Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1880-08-19
The "POOr Mans Friend"
Chicago Tribune.

The Cincinnati Commercial has fixed
upon VIM. II. English, the democrat can
didate for vice-president, the sobriquet of
''the poor mans friend" in a sense Of CON
tempt, from which that gentleman will
never be able to escape. A correspondent
of that Journal has written up in detail
the methods whereby English has accumu-
lated large part of his wealth This
occupied whole broadside of the paper,
and contains a succession of transactions
any one of which would have made Shy
lock green with envy.
To begin with, this indianapolis CORES
pondent prints a list Of suits for judgment
and foreclosure in which English was
plaintiff, and the mere record of which is
about as long as a mans arm. This is fol-
lowed by another list of Sherif7s deeds to
English. Then comes a third list of deeds
issued to English under decree of fore
closure, and finally another long list of tax
deeds from the city of indianapolis and
the auditor of Marion county. Altogether,
it is alleged that nearly 800 pieces of prop
erty have been thus gobbled up by the
"poor mans friend, who now asks the
support of the struggling masses to ele-
vate him to the second place in the ma
tion's honors. 1t is further stated that
when Mr.. English bought in the property
under foreclosure he rarely bid the full
amount of the note, but generally took an
additional judgment, after possessing him
self of the security, and held it over his
victim. The following is cited as a sam
pie case of his operations, told by Capt j.
Bieler, of indianapolis:
Some six years since purchased for 81 200 two
lots from James Frank, who had laid ont an ad-
ditiOn on land bought from VIM. II. English. I
knew Frank intimately, and had so much conf
dence in him that [ was careless about looking at
the abstract Of title, as he said all was right. !
paid part down, and altogether paid 81 600 and
then had a chance to sell the property to good ad
vantage. but the wOuld-be purchaser found that
English held first OF blanket" mortgage over
the whole addition. [ then went to him and asked
him to release 1t, Offering to pay extra my pro
rata of the mortgage, when he said he would not
do it. as the mortgage was not due until 1880 and
he would see about it then. This was in rs Or
II. In the meantime Frank had turned over to
him my last two notes and | told English that un-
less he released the mortgage 1 would not pay an
other cent, as he might me for any amount
he saw fit in 1880. He said l could do as / liked
and subsequently fOreclOsed ON the lots bid them
in himself, and secured an additional personal
judgment against me Of 81 900. When learned
this / went to his office and asked what / owed
81 900 for; that | had paid him 81 500, and that
he had the lots back, and what more could he
ask! He said what he asked was his money and
he proposed to have it, and that right away. l
then told him what L thought of his robbery, and
he ordered me out Of his Office. | had a small
harness shOpon Delaware street, and was com
PEELED to 90 into bankruptcy.
1t will not do for Mr.. English's friends,
if he has any, to answer that he did moth
ing in these cases except what he had
legal right to do. ShyIock had legal
right to his pound of flesh, but he was
taught that it would be dangerous for him
to take iot more, or to shed blood In the
operation. The fact is that English,
rich man, oppressed unfortunate debtors
Systematically during the period of de-
preston following the panic, and discov-
cred to all who had any knowledge of him
or his processes that he was man without
sympathy or compassion for the poor and
the unfortunate. He not merely stripped
his debtors of the security they had pledged
him, but took advantage of the hard times
to involve them beyond the security on
which he relied. To call such a person
the ''poor mans friend" is travesty that
will go from one end of this continent to
the other