New national era. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1870-1874, 1873-02-27
Judge Nelley's Case.
His Relations and Deslings with OAkes
Ames-A Full Report Of HIS Statement.

HI. Relation. and Dealing. with O~ks.
Ames-A Full Report of Hts Statement.
In the course of Judge Kelley's first exam
nation before the Poland committee, the
question was put to the Judge which ELECTED
somewhat extended answer, which the re-
porter condensed into the following para
graph:
The witness here stated in detail the cir
cumstances of his own financial embarrass-
ment, extending through several years of
time, in which, but for the indulgence of
friends in permitting interest to run into
principal, he must have been stripped of all
his property.
Thinking that it might have more signif-
canoe than he had attached to it, he has since
written out his notes in full. The question
related to the loan of one thousand dollars
from Mr.. Ames. 1t was put by Mr.. Niblack,
and was as follows: 'Ict me ask, inasmuch
as this loan has not been paid, whether it is
your habit to allow loans to run for that
length of time without any settlement 2"
To which Judge Kelley answered:
81 am very much obliged to you for asking
that question. When l was elected to Con-
gress l believed myself to be in very easy
circumstances. L soon found myself in ex-
IRENE embarrassment, arising from three
causes. One was that had invested large
amount of my past earnings in building lots
within the limits Of triangular lot of land,
bounded by Lancaster and Westminster ave.
nues, and what is now Forty-frst street Of
the city of Philadelphia, every foot of which
fronted on a fifty feet street, and which had
back outlet on an intermediate street
The city authorities, almost CONFIDENTLY with
my later purchases, changed the plan of
streets through that ground by discarding
Lancaster avenue as base line, and adopt
ing new streets on rectangular lines confor-
mably to the general plan of the CITY. The
result Of this was that the greater part of my
working capital was practically blotted out
Of existence, as until the city should open
the new streets it had laid out could not
use foot of the ground referred to; could
not even mortgage my property, fronting as
it did on the old streets, or use it in any way
till the city should open the Others If I
proposed to sell at any rate or on any terms
the answer was, 81 do not want to buy into
lawsuit with the CITY,"
Another cause was that had undertaken
to endorse for friend to the amount of two
thousand five hundred dollars, who would
bring me new notes to provide for renewals,
and to whom / entrusted the destruction of
the old ones without doubling his good faith,
till found myself an endorser to the amount
Of between eleven and twelve thousand dol
lars Of paper. l did not make this discovery
tilhmen who are in the habit of shaving at y
and . per cent. a month came to me with the
protested paper. My friend and colleague,
the Hon. Leonard Myers, was compelled, as
counsel, reluctantly to press me on some Of
these notes. To meet some of them had to
mortgage some Of my property, and on others
to confess judgment and obtain stay of exc
cution. Thus all my real estate, whether
within the triangular lot or elsewhere, was
bound up by encumbrances.
"Then, again. / was q member of Con-
gress, the pay being $4,000 year; the war
was upon us; regiments were to be raised,
campaigns to be carried out, and as l had q
voice l was made to traverse the country as
speaker, when, in view Of my pecuniary
condition, should have been in the courts
trying causes.
Since 1862 have received no professional
fee, so that instead of erecting buildings for
sale, and the Improvement Of other parts of
my property, as had been doing, had to
provide for my family by the sale, subject to
the mortgages had put upon them, of every
building l owned except the one l lived in.
The point Of all this is, that would have
been reduced to bankruptcy and made home
less, but that friends who believed in nv in
tegrity and the ultimate value of my pro-
perty, made me large loans without recurring
regular payments of interest, oftentimes per-
hitting it to run for years, or until could,
by the sale of property or otherwise, get
funds with which to make a payment When
my friend John r. McCurdy died, his execu-
tor, Joshua IL. Morris, Esq, found that l
owed his estate thrty-flve thousand dollars.
a considerable portion of which was accrued
interest. From 1868 to the present time
have held on to my property BY the indul-
gence OF friends, and could not have done it
had not enjoyed this measure of credit with
those who knew me, and believed in the in
tegrity Of my character and the ultimate value
Of my property.
During the last two or three wears the
condition OF my affairs has improved very
considerably, because / have sold over FORTY
thousand dollars of property. The city has
also opened streets, paying me damages to
tue amount OF about ten thousand dollars. |
have thus been enabled to extinguish almost
an the lhcunbrances except a mortgage for
twenty thousand dollars on nv home and the
lot appurtenant thereto.
As an Illustration Of my familiarity with
neglected interest on loans from friends. |
may mention that in the latter part Of Nav
or early IN June last | paid the firm of A. G.
Cattell 4 Co. one thousand dollars ON ac.
count Of loan Of seven hundred and fifty
dollars, and gave them note for the bal.
ance, the original claim having been long
outlawed and the rate of interest having been
computed ut but six per cent.
''Among the gentlemen who know NV
affairs most thoroughly are Hon. Henry NJ.
Phillips, a predecessor Of mine in Congress
and Mr.. Joseph Patterson, the President OF
the Western Bank, with whom l have en-.
joyed intimate relations from my earliest
childhood, each of whom ! am now largely
indebted to, and each of whom has, at
times, permitted the interest due him to pass
into principal so that the fact that did not
promptly repay Cakes Amcs, who is the re-
pnted owner of millions of dollars, the loan
OF thousand dollars, or keep the interest
account precisely square, will not be regarded
as remarkable by my intimate friends or those
who are familiar with tho Yernrds nf iu1o-