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Show Questions in note trial refer to ) def1ctbank Testimony Hat Bearing Upon Up-on institution Which Failed. ! By Ira C. Tichenor Some interi'Ktinu testimony, and r-jcuments r-jcuments that have ut lest an In li- ' ret Itearinc up..n th history of t h" i defunct MerrhantM bank are hems made of record In the court of Judge J- l.nuis Imwn in comict-th ,. w 'h ; the suit of t ho Western Securities i j eompanv sgainst Stlon Spiro for thei verv nf the unpaid portion of a S if. pfen several years ago. Almnt at the verv open In jr of the I proceedings, ndjourned from last j Wednesday, a question pr to Mr. I Spiro by A. I., tfoppaugh of counsel I for ' Mr. CM irk brought to his feet! Prank N'ei.ckcr of cotinsl for. Mr. Spiro. j Mr. Nbeker declared that the ques-, ques-, T'"n :isl;e.1 or tl.e information It enn-j tamed was .dori" for a purpose, and j he predicted that "in a certain news- j paper" there would apt tear a story in ' I connection therewith. j Mr. Nelker conludod his firgu-j question Bked by counsel for 1 r. Clark by declaring that what he was 1 endeavoring to bring out wax not true , and that he resented It STORMY ARGUMENT i . This concluding remsrk was even j ' more vigorously resented by Mr. Hop-! pmigh. and for a few mlntiics the j J atmosphere in the courtroom was: surcharged with legal elec tricity ( which forebodes a real storm before j ( , the case finally is derided. v , Tlie question which counsel for Mr. , ' I.irk desired to have written into the; ti-. oirl. with the reply thereto, was ( whether il ws.t not true, when Clark j u;w in nnotht-r L;uik. pr-nr to bis as- , si.thition of the managenint of thej Mn liiuiiH biink, Mr. Spiro did not give i n che-k for t""n. or thereabouts, when j he had on deposit only $8. i objtvTlons to the iptestinn finally ( were overruled, when the witness an- I -were, I that h had on deposit at the J ( time about $I7!ii) j To tpiest '(.us us in W hether he had , j ever received -hecka from the Western j (, Securities company and cashed them, i M - bm. 1 itm, A,.xr...A that Ii bad no recollection, at which point ounscl presented as an exhibit a i irk. the indorsement on which Mr. Si ., acknowledged. M OR E QUESTIONS. The witness admitted that he and i Mr. Clark for several years prior to 1114 had been closely associated and Liind been In a number of deals, but tu "asBjj; question as to whether their personal per-sonal relations were such that Mr. Spiro often spoke of Mr. Clark to friends as "Harry" and hsd called htm "Harry" In personal letters, the w linens li-nens merely declared that the reaitions were close enough. The questions from there led to the so cal let! 1 1. & M. and the Olden deals In connection with the Silver King Consolidated; to the giving of notes for " J.'.o.OOO by Clark, with Olden and Silver I King Consolidated stock as security, and 'to the taking of these securities by j the HUver King Consolidated five months before the . notes maturf-d. it was declared, and wnlla Mr. Clark was ut of the state. According to the records of the Silver Sil-ver King Consolidated, placed In evidence, evi-dence, the notes for $r0,000 ere given by Clark to cover the balance from the sale of loo.OOO shares of stock at $1 per share. During the morning Receiver Lynch testified that he had not found among the papers any escrows involving the deals now being referred in connection connec-tion with the suit. COMING FORESHADOWED. The action of P.ec-efver Lynch of the Merchants bunk In presenting a petition, which the court granted, to bi itig suit against thoae officers, directors di-rectors and stockholders who were such ahout four years ago, while in the nature of a bombshell, had been expected In some quarters since the pit hi feat ion In The Telegram Novm-bsir Novm-bsir 27 of the counter suit filed in D- , hiTf of IJ. S. Hinckley. The original suit was brought hy an Kstern bank to recover on a note for , HfltiO given by Hinckley to the Merchants Mer-chants bank and afterward sold by the I buier concern. , PREFERRED CREDITORS- ii the counter suit It was declared i t'it on two occasions about four l ."X'-' committee removed from I Bf t Merchants bank a total at more j Jn JTiMi.ttut) in htcuntiea in order to i.mke the then state treasurer and cer- i uii others, preferred creditors, and! tTjt as a result of which the strength f ,,f. hank was further Impaired, nt-I'koich. nt-I'koich. as the complaint declared, "on j pelirv "4 1?I.Vatid fy nloni; 1 1 m e prior thereto, said Merchants bang was in an Insolvent condition." ! CENTER OF ATJR ACTION, i It is an interesting fact that at the , moment Receiver Lynch waa present -I lug his petition before Judge Bramel 'on the fourth floor of the city and j county building the trial of the suit I of the Western Securities comany or I H. I'. Clark, former president of the bank I. against Kobm Spiro. and w hich I has an Irsdlrect but strong bearing upon the affairs of the defunct Institution, In-stitution, was In process in Judge Brown's court on the third floor, while Jon the second floor the grand Jury ; summoned to Inquire Into the domes j of the c ncrn was holding a session. I PLENTY 0 GRIST. 1 The prospective suits against the ! men who were officers and director "at -mil four years ago and othera who ; were such when the bank closed its 'doors, together with suits to re brought by the receiver against present pres-ent stockholders and numerous other cases arising directly or Indirectly from the failure of the bank, it would seem that the prediction that the Merchants Mer-chants bank affair would supply the mills of JuMice enouiih grist for msn years of grinding would be fulfilled, a n.T then snrn e |