The daily gazette., 1880-05-15
SECOND EDITION
From the Philadelphia Press, Friday.
The Fool Fishers.
HEIRS OF THE SPRINGER ESTATE
swINDLED TO THE TUNE OF
$1,000 BY A MYTHICAL LAW

HEIRS OF THE SPRINGER ESTATE
swINDLED TO THE TUNE OF
$4,000 BY A MYTHICAL LAW
FIRM.
Among the few noted estates that
has occupied the attention of the
public during the past few years is
the Springer property, involving real
estate in various large cities in this
country, including Philadelphia, and
which is valued at about twenty mill
lion dollars. Several meetings of a
number of the heirs to this inherit
ance has been held in New York and
st. Louis for the purpose of bringing
about an agreement among them
looking toward a settlement Of the
estate. At neither of these meet
ings, however, could a satisfactory
conclusions be reached, and until re-
Gently the matter has remained in
statue quo. The cause that brings
the subject before the public again is
quite a successful attempt to obtain
money from the heirs upon what is
proven to be a false representation
of another meeting extensively ad-
vertised to be held in this city yester-
day. The advertisement, which ap-
peared in various New York and
Western papers, among them being
the Utica Herald and Syracuse Stand
ard, reads as follows:
GA meeting Of the heirs of the
Springer estate will be held in the
city Of Philadelphia, Pa, on the 18th
day of May, 1880, for the purpose of
arriving at a final agreement. ALL
persons interested are requested to
communicate at once with j. M.
Comstock, Oswego, N. Y"
At the Continental Hotel and
Girard House yesterday number of
the claimants were found anxiously
inquiring for information relative to
the advertised conference. Their
efforts to find the place of meeting
were unsuccessful, and before night
they were thoroughly satisfied that a
fraud had been perpetrated upon
them.
Among the claimants was lawyer
from Rome, N. Y, who represented
a large number of the heirs from his
section of the State. In the course
of an interview with a Press reporter
he SAID that his clients in this case
had answered the advertisement in
question, and in response received
letters from one Benjamin l.. King
of Philadelphia signed as the law
firm of King, Morris & Borie, No.
524 Walnut street. The communi-
cations were upon letter-head paper
of the firm, and with plausible
story represented that it would be
necessary for all heirs to establish
their heirship to the estate, and with
this remit to an expense fund from
1875 to 500, according to the extent
of their claims. The law firm in
this way were successful in realizing
at least $4,000.
In all cases, after the funds were
remitted to the firm, the parties re-
ceived no further particulars of the
proposed meeting which aroused
suspicion, and in consequence but
few of these people came tie Phil
adelphia yesterday, and those prin-
clpally representative of the heirs.
The law firm of King, Morris &
Borie, of course, was the first object
of visit, but if the representatives
of the heirs entertained any hopes
that had not been deceived these
speedily vanished when they arrived
at No. 524 Walnut street and dis
coverd that for at least eighty years
no such firm had been located there.
Nothing remained now but to return
to their homes.
The precise amount of money that
that this enterprising law establish
ment obtained by this means it is