Show MEIBHAN VE SENTENCE OF I YEAR IN PRISON Penalty Imposed on ExPost I master of Ogden NEGLIGENT NOT CRIMINAL So S Declares Judge Marshall in Passing Sentence t 2elghcm Not Discouraged and Says I E Vindication From Criminal Intent In-tent Was All He Desired The judgment of the court Is that 01 be Imprisoned for one year and one day In the State penitentiary These words addressed by Judge phn A Marshall to Charles Melehan mlh United States District court at a oclock yesterday fixed the penalty oC the former Ogden postmaster for tho mbexzlement of CoernmonL funds The sentence came alter Judge William i MaRlnnly had made an able arcu nient for a rehearing of the case after I Attorney C S Patterson had made an I loci 2il plea for clemency and after Judge Marshall himself had vindicated I I the defendant from all criminal Intent In i connection with the shortage In the I funds of the Ogden poatoHlce I REMOVES STAIN I 1 have won all that I have been contending con-tending for Mr Melghun said after I he adjournment of the court I could have served ten years In the Denlten I Inry and I could have stood It but I could not hae borne the Idea of tho verlnstlne stain on the names of my babies I have bpcn flghllntr for my vlfe and babies The Judge In his sen tence vindicated me from all criminal Intent and nothing else matt era to me sow ARGUED FOR NE TVTRIAL 1 j JjMr Melchan had been cited to appear ap-pear for fwntenci at 10 oclock yestcr jay morning Owing to a wreck on the tillroad he and his attorneys were un Iblo to cet down from OGden on time ind the case was continued till 2 I clock At this hour and when court I i as declared to be In session Judc < I Slaginnls arose and stated that he de fired to take exceptions to some parts of Judge Marshalls charge to the Jury fie then argued at considerable length the different points lie made an ef t tort to explain the system of overdrafts I in the O den ofllcc Sometime he l aid the postmaster had a balance to I his credit and sometimes his account 11 was overdrawn and so lone as the I bank permitted an overdraft ho did not think a case of embezzlement could bo Lade against his client i SHOWED SHORTAGE fin t reply Judge Marshall said the evl dcncc showed that Postmaster Mclghan I bad paid his poraonal accounts by I checks drawn upon the United Statca funds even when there were no funds J here and this In Itself showed a 3 lehortnCe l i Judge Maginnis argued at length on IO I ho charged shortage of 1C10 In the Li money order fund hut Judge Marshall 1 held that au the Jury had acquitted Mr Sjltjlclghan on this charge It had nothing 5f to do with the case 03 It then Blood I JJfJndge Maginnis thought otherwise as to > J had been taken from the postal iUfld n to make up a shortage In the jjlEoncy order fund He held that the IHjonmaster could not get credit for the fponoy sent to Chlcacb till acknowl tigemcnl from Chicago K > that at the tn 1 lime of the Inspection there was much poney In transit and only reprcBentcd ll ti > 7 caoh slips In the money drawer But I Wdge Marshall held that there was a w THjrtage 1U jl FORT TO EXPLAIN SHORTAGE A 1 t Judge Maclnnls held aleo that tho ti 1i Crt had erred In permitting the pay jk rtQlts ot the postolllcc to be admitted aa d71cnco to show that the postal ac 4 I count had been overdrawn He held I that K I the account at the bank uaa overdrawn and the bank permitted It it was the business of the bank and not of the Government He also referred to two errors one of 2S and one of SIC acknowledged by the Government auditor audi-tor but which wore not admitted as evidence He held that there might have been enough oC these errors to account for the entire shortage NEW TRIAL DENIED Judge Marshall In reply said that there has bduit abundant evidence to show that thC wnl an unexplained shortage In Mr Melghanji accounts and he laid special emphasis on this point He Mid that in establishing ihly shortage the Certified copies of the postmasters quarterly accounts were used that under the law they were evidence but that lettera from the auditor au-ditor were not evidence He laId the Government had to rely on the regular accounts signed by the Postmaster He said the 600 check In the money order department wa evidence that there was a shortage that could not he explained ex-plained away by I the money In transit between Ogden and Chicago The Judge combittcd all the points raised by Judge Maglnnls and wound up by overruling the motion for a new trial PLEA FOR CLEMENCY i He then requested the prisoner to stand up and receive sentence but before be-fore he could upcnk and while Mr Melghan stood before the desk Attor new C S Patterson was recognized and made a forceful plea In behalf of hla client He argued that the errand Jury had neglected to Investigate with sufficient thoroughness to locate exactly exact-ly the blame for the shortage In the Ogden postofllce that the experts had discovered no crooked work In the books of the office that the sentiment of practically all Ogden was that Mr jIel han had never wilfully taken a cent that did not belong to him that he was more sinned against than aln nlng that ho was a victim betrayed by those who should have been his friends He said that from being one of the leading and moat highly respected respect-ed business men of Ogden the defendant defend-ant was now a bankrupt ruined In reputation and rich only In the love of hit wife and the loyalty of frIends who had stood by him In his troubles In the name of the people of Ogden the wife tho three little children and the Jury he asked for clemency SENTENCE PRONOUNCED In addressing the prisoner before pronouncing pro-nouncing sentence Judge Marshall spoke with deep feeling He said tho sentence could not be made so light oi to encourage wrong doing The people must be made to understand that they cannot safely do wrong He said he was satisfied that Mr Melghan was not a criminal that he did not do wrong by design He argued that the postof lice fund was a trust fund and that Mr Meighans error was In confusing thIs fund with his own and through negligence negli-gence drawing his own personal checks on the funds of the Government While he held that the shortage at Ogden was due to negligence under I the statutes It was embezzlement and that the sentence sen-tence could not be light lie then pronounced pro-nounced sentence as staled above Judge Maglnnly asked for a stay of execution for yixty days to enable the attorneys for Mr Melghan to prepare a bill of exceptions and prepare to appeal ap-peal the case The stay was granted on the understanding that the defendant defend-ant furnish a satisfactory bond In the sum of 33000 Both Mr Meighan and hla attorneys said there would be no trouble In securing bondsmen that every man In Ogden and many In Salt Lake were ready to go on such bond Mr Mclghan did not furnish his bond last evening It was his desire to have It made up by l friends In Ogden and it was discovered that this could not have been done until today He would have had no trouble In securing a bond In Salt Lake but preferred to get It at his own home It will be furnished today |