Evening star., 1935-10-31
Cooper

Continued Prom First Page.)
Continental'S collateral came in it was
used not to reduce Continental's de-
post liability, but to pay of Cont
nental's SITS. 900 loan.'
The prosecutor argued that Conti-
mental owned Commercial and all its
directors except those who had cour-
age enough To demonstrate"
He declared that Cooper, who had
been president of Continental prior to
having a controlling interest in the
stock.
"Fooleds Own Officers"
"In his desire to get dividends for
himself" Goldstein said, "Mr. Cooper
fooled not only his own officers but
the Board of Directors itself. Out
of 100000 in dividends paid by
Continental after the afiliation
Cooper got $4,000 for himself. Every
three months there was a nice fresh
check that went to Mr. Cooper's
desk and he deposited it in his per-
sonal account.
They'll say. Here Is man worth
a million dollars-would he steal $20,-
000?' I don't know why he would,
but he did ! don't know why rich
men grab for more. Mr.. Cooper was
hungry for it and he got it. It was
the prettiest piece Of conversion ever
to appear in the history Of bank
ing In this Jurisdiction"
Goldstein used a blackboard to in
dicate depletion of the assets of Con-
tinental to a point where he said
there was a debit which should have
prevented Continental from paying
any dividends.
Defense Challenges Argument.
"All the evidence discloses that Mr..
Cooper is guilty as indicted and that
should be your verdict" Goldstein
concluded.
Leahy charged that the prosecution
had stopped low in presenting dis
torted facts and fallacious arguments
to the jury.
"If Mr.. Cooper was so ambitious to
be president of a big bank, as the
prosecutor has told you," the defense
attorney shouted, Why did he start
out to wreck that bank and ruin his OWL
investments and to destroy his own
reputation? If he destroyed the Com
mercial Bank, he not only was de-
stroying his own ambition to head it.
but was running s25o,oo0 Of his own
money. Who ever heard OF such a
fallacious argument"
Cooper, he said, could not have been
a dominating power in the Commercial
Bank because every transaction had
to receive the approval Of other OIL
GERS and the board Of directors.
Calls Cooper "the Goat"
"Why make this man the goat?'
Leahy asked. "He did just what every
other officer did. Why didn't the
Government indict them all? Is II
conceivable that he as head OF both
banks would try to wreck them both
when he had a million dollars Of his
stockholders at stake and a quarter
million Of his own?"
Leahy made much Of the fact, as
brought out in testimony, that al
loans complained of by the Govern
ment were approved by all officers and
directors of the bank and that none OF
them was criticized by Treasury bank
examiners.
"Mr. Cooper himself never made a
loan" Leahy declared. He never paid
q dividend. He was trying to plug tne
leaks by reducing salaries and ellmi-
mating bonuses. No man is going 10
handle recklessly his own property.
Cooper Denies Charge.
Cooper, taking the stand yesterday
In his own defense, denied the Gov
ernment's charges Of irregularity and
declared everything he did while presi-
lent of Commercial was in the interest
of the bank and its depcsitors.
The much discussed question Of the
propriety of Commercials insistence
that Continental pay interest on Its
deposit liabilities, assumed by Com
mercial after the afiliation Of the
banks, was gone into thoroughly while
Cooper was on the stand.
Cooper at first declared ne did not
know Commercial was charging inter
est until more than a year after the
so-called merger, but later. under
cross-examination. said he had a
vague recollection" of a resolution
passed by the Board of Directors con-
corning interest charges against Con-
tinental. The interest Is an important
point at issue in the case, because the
Government claims that If Commercial
had included interest as one Of Con-
tinental's expenses there would have
been no earnings left on which Con-
tinental could base its dividends.
Cooper contended the interest
charges were improper. He said that
when he learned. in May, 1881, that
the charges were being made he
ordered them stopped, pending study
of the matter. He said the interest
was "eating up" the earnings OF
Continental. Later, after conferences
between committees Of both banks,
the interest charges were reinstated.
The witness explained his delay In
discovering about interest charges by
saying he never examined the books
of the hank. He said he assumed"