funds to pay personal obligations were
denied by defense testimony today at
Balls trial here on charges of misappro-
priating county money.
Ball is being tried on an indictment
charging him with the felonious mis-
appropriation of $24,454 last January,
but the prosecution yesterday digressed
in an effort to show he had paid off
personal notes aggregating $4,000 with
checks drawn on his account as treas
urer of the county.
The defense conceded that these notes
were paid with county funds, but during
the session this morning they under
took to prove the money was borrowed
on his personal notes for the sole pur-
pose of paying county obligations which
had fallen due when there was not
sufficient money in the treasury to meet
them.
Deposited for County.
The first transaction gone into today
was the payment of note for $4,000
in the Citizens National Bank at
Alexandria on December 49, 1881. The
prosecution contended yesterday he
paid this hote with county funds, and
that this act constituted an embezzle-
ment.
Through Carroll Pierce, president Of
the bank, the defense this morning put
in testimony to show that the proceeds
of the note were applied to the benefit
OF the county. Mr. Pierce said the
bank discounted the note on Decembe-
29. and that Ball deposited the pro-
ceeds, $9,976.67 on the same day in
his personal account in the bank. On
the following day, Mr.. Pierce said, the
entire amount was checked cut by Mr.
Ball and deposited in his account as
treasurer of the county
The defense is expected to show that
this money was subsequently drawn out
in the payment of county obligations.
Same in Other Cases.
Mr.. Pierce said identically the same
procedure was followed in the case Of
two other notes, the final payments on
which were described as misappropria-
tions by the prosecution. One of these
was payment after several curtails,
Of $4,000 on December 4, 1881, and the
other final payment of S6,500 on De-
cember of that year. In both of these
cases. the defense pointed out, the
money was borrowed on personal
note, deposited in the personal account,
checked out of the personal account
and deposited in the treasurer's account.
and finally repaid with county funds.
The other alleged misuse of county
funds was the payment on December 7
of $4,000 by Ball through a county
check. The defense today showed that
Ball borrowed on his personal note
$4,000 on May IA, 1881. The proceeds,
after discounting. $9,859, were deposited
in his personal account.
Defense Attorney Frank F. Ball,
brother of the defendant, then showed,
through Mr.. Pierce, that this money
was checked out on five checks There
was one for $4,000 on May 18, one for
$4,000 on May 20, one for $100 on May
25, one for $3.50 on May 26, and one
for 5000 on June 2.
Payee Not Identified.
The party to whom these checks
were made payable was not identified,
DuL Attorney BAH assured lHe court ne
would connect these checks with the
alleged misuse of funds and show the
purposes for which they were used later
in the trial.
Crandal Mackey. another defense
attorney, said it would be shown these
checks were used in payment of county
obligations.
On redirect examination, Common
wealth's Attorney Lawrence Douglas
showed that the curtails on the note
paid finally December we're made
with checks drawn on the treasurer's
account.
The monotony of the testimony this
morning was relieved at one point
when a Juror complained irritably of a
squeaky door in the court room. Judge
Walter T. Mccarthy instructed a
deputy sheriff to remedy that situation.
Personal Note Discounted.
The testimony yesterday by Pierce
concerning the alleged use of county
money by Ball in paying his personal
obligations came after Defense Attor-
ney Mackey had gone into this matter
on cross-examination.
Mackey asked the witness If Ball had
CONTINUED on Page 2, Column j.