Mail Tribune 100, April 9, 1921, continued
May 7—April 9, 1921, continued
OWEN HERE SAYS BANK CH'GE FALSE
Alleged Master Mind in the Jacksonville Bank Failure Reaches Medford in Sheriff Terrill's Custody — Maintains Great Injustice Done — Confident of Acquittal.
"My arrest on this charge has done me an awful injustice, as will be shown by later developments," said C. H. Owen, the former Medford rancher and so-called "master mind" of the Jacksonville bank failure, who arrived here this morning in custody of Sheriff Terrill, following his arrest at Salt Lake City a week ago on the indictment returned against him by the Jackson County grand jury charging aiding and abetting a cashier to defraud a bank.
While this indictment charges an overdraft of $21,000, it is understood that alleged overdrafts reach into the neighborhood of $60,000. Owen ridicules this as well as the overdraft of $21,000. From the depot, Sheriff Terrill and Owen went at once to the Hotel Medford, where Owen formerly lived during his residence here, for breakfast.
"I did business with Cashier Johnson legitimately the same as with any other business man," said Owen in an interview, "and the newspaper accounts published in some of the newspapers following my arrest are simply absurd and are grave mistakes. All this will be washed out in the course of time. I am innocent of any wrong doing."
Owen does not look worried and waxed very indignant over some of the statements published about his alleged connection with the bank failure. He even told the interviewer that if he had his way he would shoot every writer of such statements, so the present writer who dislikes the feel of bullets in his flesh is working his typewriter very carefully today.
Aliases Denied
"I have never passed under any name than my own anywhere," said Owen in discussing some of the published articles in Portland newspapers and elsewhere.
Own who is 45 years old and has been in the oil promoting business for some time past in Salt Lake City, at the time of his arrest had under way, he says, one of the biggest ventures in that line in the country. He is seemingly prosperous and two of the companies with which he is connected recently struck good wells in the Wyoming field, one of which proved a gusher, he says. He organized the company which owns this gusher.
Business Record Good
"I have a good business reputation wherever I have been," said Owen. "This was shown when after my arrest in Salt Lake City a number of the big business men of that city came forward and offered assistance in helping me out of my present trouble. Withing twelve hours after my arrest I received over a dozen telegrams from big business men of Oregon, California and elsewhere offering me assistance."
Sheriff Terrill backed up this statement by saying that Owen has an excellent standing in business circles in Salt Lake City. The sheriff also says that Owen has created an excellent impression on him since his arrest.
Arrangements were made this forenoon for a conference between Owen and County Prosecutor Moore this afternoon.
This conference was understood to relate to Owen's bail, which was fixed at $25,000 some time ago, previous to his arrest. Owen maintains that he could have furnished bail at Salt Lake City after his arrest, but refused to do so there. He intimated this forenoon that he could furnish the bail here any time he wanted to.
— Alissa Corman; acorman@rosebudmedia.com
