The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1871-06-23

ing that DIR. CarltNn had aided, years aSo, to
organize an oil company in the Concern, and,
by inference, used its funds therefor and that
the cashier, Mr.. Denham, was the brother-in-
law OF Mrs. Carlton, and therefore was inte-
rested in Withholding the truth and, lastly,
that the salary Of Mr.. Grant, the bookkeeper.
had been increased in 1870 by Dr. Carlton and
made retrospective for the previous year as q
reward for his opposition to DR.. Lanahau. In
this last position counsel failed altogether be-
cause the manner and the amount OF increase
of salary was made upon the recommendation
of the committee itself, and the retrospective
principle had been frequently applied to the
salaries of the agents and bishops, and OF
course had no force for the defence in Mr..
Grants case. 1t was not claimed nor ad-
mitted to be crime for the cashier to be So
nearly related by marriage to his employer
and in most cases it is rather benefit than an
injnry-and nothing could be made of that
fact for the defence. But it certainly did not
look well for DIR. Carlton to be engaged In oil
spcculations, and to carry them on in the Book
Concern while he held the responsible relation
VI oSCub w VIE OOuCcFu. DuL Hb tllcT0 Wd6
only inferential proof on this point it may or
may not be true. He did admit that he holds
an office in the city government of Elizabeth,
N. j., and is a director in bank and in an
insurance company also. The duties involved
10 holding those offices may not in the least
interfere with the supreme duty which DR..
Carlton owes to the Book Concern, and if they
do not he has, as we conceive, as good right
to hold them as any other citizen. But we
contend that if they do interfere he has no
right to retain them one day unless he resigns
his agency in the Concern.
The Doctor was shrewd enough, about the
beginning of the war, to purchase some real
estate in Elizabeth, which afterward, when
the rage for building lots in the vicinity Of
New York arose, he sold for good round
sum, and thereby put money in bis purse, and
on this fact it was sought to hang q suspicion
that he had used the funds of the Concern for
his own benefit; but there was no proof
offered on the point, and we all know how
easy it was to make fortune by real estate
operations few years ago, when, here in our
own midst, houses and lots ran up from one
hundred to three hundred per cent in value;
80 that there is no very great stretch Of
Imagination needed to understand how
shrewd business man like Dr. Carlton, who
for fifteen years has added to the capital stock
and profits of the Concern an annual average
Of seventy three thousand dollars, should also
be able to add few thousand to his
own personal income during the same period.
The 'ssteIn necessity" which, the defence
claimed, drove DR.. Lanahan to the civil courts
for redress, can Sardly be said, therefore, to
have existed under the circumstances, espe-
cially seeing that DR.. LaIahan was never re-
fused an application for personal examlna-
ton of the books; nor had he ever notified DR..
Carlton of his purpose to apply thus to the
courts from time previous to the committees
session in October, 1870, until the order to
show cause in the mandamus proceedings was
served upon him few weeks ago. Duty or
affection toward the Concern, it seems to us.
should have suggested different course. The
verdict of the committee will not be known,
probably, for several days, if not weeks, and
they will, we doubt not, for their own and the
Church's satisfaction, provide also for a tho
rough investigation of the business manage
ment of the Concern during DR.. Cartons
agency.