, 1875-01-10

left here" but very seldom was any
one in the shanty who represented the
Company, or could give any information
as to it's condition. For months less MAS known
OF the probable value Of policies in this Company
than Of those in any other OF the bankrupt
companies, while Fuller himself found it conEe-
curious creditors could not annoy him.
Finally report gained gruund-though where
it originated could not be known-that the
Knickerboker ought to pay 40 to 10 Or 10 cents
on the dollar. At the same time quiet demand
was mada for policies which had been, proved up.
and it IVES known that Fuller, or some one for
him, WIS
BUYING Up TIE CLAIMS.
Several p1rties-apparently on their own TO-
pons;biiitv-bought claims, and even Full
ter's attorneys, Grant 4 Swift, have recently
bought At least one policy openly , TOR
and costs Of suit to the unlucky policy-holder,
who. having waited over three years to zee if he
could not obtain something more than the pre-
miums paid on his policy, WAS ut last compelled
By the " How-not-to-do-it" plan to sell at last
A committee VAS formed after the fire to SEQ
Also whiting two years and over. settled, through
their attorneys, claims amounting to about
els 600 At 20 cents on the dollar The same per-
centase WAS paid to
PAGE spnAGuE,
who fled bill against the Company in Decem-
ter, 1872.
This case, which 1t Was Ut one time expected
would be the means of winding up the Company
and placing it in the hands Of \ Receiver. was
begun by Page It Sprague in the Circuit Court,
eever&l other parties afterWard coming In on
supplemental petitions against the Company,
Henry Fuller, George ". Fuller, Jesse McAlis-
tor, Henry Il. Blake, Phillip y. qun!an; Charles
J. Martin, and Hickman E. Burlington. 1t
claimed that uil these defendants were stock
holders, Fuller being President. also, McAllister
Fice- President; Fuller'sson, George, Treasurer;
aud lis sonin-law. Blake. Scc1etary. Fuller
owned $3.50 600 OF the $500 900 Of stock, taa bal
ance being held By the others.
The bill then charged that the Company vos in
solvent; that its officers were conceallng its as
sets; that lts osscs claimed by its officers to be
oycr 81, ,00o, 900 we're not but about SOU, ,u0o It
WAS also charged TINT the Company had no yisi-
bic assets which could be taken On execution,
snd that the only means Of gaining redress was
through o court OF equity. The bankruptcy pro-
ceodinss were alleged to have been begun by
colluslou with the officers Of the Company,
and appeals taken merely to gain time. Other
allegations Of like character wero made,
Receiver be- appointed to take charge Of the
Company's affairs, collect the debts due from
stockholders OF other parties, and distribute the
assets to the policy-holders.
To understand the further proceedings it will
be necessary now to 60 back to January, 18t1,
when
4 ApE11Iov N BANKRUPTCY
Was filed bv Gardner r. Comstock against the
Company, alleging that preferential payment
OF $i0 had been made on the I'd OF January to
Charles 4. Sperry, aud another payment OF 81
to J. r. Gore on the day following Other cred
itors filed supplemental petitions, trial was
had, and the Company adjudicated bankrupt
Tn
Judge DFummond, who refused to hear
it, and it was appealed to the United States Su-
pEcme Court, where the decision vas refused, on
q legal poiat, and the Case remAnded. Judge
lrummond then heard it, and reversed tho &C.
cislon of the District Court, holding that. the
preferential acts chsrged, which the Company
claimed were only rebates OF premium: weao not
sufficient acts Of bankruptcy. but with leave to
amend the petition Tnis is the condition OF the
bankruptcy proceedings at present. The time
limited by the Bankruptcy act has elapsed. and
no nov proceedings can be commenced, nor even
can the old charges be amended SO that VIZ
tuallY the petition has been dismissed Subse-
auent to this order the attorneys for P&ge d
Sprague discovered that no answer bad ever
been filed in the cnse in the Criminal Court,
though commenced two years before.
They, therefore, Immediately
TOOK DEFAULT
and reference to q Master, proved up the claims
Of the compl4inants, and entered decree, ind
ing the amount Of their Claims. and appointing
George Chandler IS Receiver. When this adroit
fank movement was discovered the next day by
being published iu the daily papers. thera was
Consideration in the enemy's camp Fu1lers at
torneys Immediately made q motion to set aside
the decree, and fled several afhdav1ts to sho1
that they 4ad ha aaa 9esn Was 5oa,xas
refused to cntertain the motion. and
an appeal was taken Last summer, the pro-
ceedings we're dropped, and the bill dismlssed
This was the result Of
COMPROMISE.
Fuller'a attorneys werD authorized to offer 20
per cent and the paa ties, tired OF q protracted
means for compelling the hnickerboc8er 1nsur-
anoo Company to pay its just debts.
As has been said, no answer Was filed in time
bv the Company or Fuller, but some day during
the progress of The case, and probably about the
time the motion to set aside the default VAS
made, lengthy document, purporting to be
TILE ASswEn OF FULLER
and the Company, was placed among the papers
in the suit by Grant and Swift. It, however,
has no mark of the date Of filing, or Of the
Clerks signature. This remarkable document
of eighty-three pages is one of tle most adroitly
drawn legal papers that can Ike found in any
case, and as it has never been published, liberal
extracts are given here. After setting out the
organization Of the Company, Fuller eaye in the
answer that he has always been considered
6EOCk1OtQcI u BAIL COIPOIAA4oA. %aou6n3 1c Ill
actual matter Of fact, he never subscribed to any
of it's stock, nor had any Of its stock issued to
him. or to soy other person for him." Il is
denied that Jease McAllister ever had
any stock. George IT. Fuller and Henry H.
Blake subscribed for ten shares OF stock each,
but no stock Was ever issued to them. Further
more Fuller claims that ''no certificates Of stock
vera ever issued by said Company to any. per-
sons whatever, save two certificates each for
one share Of 9100 that said Henry Fuller was
regarded as entitled to 1,470 shares of stock,
although he never did subscribe for the came ;
that Abel French Was regarded IS entitled to
1.360 shares, though mono Was ever issued to
said French; that SO much OF tho balance Of
said stock - was subscribed for was
subscribed for By the following parties
James 6eayer, o. 3. Davis, John
Young. aud George ". Cobb, and other
persons whose names these defendants are now
unable to give, but none Of said stock of said
Company was ever issued to them, or either Of
them. or to any person in their behalf" Fuller
then alleges that at the time OF the fire the Com
psny had risks amounting to nearly 81 800, 600.
~