The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-06-30
BANK LOOTED
BY OFFICIALS,
PROBER SAYS
Scathing Report Is Made to
Judge Earl Cox by
Rucker.
CONTINUED From Page One

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seemed to regard trust funds and
the deposits Of small wage earners,
the very poor. women and host of
ignorant ones OF foreign birth, whom
they actively solicited with every
form Of roseate, as their own prop
erty. to do with as they pleased"
He lists these officers as Mr.. Nor
ris, Francis w. Payne. ce-president
and assistant secretary; c. N.
Fields, vice-president and treasurer;
w. T. Pearcy. secretary and trust
officer: Calvin Clymer. assistant
secretary and assistant treasurer;
Petrache Velesscu, assistant secre-
tary and assistant treasurer, and j.
z. Johnson, controller.
Directors Are Lashed
The directors. who are dashed
almost as severely IS the officers in
. some portions Of the report, are
listed as follows:
Mr.. Morris, Mr.. Payne and Mark
V. Rinehart. a former officer, whose
financial operations are given an en-
tire section of the report by them
selves; Jesse A. Shearer, w. c. Hay
ward, T. A. Pass. John Powell, E. L.
COthrell, Edward A. Kahn and Carl
H. Weyl.
4 OF the banks alleged insolvency
@before its closing. Mr.. Rucker says:
1t would appear from the facts
set out in this audit that this bank
was insOlvent for some time before
the panic set in during the fall of
1929. The terrific assaults upon its
capital by most unwiSe, unlawful
and selfish investment and by
downright felony would seem to
demonstrate the truth of this state
ment.
This city, 1 dare say. has never
seen such an exemplificatiOn of
high finance; of juggling; of the
game of battledore with the de-
positors' money as ShuttlecOck.
Bank MIXED, Is Charge
Scores of new corporate subsi-
diaries were formed; vast issues of
worthless stock palmed off on the
unwary; large dividends were paid
by the subsidiaries to bait the trap
for new stock SaleS-dividends paid
not from earnings. but from some
of the money netted from previous
stock sales and from large loans
from the bank, never repaid;
.swarms of high pressure stock sales
men we're employed; every one of
the hundred subsidiaries were Off
cered. regimented and goosestepped
with the same officers and directors
as the bank, and whenever the sub
salaries needed money-and they
always needed money-the vast
fund of the depository account
beautifully supplied every call.
The bank was MIXED to supply
a thousand speculations; hundreds
of financial CANDLES and shameless
swindleS.
In the meantime. the president
was stealing vast sums; this .contin-
ued for at least six years, but no
one seems to have detected 1t or will
admit he detected it. -.
Corrupt, He Asserts
whenever the president and his
associates wanted money they took
il. often without any formality at
all g.. a vast pyramid of corpora
tions, all officered by trusted aSSo-
ciates under one dictator who gave
orders, instantly obeyed, to some to
defraud and to others to abet down.
right larceny.
The bank was so corrupt that it
will scarce abide handling"
Of the loans to the afhliates, Mr..
Rucker says:
"A great proportion of these were
unwise, for the selfish interests of
the officers only, and lost to the
bank. Most all the subsidiaries and
afiIates are now defunct, worthless
or in receivership. These cases are
sheer embezzlement and. in law,
presumptively fraudulent
OF Mr.. Morris associates, Mr..
Rucker says:
The mere fact that the deceased
= president may have been the NOV
ing factor, would not palliate the
wrong of the others who aided,
abetted, assisted and encourage in
this outrage upon depositors. He
could not and did not do it by him.
self. AL of the active officers, at
least did so abet.
Calls Directors Gullible
The thefts of Morris are but an
incident. All united with him TO re-
ceive and embezzle the depoSitorS
accounts. However, a general pro-
scription is not necessary. A few
Of the leading individuals should
suffer; the fewer, the better.
There may be some who know
ingly aided, while holding important
Office, but did so as the tool Of
others, perhaps TO earn Scant live
lihood. This is no lawful excuse, but
should be considered. at least, in
picking defendants.
As to the ordinary director, it
seems that in all reason he ought to
have known of the situation. How
ever, most directors. in spite of
their high intelligence in their own
affairs. are gullible and swallow,
like young robins. whatever the
master minds have TO offer"
OF the bank commissioner, Mr..
Rucker says:
The bank commissioner and his
examiners could hardly have failed
to have known about it (the banks
condition. and yet the former COM
missioner stood by and continued
to let this inSolvent bank operate
for a year at least. and possibly two