Article Text
SAY BENSON BANKERS MET CHARGES FULLY Attorneys For Britt and Slocumb Make Statement On Case Recently Tried L L Levinson and James Raynor, attorneys for the defense in the Benson bank case recently tried here, yesterday issued the following statement: "In the bank case in which the brought against M. T. Britt and W. H. Slocumb, president and cashier respectively of the First National Bank of Benson which failed in December, 1928, in which case both defendants were acquitted on all charges, we note that some of the newspapers reports have tended to show that the defendants set up a defense due to 'carelessness and slip-shod banking.' "We wish to say that this is far from the facts. Each charge was met with concrete, straightforward explanation of the transaction involved which explanations were completely staisfactory to the jury. "It was also shown by the evidence that every act was done in good faith and with the purpose of helping the bank and with no thought in mind to violate the law. These defendants were victims of eircumstances due to two causes. First, over-investment in banking house in Benson built in 1920 at the peak of prices, coupled with run on the bank in December, 1928, which forced them to surrender. "From our own personal knowledge there was nothing "careless or slin. shed" in the management of this bank and it required the highest type of banking ability to keep this institution going as long as it did when it is considered that its initial investment in its banking quarters was more than $182,000.00. On the day that it closed this item had been written down to $66,000.00 more than $116,000.00 having been written off between 1920 and 1928. "And except for that run and depressed conditions since that time it our belief that this building would have been almost completely paid for by this time. "The papers also referred to deadlock in the jury. We discussed the matter with the jury after court adjourned and they told us that at no time was any member of the jury in favor of verdict of guilty. The counts were submitted to them separately and it required some time for them to pass on each count."
