The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-05-15
Three-Year Freedom Fight
Lost by Former Associates
of Rogers Caldwell.
BgNEA Serrice


that time he continued to fight,
desperately and by employing every
legal recourse, to escape the penalty
for consp.ring to defraud the Cen
trail Bank and Trust Company Of
Asheville Of more than a million and
a quarter dollars.
The president Of the wrecked
bank, wallace B. Davis, was con-
victed along with Lea and Luke Lea,
Jr., but long ago gave up the fight
and began serving his prison term.
The Leas, however, remained in
Tennessee, forfeited their bonds, and
put up battle against eXtradition
which involved numerous writs and
hearings, and even two appeals to
the United States supreme court.
Hinge on Technically
Their pleas hinged mostly on the
technically that they were not in
the state of North Carolina at the
time of the alleged offense, and the
argument was made interesting
enough to keep them out of GUS
tody for fifty-siX months.
Although the AsheviIle bank was
the base of Leas criminal activi-
ties, nearly all the south suffered
in some degree. Not since the Civil
war had the south faced greater
financial disaster than it did in the
autumn of 1880 after the collapse
Of the vast investment company
built up by Lea and Rogers Cald-
we'll Ruin for thousands, suicide
for some, followed the failure Of
Caldwell & Co., which held
$500 100000 of investments in its
various enterprises. The tally of
bank failures included eighteen in
Tennessee, siXty-seven in Arkansas,
twenty in Kentucky. Failure of the
Central Bank and Trust Company
carried several affiliated organiza-
tons with it.
Entered Politics
A craving for excitement and
power was all that carried Luke Lea
through his colorful adventures to
the final debacle. He was born to a
life Of ease and wealth, but chose to
play the game otherwise. After &C
cumulating four college degrees he
returned to politics.
In 1906. supporting the guberna-
torial aspirations of NJ. R. Patter-
son, the 200-pound Lea charged the
platform of the Democratic state
convention, snatched the gavel, de-
clared himself elected chairman,
and brought about Patterson'S noIni-
nation. Patterson was elected.
But the following year, when Lea
had founded the Nashville Tennes-
seean. he split with the Governor
and directed bitter editorial attacks
against him. The editor of LEAFS
newspaper, ex-senator E. W. Car
mack, was slain on a Nashville
street by a Patterson supporter, who
later was pardoned by Patterson.
Lea then backed Ben w. Hooper, a
Republican, for Governor, and won
the campaign.
Awarded Hero Medal
In 191, at the age of 80. Lea
was elected by the state legislature
to the United States senate. He
served enc term. ran for re-elec-
ton, and was badly beaten. When
the World war came, a friendly
Governor commissioned him colonel
and he recruited a regiment of Ten
neSseeanS. The unit became the
One hundred fourteenth field artil-
lery and saw action on four Sec
tors in France. Colonel Lea was
awarded the distinguished service
medal.
Shortly after the arnistice he and
several of his men startled the
world by attempting to kidnap the
kaiser from his retreat in Holland.
They actually entered the castle at
Doom and were preparing to seize
and make off with the former Ger
man ruler when Dutch guards
came rushing to his aid. AS re-
suit Colonel Lea was relieved of his
command for a month by General
Pershing. Neither ever has told eX-
actly what happened, nor has Lea
ever explained what he had planned
to do with Kaiser Wilhelm.
Caldwell Associate
Following the war Lea resumed
his work as publisher of his news
paper and again took an active in
terest in politics. He was instru-
mental in the election Of Governor
Austin Peay, and when the latter
died in office the automatic success
sor was Henry Horton, speaker Of
the state senate and a close politi-
cal friend of Lea.
About this time Lea became as
ISOLATED with Rogers Caldwell. a
young Nashville investment broker
who had scored an amazing success
in operations throughout the south.
Under their Joint direction the firm
of Caldwell & Co. expanded ire
mendously and came into control
of banks, Office buildings, industrial
concerns. insurance companies,
newspapers and other enterprises.
But it was a loosely pyramided
structure, and began to sway with
the first breath Of the depression
In the autumn of 1929. Lea labored
to save it from collapse and began
the involved series Of manipulationS
which resulted in the crash Of the
Asheville bank Luke Lea Jr was
only % years old when he and his
father were convicted in August
1881. The elder Lea received SEN
tence of from six to ten years If
prison, his son from two TO SIX
years. The latter was given the
alternative of paying $4,000 fine
but the family which had heen in
volved in the loss Of millions wa:
unable to produce the amount.