Weekly graphic. [volume] (Kirksville, Adair Co., Missouri) 1880-1949, 1881-01-21
Post. DISPATCH. Dem.

~.
credit of $l:;5Do. AID
cured by deed uf trust
on real estate. l'.5@ l3,'o M
One other rotc on Mobg-ly iS:,oo E'.oao 90
Total real value. Sl:'''l!'' 40
BY this fraud the company obtained
The credit o. having over S3Oo,ooo. when
they We're in an mSo!vent condition,
and had the commissioner not been I'M
posed upon they would have been clos
ed up.
Are you quite sure that this written
guarantee was given by MIR. Williams.
that these stocks would be returned:
Sure OF il, The original document
is in possession of clerk Selby. o.: the
United States circuit court, here in St
LOUIS. Mr.. Williams first stated that
he had signed no such document. and
subsequently admitted that he had
signed ii but had forgotten all about
ii. He claimed then that he did not
know what the nature OF the guarantee
was and that he had signed it in a hur-
~. He said that really he knew moth
ins about insurance and had left the
whole matter to Larrabee. Of course |
do not know anything about this: the
guarantee is there with his signature.
and have been told that this document
had a good deal to do with the defeat OF
Mr.. Williams congressional aspirations
m his district.
This whole matter VS. ventilated IN
court. was il not:
Certainly. | Sned the directors. as
The assignee of the company, to recover
the amount of these stocks i'raudulently
exhibited, but the courts decided that !
could not make them pay this money
back. The whole statement that | have.
made 10 you Tan he sustained by the
dispositions on file with the clerk by the
United States Circuit Court. Judge
Dillon summed the case up thus upon
the bench:
The case as stated in the bill and as
shown in the proofs. NAV be briefly
summarizedin this way The company
was not organized in fraud o. the law.
but was soon afterwards carried on by
tn. parties concerned. by the nlain men
concerned in il. in direct violation OF all
the requirements oftEc law statute, and
Of ali principles o!noneSty and far deal
ing. Ii WIS Il fraudulent concern. In
order to cover mp their condition. GER
tain OF the leading men connected with
itlid this. They borrowed temporarily.
OF rather procures. the temporary use
%, certain assets Irandulent!y- $4,000
OF what we're known rs Schuyler county
bonds: about s:;oGO1 known as Macon
county bonds. and certain other Securi-
>ieS. amounting III all %li1EO, more or
less. When = visit from ih- Insurance
Commissioner vas anticipated. these
leading men managing men went
to the owners OF these Schuyler and
Macon county londS and the owners of
this stock and said. We want 10 borrow
for temporary purpose: We vii re-
turn it to you: and the owner consent
ed TO this use OF ii.
The failure was bad one. was il
not
Il suppose the wors; that has ever
happened in the State: ii failed owing
S-Ja.0GO. OF this have been able 10
pay Just one and Il half per cent, and
no more will be paid. If | could have
compelled these men to pay back that
$4,000 which they falsely represented
that they owned to the commissioner.
it would have been so much for the I'M
fortunate creditors.
Post Dispatch,-Isn. Il.
The following. referring to the rec
ord of John F. Williams. is on file in
United States Court:
The record of the deposition of
John F. Williams, found in the care of
United States Circuit Clerk Selby
with the statement that John F VII |
liams VAS president of the North Mis-
sour Insurance company. He claims
to have paid no attention 10 its bust
ness. That he never had any knowl-
edge of the condition of the company
except as the secretary had told him.
He never had any knowlese or eXpe-
rience of insurance and hadnot acqui-
red any during his presidency. No
man in the company pretended to
have any knowledge of fire or marine
insurance except Mr.. Lanabee. l
signed the statement, made up on the
rst of January, 1873, without seeing it
either before or since. l know moth
ing of its contents. can't reccollect
whether | swore to it or not,
Following is the letter to which MIR.