439:
leased to him. Indicted for war profiteering and fraud, soon after he was confronted with charges of mail fraud involving sales solicitations for stock of the United States
Shipping Company. The trial on the war profiteering charges resulted in an acquittal, but a civil suit in 1925 against the Virginia Shipbuilding Company resulted in a judgment for the government of over $ 11.5 million. The mail fraud case against Morse ended when he was adjudged too ill to stand trial, and his sons were acquitted.
42:
405:, Morse returned to the shipping business. He still controlled the Hudson Navigation Company, which had not been involved in the crash of the Consolidated Steamship Company in 1907. Morse announced on January 11, 1916, plans for a new transoceanic steamship line, which he organized as the United States Shipping Company. This holding company exchanged its stock for that of 16 subsidiary companies, each organized around a steamship.
347:. On October 15, 1907 this corner failed so spectacularly that depositors with Morse's banks began to pull out their deposits. On October 20, the New York Clearing House, which had a critical role clearing checks between banks, forced Morse to resign from his banking interests. This did not stop the panic, however, which went on to topple the
196:. In 1899 he merged it with several other companies to form the American Ice Company which, grossly overcapitalized at $ 60 million, held a virtual monopoly for ice in New York. Morse quickly became known as "The Ice King". At that time commercial ice was cut from frozen rivers, much of it in Morse's native state of Maine.
438:
In 1922 Morse was accused of misrepresentation of his facilities for ship construction; misapplication of funds intended for the building of ships to the building of shipyards; misappropriation of equipment for his own purposes; and failure to turn over to the government the profits of ships it had
361:
On
October 8, 1909, the assets of the Metropolitan Steamship Company were sold at foreclosure sale to John W. McKinnon of Chicago. The company was reincorporated three days later in Maine with Morse as president. The Metropolitan Steamship Company and Maine Steamship Company were consolidated with
252:
Morse returned to the realm of shipping in 1901 when he established the
Eastern Steamship Company as a consolidation of three existing lines. These were the Boston and Bangor Steamship Company, dating from 1834; the Portland Steam Packet Company, organized in 1843; and the International Steamship
245:. They maintained a summer home in Bath, Maine. Their marriage was annulled, however, in 1904 when it was determined that Clemence's divorce from her first husband, Charles F. Dodge, was not legal and she was therefore still married to him. Undeterred, she was represented by
462:
His second wife, Clemence Dodge, née Cowles, died in July 1926. Suffering from paralysis, Morse was placed under the guardianship of the probate court of Bath on
September 7, 1926, adjudged incompetent to handle his affairs. Having suffered several strokes, he died of
260:- the People's Line, established in 1835, and the Citizens' Line, established in 1872 - and organized the Hudson Navigation Company to operate them. They were collectively known as the Hudson River Night Line. The People's Line named its new 411-foot steamer
168:, and at his graduation in 1877 he had accumulated a sizable capital. After college he went into business with his father and a cousin, Harry F. Morse, forming C.W. Morse & Company and engaging in an extensive business shipping ice and lumber.
139:
corruption he established a monopoly in New York's ice business, before buying several shipping companies and moving into high finance. His attempt to manipulate the price of copper-shares set off a wave of selling that developed into the
502:"C W. Morse Dead; Former Financier — Ex-New Yorker, Who Controlled 13 Banks, Is a Victim of Pneumonia — Long Known As 'Ice King' — Made Fortune in College and Increased It Millions — Formed $ 120,000,000 Ship Merger"
802:"Ask Receivers For Morse Ship Lines — Bondholders Act in Maine, Boston, and This City to Protect Their Interests — Note For $ 10,000 Unpaid — Metropolitan and Eastern Subsidiary Lines Closely Pressed by Creditors"
476:
393:. However, it soon became known to the Justice Department that he had feigned illness by drinking a combination of soapsuds and chemicals. Taft later said that the case "shakes one's faith in expert examination."
318:, a young man of large inherited fortune. Their influence grew—Heinze and Morse served as directors together on at least six national banks, 10 state banks, five trust companies and four insurance companies.
716:"Morse Buys Sound Lines From The New Haven — Pays $ 10,000,000 for New England Navigation Company — Coastwise Trade Monopoly — Latest Acquisition, Obtained Through J.P. Morgan, Gives Him Absolute Mastery"
639:
724 Fifth Avenue, on the west side of the avenue, between 56th and 57th
Streets, had been built for R. Fulton Cutting in 1882; it was a brownstone rowhouse of four storeys and an attic with asymmetrical
351:, New York's third largest trust, and led to financial turmoil across the country through November. The Morse-controlled steamship lines went into receivership, for varying periods, in February 1908.
127:(October 21, 1856 – January 12, 1933) was an American businessman and speculator who committed frauds and engaged in corrupt business practices. At one time he controlled 13 banks. Known as the "
377:, and earn a legacy as one of the most famous swindlers in American history. Because of Morse's wealth and connections, he launched a campaign of lawyers, lobbyists and famous journalists like
279:
from the
Whitney interests in 1906. He organized the Consolidated Steamship Company in January 1907 as a holding company for the Eastern Steamship Company, Metropolitan Steamship Company,
659:"Charles W. Morse's Marriage Annulled — Divorce Mrs. Morse Secured from First Husband Pronounced Illegal — After Two Years and a Half She Finds She Is Still the Wife of Charles F. Dodge"
219:, the boss of Tammany Hall. Having formed a holding company called the Ice Securities Company, Morse manipulated its stock and left the ice business with a profit of some $ 12 million.
299:
303:
358:, Morse was convicted of misappropriating funds from a bank. He was sentenced to 15 years in the Atlanta federal penitentiary in November 1908 but remained free on appeal.
307:
416:
and
Virginia Shipbuilding Corporation. The Virginia Shipbuilding Company won contracts to build 36 vessels for the war effort. The freighters were ordered by the
1043:
215:'s first mayor over the five united boroughs) had been given a substantial ownership share in the ice companies (by then known as the "Ice Trust") as had
1033:
801:
501:
658:
715:
845:
362:
the
Eastern Steamship Company in 1911 to form Eastern Steamship Corporation. This concern went into receivership in 1914 and emerged in 1917 as
369:
Having exhausted his legal appeals, Morse departed for
Atlanta penitentiary on January 2, 1910. In Atlanta he was a prisoner alongside
199:
On May 1, 1900, Morse attempted to use his monopoly to raise the price of ice. The plan backfired, however, and it was revealed by the
288:
389:
and other maladies and would soon die if he remained in prison. Taft signed his pardon, and Morse departed for medical treatment at
160:, in 1856, the son of Benjamin Wyman and Anna Eliza Jane (Rodbird) Morse. His father had a large role in the towing business on the
292:
459:). They had three sons (Benjamin W., Harry F., and Irwin A.) a daughter (Anna, who married Dr. John W. Geiger), and died in 1897.
333:
992:
752:
565:
427:
Morse controlled the Hudson
Navigation Company until its bankruptcy in 1921. The receivers quickly changed the name of the
283:
and Mallory Steamship Company. Despite an initial announcement of such a sale, Morse failed in an attempt to purchase the
555:
1023:
623:
1028:
234:
144:. Jailed for violating federal banking laws, he faked serious illness and was released. Later he was indicted for
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in his honor in 1904. (Morse's uncle James Thomas Morse, his father's brother, was the namesake of the Rockland-
276:
242:
424:
funds to carry out the contracts. Ultimately, 22 of the ships were completed; the other 14 were cancelled.
417:
421:
348:
249:, who restored her marital rights; she remained devotedly at the side of Morse until her death in 1926.
298:
He parlayed this success into a prominent role in high finance in New York City. Morse controlled the
1038:
385:
for leniency. In 1912 Morse became ill, and a panel of Army doctors declared that he suffered from
238:
778:
363:
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228:
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901:
19:
This article is about the New York businessman known as the "Ice King". For the anarchist, see
846:"Morse Heads New Company — Metropolitan Steamship Lines Will Be Incorporated in Maine To-day"
780:
The Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York: Its History, Organization, Machinery and Methods
315:
1013:
1008:
983:"Charles W. Morse Dead. Ex-New Yorker, Who Controlled 13 Banks, Is a Victim of Pneumonia",
627:
340:
339:
Along with Augustus Heinze's brothers, Morse helped create a pool of money to drive up and
8:
925:. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1920. p. 1237. Retrieved on 18 January 2011.
908:. Washington DC: Government Printing Office. 1920. p. 1088. Retrieved on 18 January 2011.
412:
he was president of the United States Steamship Company, which was the parent company of
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List of people pardoned or granted clemency by the president of the United States
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On June 18, 1901 he married Clemence Dodge, a divorcee from Atlanta, at the
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164:. Charles was already involved in the shipping business while a student at
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373:, who would go on to create an eponymous fraudulent financial scheme, the
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157:
62:
256:
In 1902 Morse acquired control of both overnight steamboat lines on the
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390:
192:
He organized the Consolidated Ice Company in 1897 and went into the
923:
Hearings before Select Committee on U. S. Shipping Board Operations
906:
Hearings before Select Committee on U. S. Shipping Board Operations
745:
The Panic of 1907. Lessons Learned From the Market's Perfect Storm
747:, pp. 39-40. Hoboken, New Jersey: John Wiley & Sons, 2007.
402:
177:
544:, Vol. XIII, p. 239. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934.
452:
23:. For the Bostonian businessman known as the "Ice King", see
295:
and the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company in 1907.
687:, p. 97. Berkeley, California: Howell-North Books, 1968.
447:
On April 14, 1884, he married Hattie Bishop Hussey of
767:, pp. 182–183. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1960.
314:, who became president of Mercantile National, and
993:The Panic of 1907 and the Maine Man Who Caused It
1000:
776:
765:The Good Years. From 1900 to the First World War
508:. Associated Press. January 13, 1933. p. 15
203:that Morse had obtained special privileges from
520:
176:As his business interests grew, Morse moved to
557:She Captains: Heroines and Hellions of the Sea
946:, Vol. XIII, p. 241; Bruner and Carr, p. 183.
496:
494:
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354:Indicted by United States District Attorney
187:
1044:Recipients of American presidential pardons
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396:
151:
911:
894:
489:
442:
291:. He did, however, acquire control of the
40:
1034:People from Lakewood Township, New Jersey
739:
737:
620:The Life and Times of William Howard Taft
289:New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad
293:New York and Cuba Mail Steamship Company
651:
334:Consolidated Stock Exchange of New York
222:
1001:
770:
734:
553:
237:in Manhattan. The Morses lived at 724
467:at Bath, Maine, on January 12, 1933.
207:to run his business, and in exchange
995:, via New England Historical Society
560:. [Simon and Schuster. p. 304.
526:
743:Robert F. Bruner and Sean D. Carr,
13:
977:
14:
1060:
777:Armstrong Nelson, Samuel (1907),
310:. He became a close associate of
956:Dictionary of American Biography
944:Dictionary of American Biography
880:Dictionary of American Biography
612:Dictionary of American Biography
600:Dictionary of American Biography
588:Dictionary of American Biography
542:Dictionary of American Biography
332:By 1907, he was a member of the
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235:Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church
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644:details; it was illustrated in
201:New York Journal and Advertiser
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420:, and Morse borrowed from the
300:National Bank of North America
277:Metropolitan Steamship Company
275:Morse acquired control of the
253:Company, established in 1859.
1:
852:. October 11, 1909. p. 4
722:. February 7, 1907. p. 1
665:. January 8, 1904. p. 14
482:
306:and was a large owner of the
243:Lakewood Township, New Jersey
131:" early in his career out of
418:United States Shipping Board
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628:Farrar & Rinehart, Inc.
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422:Emergency Fleet Corporation
349:Knickerbocker Trust Company
304:New Amsterdam National Bank
10:
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325:
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1024:Businesspeople from Maine
882:, Vol. XIII, pp. 240–241.
590:, Vol. XIII, pp. 239–240.
171:
111:
103:
93:
85:
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39:
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891:Bruner and Carr, p. 183.
397:Later business interests
336:, one of around 13,000.
308:Mercantile National Bank
152:Early life and education
1029:People from Bath, Maine
443:Personal life and death
364:Eastern Steamship Lines
281:Clyde Steamship Company
272:, also built in 1904.)
229:Eastern Steamship Lines
1019:Bowdoin College alumni
835:Pringle, p.628 (1939).
107:Banker, businessperson
919:C. W. Morse Contracts
902:C. W. Morse Contracts
696:Hilton, pp. 120, 132.
614:, Vol. XIII, p. 240;
554:Druett, Joan (2000).
958:, Vol. XIII, p. 241.
381:who urged President
223:Shipping and banking
16:American businessman
989:, January 13, 1933.
826:Hilton, pp. 97, 99.
531:. pp. 189–200.
401:On his return from
383:William Howard Taft
241:, before moving to
125:Charles Wyman Morse
986:The New York Times
808:. January 31, 1908
683:George W. Hilton,
642:Romanesque Revival
602:Vol. XIII, p. 240.
529:Prices And Choices
451:(granddaughter of
449:Brooklyn, New York
379:Clarence W. Barron
312:F. Augustus Heinze
156:Morse was born in
112:Criminal charge(s)
753:978-0-470-15263-8
567:978-0-7432-1437-7
527:Hemenway, David.
414:Groton Iron Works
285:Long Island Sound
266:Bar Harbor, Maine
122:
121:
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1039:American bankers
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970:, July 26, 1926.
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387:Bright's disease
356:Henry L. Stimson
341:corner the stock
287:steamers of the
247:Samuel Untermyer
146:war profiteering
117:war profiteering
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73:January 12, 1933
59:October 21, 1856
58:
56:
44:
34:Charles W. Morse
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978:Further reading
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209:Robert Van Wyck
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188:The "Ice Trust"
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166:Bowdoin College
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98:Bowdoin College
94:Alma mater
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870:Hilton, p. 99.
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850:New York Times
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806:New York Times
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769:
756:
733:
720:New York Times
707:
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685:The Night Boat
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663:New York Times
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624:Vol. II, p.627
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506:New York Times
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217:Richard Croker
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180:and, in 1897,
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162:Kennebec River
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77:(aged 76)
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33:
25:Frederic Tudor
21:Chuck W. Morse
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104:Occupation(s)
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854:. Retrieved
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785:, retrieved
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724:. Retrieved
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667:. Retrieved
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573:December 17,
571:. Retrieved
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510:. Retrieved
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455:shipbuilder
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375:Ponzi scheme
368:
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316:E. R. Thomas
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258:Hudson River
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239:Fifth Avenue
232:
205:Tammany Hall
200:
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194:ice business
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137:Tammany Hall
128:
124:
123:
75:(1933-01-12)
1014:1933 deaths
1009:1856 births
787:February 6,
433:Fort Orange
410:World War I
158:Bath, Maine
148:and fraud.
86:Nationality
80:Bath, Maine
63:Bath, Maine
1003:Categories
483:References
429:C.W. Morse
270:J.T. Morse
268:, steamer
262:C.W. Morse
227:See also:
135:, through
55:1856-10-21
1049:Ice trade
465:pneumonia
391:Wiesbaden
856:22 April
812:22 April
726:22 April
669:22 April
630:, 1939).
512:22 April
471:See also
302:and the
129:Ice King
89:American
408:During
115:Fraud,
751:
564:
403:Europe
178:Boston
172:Career
453:Maine
968:Time
858:2017
814:2017
789:2017
749:ISBN
728:2017
671:2017
575:2008
562:ISBN
514:2017
70:Died
49:Born
921:".
904:".
431:to
343:of
1005::
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804:.
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718:.
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504:.
491:^
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211:(
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53:(
27:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
