Jasper County Democrat, Volume 8, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 17 February 1906 — McCOY CASES RE-SET FOR MONDAY. [ARTICLE]

McCOY CASES RE-SET FOR MONDAY.

Tom Reported Sick as Cause for the Continuance.

THREATENED WITH PNEUMONIA His Attorneys Say, and Will Not Be Able to Get Out for Two Weeks. —Blodgett Writes of the ••Political Bankers.” The McCoy criminal cases, which charged embezzlement in connection with their bank fail* ure here almost two years ago, which were set for trial in the White circuit court on Wednesday of this week, have been continued until next Monday. It is reported that Tom McCoy is sick in bed at Lafayette, which caused the cases to be continued a few days. Whether this sickness is real or assumed for the purpose of delay is not known to us, but if the cases can be continued through the present term of court and the state fails to convict on the indictments now against them, it would then be too late to secure new indictments on other cases, as the two years limitation would have expired. To guard against this there was unconfirmed rumors afloat here this week that additional indictments would be secured before the limit expired. Seventeen witnesses bad been subpoenaed from here by the state, to appear Wednesday and Thursday at Monticello. Notwithstanding that Jasper county has paid SI,OOO to a Monticello attorney to look after these cases, no intimation was received from him by Sheriff O’Connor that the cases had been continued, and bad not he telephoned to the clerk of the court at Monticello Wednesday morning and bad the statement —made to him by the writer —that the -cases had been continued until Monday confirmed, these witnesses would have had to have gone to the trouble

and expense of going to Monticello, only to find that they were not needed until Monday. As soon as the report was officially confirmed, Sheriff O’Connor notified the witnesses here and they were saved the expense of the trip over. There are now nineteen indictments standing against the McCoys. It will be two years April 18 since their bank closed its doors and the hundreds of depositors were left to hold the sack to the tune of about $300,000 — providing they receive back in dividends 40 per cent of the total liabilities of some $500,000. Up to this time neither old man McCoy or Tom have ever been brought to trial, although several batches of indictments have been returned at different times, all of which, we understand, except the last nineteen returned, have been dismissed as defective. On these, we understand, the court has ruled that the indictments are good and it remains for the State to convict in the trials.

W. H. Blodgett, staff correspondent of the Indianapolis News, had the following pen-pictnre of “Our Tom,” as he used to be referred to here, in Wednesday evening’s News. While not correct in all the details, it is so near so that we presume our republican friends will have no trouble in recognizing the picture: Monticello, Ind., Feb. 14. —The trial of Thomas McCoy, the former banker of Rensselaer and the late Republican district chairman of the Tenth district, was called in the White Circuit Court this morning, but on request of Judge George Haywood, of Lafayette, one of the attorneys for the defense, the trial was posponed until next Monday. Judge Haywood said his client was sick, and is threatened with pneumonia, and that physicians say he will not be able to be ont for at least two weeks, so the supposition is that on next Monday the trial will be postponed again. There are nineteen indictments against Mr. McCoy in this county, brought here on a change of venue from Jasper county. TThere are five of those, however, on which ho will not be tried. The State

has obtained the strongest indictments for the trial, and if they fail, McCoy will go free as far as this county is concerned. ANOTHER POLITICAL BANKING CASE. This is another case of a political banker, the result of mixing politics with » banking business, with banks going on the bonds of county officials in order to get county deposits. Politics and banking led to the indictment of “Tom” McCoy. “Tom” McCoy was one of the cleverest politicans the north part of Indiana has had for years. He is genial, pleasant, companionable, a man who was fond of the game of politics. Every man who is well acquainted with “Tom” McCoy will testify that in his opinion Tom did not become an embezzler, if the jury eventually finds him to be one, from any desireto rob his fellow-man. He got into it before he knew what he was doing and he wasted the money of the bank in the way he wonld not have wasted it if he lad not been in politics. WAS A POLITICAL KING. For a good many years “Tom” UcCoy was the Republican chairman of the Tenth congressional district, one of *he largest districts in the State. He was the absolute ling, as far as politics was concerned, in most of the counties of the district. His father long ago opened a lank in Rensselaer and Tom went into it. Later he became one of the firm of A. McCoy & Co., private bankers. Alfred McCoy, “Tom’s” father, was.also a political banker. Even now the old-timers delight to tell how “Alf McCoy and his sheepskin band” went over the district and assisted the Republican party to success, and Mr. McCoy always paid ail bills. So “Tom” became a politican at the time be became a banker, and the charge is made that he really paid more attention to politics sometimes than he did to the bank. But the fact that he was a politician and a king-pin in the Republican organization of the district brought the bank business and increased the deposits. HOW HE CONTROLLED PUBLIC FUNDS. As soon as it became known that “Tom” McCoy and his bank were behind any paiticular candidate the other candidates were satisfied that defeat was coming to them. The bank and the McCoys went on the bonds of all officers who had any money to deposit. In fact, it was understood that when a county treasurer or a school commissioner, or a city treasurer was elected by the McCoy influence, the money he handled went into the McCoy bank. And if the money did not go into the McCoy bank the officer did not get a second term. McCoy’s bank was out for business, and the strongest argument it used was “Tom’s” political “pull.” The bank would spend lots of money either to elect or defeat a manjwhodid not bow to the McCoy interests, and men who desired office were willing to make terms with the banking firm of A. McCoy & Co., through “Tom,” the political boss. OOBT MONEY TO PLAY POLITICS. The fact that “Tom” was in polities threw him in with a lot of other politicians, and politicians from all over the Tenth district used to consult with him, and they would have a good time together, and good times cost a lot of money. But “Tom” had to keep up his standing as a politician, for on bis ability to control politics hung the life of the bank. Now understand, all this time that “Tom” McCoy was the “good fellow” you hear about in politics. No needy or pretended needy person wds ever turned away emptyhanded if “Tom” had a dollar about him. He had a country home up the river that was called “Jerry's Island,” and an electric launch to carry his friends to it. Many a meeting of wise politicians was held on “Jerry’s Island.”

CONTROLLED ABOUT EVERYTHING. Through bis political “pull” the banking firm of A. McCoy & Co. practically had charge of everything about Rensselaer. The School Board deposited its money with the bank and so did the teachers, because “Tom” McCoy owned the School Board and the School Board hired the teachers. The county and townsbsp funds were in the bank because “Toth” elected the county and township officers. And the bank did not hesitate to let the candidates know that they had to submit either to the McCoys’ influence or to submit to defeat. “Tom” was such a “good fellow” that every one had confidence in him. The church, the business man, the preacher, the doctor, the lawyer, the widow and the orphan all bad confidence in the man who was a success in politics; could elect or defeat men at bis will, and they thought the bank was as solid as a stone wall. WENT INTO SCHEMES AND LOST. “Tom” was so successful in politics that he went Into other schemes and lost money, but the public did not know that. He looked prosperous, always had a smile and continued to be a power in politics. At last came the end —the inevitable end of all political banks — the bank failed. The amount of sorrow .and suffering that bank failure caused has been told and told again in these columns. The widows lost their mite, the orphans lost their all. Business men were embarrassed and county officers bad to make up the funds they deposited with the McCoys. It will not be contended, so the lawyers say, that “Tom” McCoy started out deliberately to rob the widow and the orphan, and those who know “Tom” McCoy well are satisfied that if he had the money he would pay back every dollar of it. POLITICS AND BANKING WILL NOT MIX. But the law holds him accountable for it, and it is no excuse under the law that he lost the money of others because he could not make politick and banking mix. He could not make politics and banking mix to the benefit of the depositors in bis bank any more than could Walter Brown, of Elkhart, who was also a district chairman and a banker. In fact the Indiana colony in the Federal prison at Leavenworth is composed principally of political bankers. “Tom” McCoy knew the game of politics from the Jack to both bottom and top. It was a common expression that there were few better politicians in Indiana than Tom McCoy. He also had a fair smattering of the banking business, but when he combined the two he made a disastrous failure of both. The friends of “Tom” McCoy insist that if be had kept out of politics and attended to his bank he would not be where he is to-day and hundreds of poor people would not have lost all the money they possessed.