Show SPALDINQ ACQUITTED Verdict a General Surprise to All Including cluding the Defendant Chicago June 18 Charles F Spalding Spald-ing expresident Qf the Globe Savings bank and extreasurer of the state university was today acquitted of the charge o embezzlement The verdict was a general surprise as the instructions instruc-tions of the court to the jury left scarcely any chance for an acquittal The first words uttered by Spalding after the verdict had been read in court were Well this is a surprise I The specific charge against him was the converting of 7000 worth of bonds tOfnb g i of the Pittsfield school district In Pike county These bonds were hypothecated hypothe-cated with the Metropolitan National bank of this city as security for a loan of 6750 Spalding owes his acquittal to a single word in the statute That word i interest The jurors could not I become reconciled to the proposition that the extreasurer of the university of Illinois intentionally embezzled the 1 bonds of that institution i Six l ballots St in nth tal were taken by the jury the first and I second being four for conviction and eight for acquittal Three voted for conviction on the third ballot two on the fourth and fifth and all for acquittal acquit-tal on the sixth After being taken back to Jail Spalding said I must admit that It did surprise me some at frt After all the jury took the view of i I urged by my counsel and as the prosecution prose-cution showed no criminal intent the jury was bound to acquit me There are still 27 Indictments hanging over I him and he will be tried again |