Salt Lake Tribune | 1919-05-27 | Page 5 | Pingree Trial may be Finished this Week

books a3 cash items. He said he was not permitted to see the record kept of these items in which their identification as overdrafts of ihe Utah Packing & Provision Pro-vision company was discernible. The witness further said the understanding of the board of directors in 3015 was that the company was expected to make Uy way without further assistance from the bank. On the witness stand under redirect examination yesterday morning, Mr. Pin-gree Pin-gree testified he had a balance of J'Jo in the Merchants bank when it closed its doors on July 8, 3 918, and that members mem-bers of his family also lost moupy through its closing, being depositors. Hp testified that companies in whir'lip was ' interested had an aggregate of $-U,0'iii j in the institution at the time of its ! i failure. Character witnesses, test ifying as to j the past good reputation of the former I bank president -and his ability as a j banker were O. C. Becbe, R. T. Harris, i Klias A. Smith, W. W. Riler, H. S. , I Young, R. L. Conely. C. S. Burton and ; ! E. A. Culbert.son. Preston J. Cannon ; ! testified as to the regularity of dividends paid by the bank, and Walter J. 'Meeks as to the value of certain retil estate In Douglas park, held by the bank, to the effect that he regarded it as of a value , given It in the bank's boo'l. j PIN6REE TRIAL WIAY BE FiSHEOIS WEEK Defense Endeavoring to Show Bank Not Insolvent Insolv-ent Before Closing. Possible completion by or before the end of this week is anticipated by counsel coun-sel for the state and the defendant in the trial of John Pingree, in progress before be-fore a jury in Judge John F. Tobin's division di-vision of the Third district court. The defense is endeavoring now to direct di-rect all available evidence toward establishing; estab-lishing; that the Merchants bank was not insolvent before its doors -were closed. Mr. Pingree, former president of the in- stitution, is charged with having received deposits in an insolvent bank. Last night's session of the court was 1 given over to the taking of the testi- i mony of character witnesses. Ten were examined. O. P. Soule, vice president of i the bank, was the principal witness of 1 yesterday afternoon. Under direct examination Mr. Soule testified as to the extent of the knowledge knowl-edge of the bank's affairs enjoyed by the board of directors, testifying t.at the board knew of the values at which real estate holdings were carried on (he books of the bank. He testified undor cross-examination cross-examination that he had 'iot seen the canceled checks of the Utah Packing it I Provision company, carried on the bank's