Charles Morse, the Ice King
Mischief on the Ocean Liners Pt. 5
Last week, we examined ice harvesting, a once major industry, in An Obsolete Occupation: New England Ice Cutters and my grandpas. This week, we’re diving into the story of Charles Morse, who was such a significant player in this industry that he was known as the Ice King. After he’d achieved prosperity and fame, Morse ran into some trouble on an ocean liner, making him a perfect subject for this series, Mischief on the Ocean Liners.
The arrest of the Ice King
On February 8, 1908, the steamship Campania, which had departed from New York, landed in Liverpool, England. A passenger of the steamer, Charles Morse, aka “The Ice King,” was found by a newspaper correspondent in the smoke room of the ship playing cards.
The correspondent asked him, “why did you leave New York?”
Morse responded, “Oh, don’t mind that. I have rectified matters.” After this statement, Morse abruptly exited the smoke room and entered the corridor of the ship. The newspaper correspondent followed him and showed him clippings from New York showing information about his assets being seized by authorities. Morse responded that he had been in correspondence with New York and was confident that everything was resolved:
“I intend to return to America next week. When I get there I shall see that all things are settled justly. The bank will be reconstructed, after which I am sure, things will work out smoothly.”
Morse, however, did not return to America in a week. Once he landed in Liverpool, he read a telegram received from New York, and he returned immediately aboard the RMS Etruria of the Cunard Line.
Morse’s voyage on RMS Etruria
Contrary to his wishes, Morse returned to New York immediately on the RMS Etruria. Morse was arrested in his stateroom onboard. Once the ship reached quarantine, Morse was held in custody as the ship was docked. Then, he was whisked away in an automobile to the home of Supreme Court Justice Victor Dowling, who gave him bond in the sum of $20,000 in response to the charges of grand larceny. Morse was immediately released and returned to his home on Fifth Avenue where he gave a statement declaring his innocence.
The Crimes of the Ice King
Morse was born October 21, 1856, in Bath, Maine, to a father whose business was towing on the Kennebec River. Morse had an early inclination for mischief. When his father would pay him an amount to handle business, Morse would hire someone else to do the work and give them a lower amount than what his father paid him. Morse was involved in the shipping industry while attending college, and by the time he graduated, he had enough money to enter into a business with his father and cousin specializing in lumber and shipping ice.
You will remember in reading the post about the now defunct occupation of ice cutting that ice would be harvested in Northern areas of America for use around the country before modern refrigeration. Charles Morse of Bath, Maine, became a big player in the field of ice harvesting with his company the Consolidated Ice Company.
Morse bought up other ice harvesting companies using aggressive tactics and eventually was able, through a shady deal with the mayor of New York, Robert Van Wyck, and the political organization called Tammany Hall, to create monopoly over the ice business in New York. He used this position to make unjustified increases in ice prices that primarily affected the poorest in New York.
Morse would go on to grasp further holds in the shipping and banking industry, using similar tactics. In 1908, he and his associates caused financial panic across the country when they used their pool of money to drive up and corner the stock of United Copper. This corner failed and depositors in Morse’s banks began to pull out. He was forced by the New York Clearing House to resign from his position and in 1908 was indicted by the United States District Attorney for misappropriating funds from a bank. He would be sentenced to fifteen years in federal penitentiary.
The Infuriating Pardon
Morse would use his influence to push then President William Howard Taft to provide a pardon. Morse had many influential people sign the petition and also offered bribes for his freedom. Taft resisted the pleas of the influential individuals, but in 1912, he gave in when it was claimed by a panel of Army doctors that Morse would die if he did not get out of prison. After he was freed, Morse went to Germany for supposed medical treatment. However, it was later determined that Morse had faked his illness using a combination of soapsuds and chemicals in order to obtain the presidential pardon.
In an article titled “Taft Chagrined Over Morse Pardon” of the Commercial of Bangor, Maine, dated November 20, 1913, Taft was noted to state during a speech to students of the Hill school in Pottstown, Pa.:
“I had two cases once before me in which it was represented that both the convicts were near death. I instituted an investigation to find out the truth through the Army Medical corps. Examinations were made, watches were established over the sick men, and it was reported to me that they were both in the last stages of a fatal disease. One of them died soon after he was released from the penitentiary. The other is apparently in excellent health and seeking to re-establish himself in the world in which he committed a penitentiary offense. This shakes one’s faith in expert examination.”
The fate of the Ice King
With his newfound freedom, Morse would go on to commit more mischief in his steam ship business during World War I when he received emergency fleet funds to build transport ships for the war effort. He failed to carry through on many contracts for steamships for the war, instead using the funds to enhance his steamship yards. He was charged with profiteering and defrauding the United States as well as mail fraud for solicitations to buy stock related to this supposed ship building effort during World War I.
The efforts to bring Morse to justice this time faded out due to the fact that it came to light President Warren Harding’s attorney general had been involved in bribery related to Morse’s prior pardon and faked illness. Morse died of a stroke in 1933. The high school in Bath, Maine, Morse High School, still carries his namesake to this day.
The fate of the ocean liners
The Campania’s last passenger voyage occurred on September 26, 1914. She was to be scrapped but was salvaged in order to be used as a ship in World War I to transport military airplanes. Her sea trials for this purpose were done by the highest ranking officer to survive on the Titanic, Charles Lightoller. Only six days before the armistice was signed to end the war, on November 5, 1918, she sank after an accident involving high winds. She had completed her duties to the war effort.
The RMS Etruria career as a passenger ship ended soon after Morse’s voyage in 1908. On August 26, 1908, she crashed into a hopper on the Mersey River. Though she did not sink and the passengers were removed safely, she was docked and eventually ended up being sold and scrapped, making no further voyages. She can be seen in motion in a thirteen minute silent comedy film created in 1904 called The European Rest Cure about a man who has a series of misadventures while traveling to Europe that can be viewed for free on Youtube.
Thank you for reading this part of the series Mischief on the Ocean Liners.
Sources:
https://meandermaine.com/tale/the-ice-king/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_W._Morse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Campania
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RMS_Etruria
“Morse Returns Home At Once,” Elmira Star-Gazette, Elmira, New York, February 8, 1908.
“Morse Under Arrest,” Carlisle Evening Herald, Carlisle, Pennsylvania, February 17, 1908.
“Taft Chagrined Over Morse Pardon,” Commercial, Bangor, Maine, November 20, 1913.
A lot to dislike about Morse, but the fact that he misappropriated emergency funds during WWI after faking an illness to receive a medical pardon from President Taft, that's true villain energy.
Ps if anyone listened to this I may have butchered a couple words on here because some I just was not sure how they are pronounced (e.g. Etruria). Next time I will be sure to get that down beforehand, it was a busy week lol!