The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1872-06-02
The Book Concern Troubles Settled

The Methodist Book Concern troubles,
which have been before the Church and the
country in one form or another for the last
three and half years, have been settled, and,
probably, in the manner most satisfactory and
just to all the parties concerned. Two COM
mittees of the General Conference have had
the subject under consideration, one to investi-
gate the allegations Of fraud and mismanage-
ment, and one to legislate for the protection of
| the Concern against such frauds in future.
The committee which investigated the affairs
of the Concern did not go beyond the records
named in the several accusations made by DR..
John Lanahan, the assistant agent, and by the
minority Of the Book Committee Nor
could they very well go further in the
brief time allotted to them. After all that
had been written and printed and said about
the Concern during the past few years. and
after the very long and laborious investiga-
tons made by two experts and by the Book
Committee, the special investigating commit
tee might well be excused had they concluded
that all the testimony that could be taken was
then in But their elaborate report shows that
= they looked beyond and back of all this testi-
mony and examined persons and papers for their
own information. The committee was COM
posed Of shrewd business men, and included
lawyers, bookkeepers merchants and minis
tiers, who were as free from bias in this matter
as any intelligent class Of Methodists could
well be on subject of such vital Importance
to the whole Church.
The committee had their work in some
sense classified and laid out for them. Dr.
Lanahan cumulated his allegations, charges
and suspicious into twenty Statements and
proof" The Book Committee, majority and
minority, had also formulated their investiga-
tons and conclusions into questions and
answers readily comprehended and remem-
bered. The committee took all those state
ments and findings and formulated them in
the same manner into series of questions
around which the evidence should gather.
After three weeks patient search through
volumes Of accounts and cash books exhibits
and reports, the committee unanimously came
to the following conclusions: That frauds had
not been practised in the printing department
by which the Book Concern has sustained loss
This exonerates Mr.. S. j. Goodenough, who
has been charged by DR.. Lanahan with such
fraudulent practices, and for which assertion
he has sued the Doctor. The committee find
that the business of the Concern was so badly
managed that losses might be, and have been
sustained, but they are not of such magnitude
as to endanger the fnancial strength of the
Concern or to materially impair its capital
Those frauds could have been pre-
vented, however by the enforcement
of more thorough business methods.
The present methods Of account and modes
of conducting the business the committee
think, are such as to insure reasonable and
ordinary protection against frauds and irregu-
larities. And finally, they say there are no
reasonable grounds to presume that any agent
or assistant agent is or has been implicated or
interested in any frauds that may have been
practised on the Concern, and that the reports
of the agents to the General Conference exhibit
fairly the assets and liabilities of the Concern.
1t will be remembered that DR.. Lanahan took
issue with Messrs. Carlton and Thomas ON this
last point, and withdrew his signature from
their report on the ground that it contained
false and fraudulent statements.
The committee qualify their condemnation
Of the management Of the Concern by stating
that while the business entries of the years 1862
and 1864 are totally inexcusable as specimens
of account, and also the bindery and periodical
account for 1861, the losses by fraud
occurred in the manufacturing department,
and chiefly, if not wholly, in the
bindery. The business transaction of pur-
chasing paper through the son of the
former assistant agent the committee very