“ICE KING’S” FATE.

Rangitikei Advocate and Manawatu Argus, Volume XXXIV, Issue 9348, 18 January 1909, Page 2

“ICE KING’S” FATE.

SENTENCE OR 15 YEARS’ "IMPRISONMENT. London, November 14. The great Morpe drama which for Wk< bae held ihe b*vk*n au-1 financial uiag.ut-.tes of America S bound, reached its climax when the deposed “ice king” was sentenced to 15 years in the Federal gaol at Atlanta. Mr Curtis, who, as manager of the National Bank of North America, carried out the ice king’s commands, escaped with a suspended sentence of five years. The first scene of this histone trial was dramatic in the extreme. After the: two prisoners, one of whom, until the money panic, was worth £4,000,000, had been pronounped guilty, they were led up t 6 f a tiny cell with two berths in the Tombs prison, where they lay sleeping until the re-opening of the O )urt. Mr Onrtis|£seemed utterly crushed by his nocturnal gaol experiences, but Mr Morse to all appearances was as cool and defiant as ever. “He is strong as iron and culd as ice,’”“ whispered a neighbour, aa the ice-king, bracing himself against the railing of the dock with his hands in bis pockets, gazed squarely at the judge. Not far away from him sat Mrs Morse and her two sons, her hands miserably clasped to her head. The indrawn sobs of Mrs Onrtis were heard through the entire Oonrt. Suddenly Judge Wolcott, counsel for Mr Curtis, rose and in a choked voice begged for mercy on behalf of bis client, “this dear friend of mine,” declaring that his petition would be supported by all the bankers of the metropolis, who were convinced of the honesty of Mr Curtis. Then \ Judge Hough pronounced sentence, and declared that Mr Curtis would escape actual punishment because he had been merely a tool in the hands of the dominating master. The announcement was greeted with applause, which was immediately suppressed. Next moment a weird murmur coursed through the crowded courtroom as tile words “Morse is sentenced to 15 years in the Federal prison’ ’ came from the lips of the judge. The great financiers, the lawyers, the bankers, who formed the majority of the spectators seemed to greet the verdict with vindictive joy, for they always regarded Mr Morse as the prime precipitator of lust year’s panic, {and endorsed unreservedly the observations of the judge that if such crimes as his were allowed to go unpunished the country would he at the mercy of wealthy adventurers. Mr Morse himself glanced in the direction of his counsel, who applied for and obtained ten days’ stay of execution while he draw up an appeal to a higher court. Calm,"cool, and cynical as ever, the ex-ice king watched Mr Curtis with a contemptuous smile as his disgraced tool marched to freedom with his weeping wife amid a chorus of “How would yon like to be the ice king now?” sung by vast crowds outside. AN AMAZING CAREER.

la one respect Mr Morse may be considered fortunate, as he had rendered himself liable in all to 325 years’ imprisonment:. Little more than i a year ago, Mr Ohas. Wyman Morse, whose organisation of the Ice Trust and the extortions of that trust had already brought him into notice, was described by the New York Press as “master of 81 steamships and 13 bauKS. ” “It would be idle,” one journal "said, “for anybody to attempt to estimate the wealth of Mr Morse. In the financial district be is rated all the way from £3,000,000 to £8,000,000. ” Mr Morse, who is now 53 years bid, started flife in the mysterious occupation of “candy boy” on an American coastal steamer.

He was freely spoken of as “hard hit” daring the financial panic of last autumn, when the National Bank of North America (of which he was president) stopped payment. Later Mr Morse’s mansion in Fifth Avenue was seized for debt. Early in February, at the very moment when the affairs that led to, the wreck of the thank were being examined , Mr Morse suddenly vanished. A wireless message from the Daily Mail found him on the liner Campania, gHe replied immediately, declaring that he was not a fugitive from justice, bat was taking a holiday. Landing at Liverpool, he spent a holiday of precisely four hours, and then sailed again for New York to face the charges against him. His trial revealed an amazing system'of dummy loans, by which he' made good his speculative losses at the expense of the bank. The most piquant evidence was to the effect that he borrowed from the National Bank of North America money with which 'he purchased a controlling interest in that institution.

A girl stenographer, it was also shown, had authority to issne loans to clients and to act for Mr Morse in

“keeping his bank account good.” Mr Morse, the banker, and former “Ice King,” remains in prison, on failing to giro bail pending an appeal. The warders say 'he is unsociable with the other prisoners at exercise time, and dislikes the prison diet. He is allowed to send out to a neighbouring restaurant for a shilling lunch, but his breakfast is provided by the State. He spends much time in reading legal papers and trying to reduce his lawyer’s bill.