The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1889-07-31
HALLS BUSINESS TROUBLES
Contracts for Houses Conveyed to His
Brother-in-Law by Power of Attorney.
Bills for Lumber and Material and Wages of
Workmen Involved-He Has Left the
City Until His Affairs Are Adjusted.

left the city for time, his friends say, I'M
til his business affairs, which have become
embarrassed, can be adjusted. From this
the report arose yesterday that through his
going away a large number of men in his
employ were without their wages, and that
quite an amount of money had been col
lected by him from those for whom he was
building houses. While he was successful
in getting contracts, and until recently
equally successful in fulfilling them. the
extent of his operations is not as large, 1T IS
said by his friends, as was at first
represented in the rumors concerning
his embarrassments. He was assisted In
business by Milton Gregg. his brother-in-
law. The first named now has power
of attorney to act for Hall In COM
pleting the contracts on hand, and it
is the assurance given by those who know
about the contractors affairs that the
workmen will be paid. Some time ago Mr..
Hall had a contract, one of fifteen or twen-
ty, to build house on Hadley avenue
The man for whom the house
was built failed to receive the money from
a building association at the time he ex-
pected, and this left the contractor In debt
for short time to the sub-contractors.
'sThe trouble began then," said one of his
friends last night, land the men harassed
Hall until il seemed as if he would go
crazy. But that matter was adjusted:
He had up to the time OF
his leaving only SIX houses under cOnstrnc-
ton, two in Woodruff Place, and four in
different parts of the city. He had aoont
seventy five men employed. and some OF
them know he paid Saturday, but with
others he is in arrears simply because he
has failed to get money from those Tor
whom he was doing work: lie got S3oO
from one of these men and know that ne
paid $3.50 or S275 out at once" j.
ut is said" the reporter remarked, that
the number of men employed by Hall was
49,"
THAT can't be, for the most of his work
has been completed, and in the houses I'M
der contract there cannot be more than
seventy-tive men employed"
Mr.. Hal" said L. II. Eldridge, per
haps took contracts at too low figure.
But he told me that what he would ap-
parently lose by the lowness of contract
good by better figures on other houses His
contracts ranged from S1,700 to $3.50, but
now and then he would have one involving
greater amount of money. For instance
he has just completed a house on College
avenue for s. OO0 was at first inclined to
large figure, but l was told, to-day. and
believe it, that he did not have more than
S75 with him when he left the
city, Our firm sold him ma
he has under construction, and altogether
we have done business to considerable
amount with HIM. To-day we notified
those for whom Hall was doing the work OF
our purpose to hold liens against the prop
erty for the material furnished. The work
ha rod hU liens
hence will lose nothing"
l.. III. Gage, No. 231 College avenue, will
be a loser by Mr.. Halls disappearance. He
made contract with him to build the
Gently moved, but his business methods
were soon discovered to be unsatisfactory.
mir. Halls work was good" said Mr.. Gage
last night, $50 far as it went, but he flnally
left me in the lurch financially. He carried
network up to about three weeks before
this house was completed, ard then he re-
fused to pay the men. There were three
carpenters and about five painters at work
then, as near as l can remember, and L was
compelled to pay all of them to complete
the Job which Mr.. Hall had contracted for. "
Did Mr.. Hall ever settle with youW
mot for those three weeks. l was I'M
willing to have any bills standing against
the house and l paid them. Mr.. Hall bad
one or two partial settlements with me. but
he never paid his men for those three
weeks"
How did your accounts stand when you
had your last settlement"
II had. in the first place. paid him more
than he deserved for the work he did for
me. When we last came together tor set
Element, he had receipts with him for all
of this amount, as having been paid out,
except $500, OF nearly that. At the time he
sairi Re had the rest of the receipts at his
home, but never saw them. was To meet
him yesterday, and he agreed ~ come to
Hoe hut he INF IN r.
ance all day. have been in CINCINNATI to-
day, and didn't hear of Mr.. Halls disap:
pearance until L arrived tonight and
hence do not care to disclose all know
until see Mr.. Gregg, who has some valu-
able papers in his possession which concern
my relations with Hail."
w. j. Roach, the lumber-dealer. in reply
to a reporters inquiries, last evenSng
stated that he knew nothing of the causes
which led to Halls embarrassment, but
thought that his liabilities could not ht
very extensive. The Roach yard hao
furnished lumber for several houses which
Hall was building. and the books showed
that the unpaid bills for such material were
between $500 and $1,000, but he though
he should lose nothing, as the mechanics
lien law gave him sixty days in which to
file his claim against the property In which
the material was used. Hall was
an active and extensive contractor, and
had perhaps. at one time. fifteen or sixteen
houses under construction in the city, but
he knew nothing of his operations with the
exception of half a dozen houses on the
North Side, including w. V. Rockers new
house on Broadway, Frank Richardson
house. on Ash street. and q. 5. Stevenson's
anu Mr. Browns residences In Woodruff
Place 1t was likely there was not much
on these unpaid, with the exception of the
lumber bills: the brick work, masonry,
clustering and plumbing being probably
paid up. Mr.. Halls plumbing contracts
were given to his father-in-law, Mr.. Tim
mons, and were probably provided for.
What he owes to other Iulnber-dealers, Mr
Roach could not state.
ID. A. Myers, who is the attorney of the
College-avenue Saving and Loan AssOcia.
ton. said the association was inter
ested in a residence which Hall was
building for Mrs. A. J. Gardiner
one of their members, at the corner OF
Thirteenth and Meridian streets. but woulC
lose nothing. it being the custom of the
association to hold back it's loans. and only
gressed. In the case of the house in gues
ceeded the payments made him by several
hundred dollars.
From other parties in the neighborhood
of Halls residence, it was learned
that he was an energetic. worker
with tendency to spread himself
over too much ground. and that he was
handicapped further by too free use o.
liquor. One of his neighbors stated that
this habit was the cause of his present al
sence from the city, and he. with his wife
is now at his brothers place in Illinois. and
would be back soon. But it is said by
others near TO Hall that he went