162 Iowa 231 | Iowa | 1913
The accused was employed as manager of the Farmers’ Elevator Company of Thor, April 15, 1912, and continued as such until July 11th following. The company’s business was “to buy, sell, and deal in all kinds of farm products, poultry, coal, flour, mill stuffs, binding twine, and all kinds of farm machinery, stone, brick, and all kinds of fencing and building material, to deal in grain, seeds, cattle, swine, sheep,” etc., but not in options or futures, nor to buy or sell grains on the board of trade in Chicago. It was incorporated and did its business through the Thor Savings Bank, in which the manager was to deposit its funds, and on which he was authorized to draw checks. He is charged with
The controlling inquiry, then, is whether the defendant appropriated the company’s funds to the purchase of options, or merely issued the checks thereon as a matter of convenience, he then having for it funds to replace those checked out. The court evidently found the latter to be the true situation, else a verdict might not have been directed. The evidence disclosed that defendant, when arrested had checks and currency in his possession amounting to more than $780, and enough to balance his account with the company. There were three checks, two of which were, received the day before, one for a car of oats, $310, and another for $408.75, received from Harper & Ward, and had been noted in the cashbook of the company on July 10th. The other was for $28.75, the date of which does not appear, and the currency may have been received that day. It is apparent, then, that there was money on hand other than the company’s, and appearing on its books, more than sufficient to cover the check of $228.50 issued to Amorson, and therefore doing so was not a conversion of defendant’s funds.
On July 8th, Amorson delivered a cheek of $302.20 issued by Kirketheim, which was deposited to the company’s credit. This was a little more than enough to cover the check issued to Harper & Ward in payment of the option of 15,000 bushels of July oats, and therefore obviated any possible conclusion
There was no room for mistake in thinking enough was on hand belonging to* himself thereby to cover the amounts, and the circumstance, if true, that he was acting as the agent of Amorson and Tokheim can make no difference. State v. Bryan, 40 Iowa, 379; 15 Cyc. 495; State v. Pingel, 128 Iowa, 515; Bowman v. Brown, 52 Iowa, 437.
We are of opinion that the court erred in not submitting the cause to the jury and in directing a verdict of not guilty. The ruling is reversed as erroneous, but as the appeal is by the state, the cause is not remanded. — Reversed.