The Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1877-1885, 1881-01-29
A Queer Settlement.
paYenport pemocrat.

the north store of the Davis block o
Brady street the nighto December 3ls
Iast gave rise to great deal of talk and 9
grave suspicious of incendiarism at til,
time. it will be remembered. DIR. q. s
Bradford, who ran the millinery and notiol
store thus burned out, held polisies in th
Hartford and New Hampshire companie
for 5000 on goods in the former. an,
800 on eases and $500 on goods in tn
latter, q total of 81, 100. He stated to tn,
in surance agents after the fire. that good
to the amount of $500 or $1,000 wer'
destroyed 10 the store, and that the mr.
was severe blow TO him.
Now. then. Mr. Bradferd's insurance
business With the Ha rtford company
represented by Hsrtwel Il Bemii
was settled Thursday and in Z
very queer way Mr.. T. E Bissell, the
special agent for the Hartford had beer
paying a good deal of attention to that fire
of late. and yesterday he called on Mr.,
Bradford at the la.ter's home. and took
down his itsmized statement az to his bus
mess and loss. To him Mr.. Bradford
claimed that be commenced in the store
with $500 worth of goods. and that hi:
total sales 10 the i've months he was il
business there amounted 10 but $l55; thai
one week he sold at the rate OF s. pei
day. but the rest OF the time he made few
saies somHtimes not ten cents worth q
dav. Sc he made out he had nearly $500
worth of goods in the store. He alse
stated that he left the store at halt past
9 o'clock the night of the FIRE. The state
msuts of his amount OF goods aud ii.
business he did was very different from hi.
assertions to Capt. Crane, agent Of the
New Hampshire company ouiy few days
ago. when he said he had ia adc an invoiced
account of bis stock. aud rea ehs3 to about
81 500. cases Included,
After Mr.. Bradford had made hi
statement to Mr.. Bi~seit he went befers
Justice Snyder aud swore 20 the correct
0ess of it. including the assertion o. the
tune he left the store tho night OF the fire
Taen sage Mr. Bissen to him. II be
iieve some things in your statement are
true. but in other matters you have utter.
ed uutruths You offered. Just before
the fre. to sell I you stock TO,
$500 worth or for land that
amount; you didn't have $500 worth
of goods in the store and you know it.
You say you left that store at bali past
o'ciock-you didn't leave it until nearly !
O'Clock. and you hadn't reached distance
of FIVE blocks, much less twenty blocks and
got into your home and bed in time to fall
asleep, before the alarm was given. Who
told you that?' gasped Mr., Bradford
Never mind" said Mr. Bissell. "these:are
facts and you can't deny them" And Nh.
Bradford didn't deny them. Instead of
putting ON bold front, and claiming his
rights as an insured party. he received the
$1,000 he had paid Ar. HsrtwelI a. pre-
MUM on his policy. and went away.
And this is the manner in which MIR
Bradford's insurance with the Hartford
company was settled. Now comes the
turn Of the New Hampshire compauy-his
policy in that company has been rendered
yoid, it is claimed. by his taking out addi-
tional insurance two days before the ERE
without notifying Captain Crane. How
ever this may be. Mr.. Rradford's settle
ment with the Hartford folks but increas-
es the talk as to the origin Of the Ere in
building in which numerous persons wsrs
sleeping over head-to say nothing Of six
business houses on the first floor, for the
property sinks into irsigniGcance in com
parison with the human life endangered.