Jasper County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 9, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 June 1906 — McCOY TRIAL DRAGS WEARILY. [ARTICLE]

McCOY TRIAL DRAGS WEARILY.

mvw ■ i ifiiriww n » i Fourth Week Eads To-day and the State Not Yet Done.—May Last a Month flore. The fourth week of the J McCoy trial ends to-day, and the State has not yet finished its evidence and will probably not finish until the middle of next week. Over 300 witnesses, practically all depositors, have been examined by the State thus far. There are hundreds other depositors, and it was attempted to show the amount of their balances at the time of the failure by the- bank’s books. But the defense has admitted nothing at any stage of the trial that it did not have to, using all sorts of tactics apparently to delay and prolong the trial, and when Miss' Maud Irwin was put on the stand an attempt was made to prove the balances by her reference to the items in the books—she was bookkeeper for the defunct bank — the defense’s objections were sustained by the court, and now Mr. Sellers is obliged to read every entry of each depositor page by page, as it appears on the books, and ask Miss Irwin as to the entries. This is is an endless job and will prolong the case several days. Some twenty-five witnesses for the defense were summoned to go over Thursday. As it was very evident that they could not be used, Sheriff O’Connor called up Mr. Haywood Wednesday and asked him if the defense would not do as the State had done, and let him know just how many witnesses could be used each day and the day that they would be need, scAhat they would not be put to the expense and inconvenience of going over when there was no chance of their being used. Haywood replied, in effect, that he didn’t give a d — what the State done, he wanted the witnesses there when he wanted them, and abruptly rang off. As a result the following were needlessly summoned for Thursday, and many of them went over: W. B. Austin A. G. Hardy. W. L. Wood Jas. T. Randle Robt. Michael John A. Williams W. I. Hoover Chris. Hensler Isaac Kight Levi Hawkins Robt. Nicholson Geo. Besse Wm. B. Leonard Win, Pruett Geo. Logan James Michaels Thos. H. Robinson C A. Yeoman S. M. Laßue Frank J. Babcock Lyman Raymond James F. Irwin Chas. Odem. From these witnesses it is presumed they will attempt to prove the value of the landed assests were much greater than the State’s witnesses have testified they were worth. Probably the most important testimony brought out during the past week, owing to the fact that this matter is now pending in our court, is that regarding the indebtedness of the Rensselaer Stock Farm, the principal points of which follow: A STOCK FARM COMPANY DEAL. Delos Thompson, cashier of the State bank, the concern that is doing business in the room formerly occupied by the banking firm of A. McCoy & Co., was on the witness stand for some time. During his testimony he told something of the Rensselaar Stock Farm Company and the way it did business. The company was

organized years ago and was composed of Delos Thompson, Thomas J. McCoy and his brother-in-law, W. A. Rinehart. The company was engaged in handling trotting horses. It had a stock farm close to Rensselaer and the last sale of stock was at Lafayette in 1896 or 1898. Mr. Thompson testified that the company had given a $6,000 note to the first National Bank, of Lafayette, and that he had paid $2,0000n that note, and the remainder was settled by a note of himself and Rinehart. He afterward paid one-half of the renewal note of >4,000. “Tom” McCoy at the time assigning to him as security for that $2,000 and any other debt of T. J. McCoy, his $3,800 worth of stock in the Jasper County Telephone Company and

which Thompson still holds. The assignment was read to the jury. Mr. Thompson said further that sometime about December 31, 1903, the exact time the witness could not fix, three notes given prior to that time by the Rensselaer Stock Farm Company and the three partners therein, amounting to a little over $13,000 given to the A. McCoy & Co. bank in settlement of an overdraft, were taken up and canceled, $2,000 being surrendered by Thomas McCoy in consideration of a surrender by Thompson of a note he (Thompson) held against Thomas J. McCoy individually. This showed that Thomas J. McCoy used the assets of the bank to pay his individuaPdebta. The other two notes, amounting to about SII,OOO, on which Thompson was liable, were surrendered to him, and a note or notes signed by T. J. McCoy and W. A. Rinehart only were substituted for them, Thompson paying nothing for release from that liability. In other words, the only man from whom the SII,OOO in notes might be collected by any process of law in Indiana was released from all liability, T. J. McCoy was financially worthless, and as to W. A. Rinehart’s responsibility there is a question, it having been shown already in this trial tnat at least a part of his property was plastered with mortgages four deep. At the same time it was agreed that he should be released from any liability for the other twothirds, and for which he practically admitted on the witness stand that he was liable. Thomas J. McCoy, on behalf of the bank, executed to Thompson a written release of all his (Thompson’s) liability to the bank of the other two-thirds of the overdraft and all other liability of Thompson to the bank on account of the Rensselaer Stock Farm Company’s business, for which release Thompson admitted he did not pay a cent. It has been shown by other witnesses in other gases that it was a part of the agreement that Rinehart and T. J. McCoy shouldjgjye their individual notes to the bank for the balance of $23,550, and one witness in another suit involving this transaction said that such a note was given. But no such note was found in the bank when it was closed, nor were the $13,000 notes found in the bank, and afterward the McCoys, in making a schedule of the assets and liabilities, did not not mention any such notes, but instead scheduled the overdraft of the Rensselaer Stock Farm Company as an asset worth its face. Mr. Thompson will be further examinedon this matter.

Mr. Thompson also said that the Rensselaer Stock Farm Company had an overdraft of more than $25,500 on December 31, 1903. On that day the three members of the company met in Rensselaer and undertook to settle between themselves and the bank that overdraft. He asked SB,OOO for rent of the stock farm, which belonged to him, although the company had done no business since 1896. This made a total of over $33,500 which the stock farm company then owed, a debt of over SII,OOO for each partner. Thompson, after taking out his SB,OOO for rent, insisted that he only owed $1,500, while the other partners said it was more, and they compromised on $2,000 as due from him. He gave a check for that amount, including S3OO he owed Tom McCoy, and that check was read in evidence.