New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1889-08-08

EBEN 5. ALLEN. OF THE FORTY.sECOND STREET
AND GRAND STREET FERRY RAILROAD COM.
PANY coNFEssEs HIS DIsHoNEsTY-HE
MANUFACTURED FRAUDULENT GER
TIFICATEs-OvER 100000 STOLEN
THE OLD STORY OF "BoR.
ROWING MONEY" FOR
INVESTMENT.
| Officers Of the Fortv-second Street and Grand
Street Ferry Railroad Company on Tuesday made
the startling discovery that Eben S. Allen. the
president OF the company, had been issuing fraudu
lent certificates of stock TO the amount of many
thousands of dollars. The arrest OF the dishonest
president quickly followed the discovery, and Allen
IS now prisoner at Police Headquarters. He
has confessed that he began TO manufacture bogus
STOCK several years ago and placed the certificates
IN the keeping of banks as securities for loans.
HIS failure to pay the interest on the loans re-
suited recently in the sale Of some Of the bogus
STOCK. George III. Prentice, a broker at No. AT
Wllam-st, sold the stock, but the purchaser stipu-
lated that the certificates, which apparently had
been issued TO several persons, should be trans
ierred to him in his own name. Mr.. Prentice
went TO the office OF the railroad company, at No
COB West Forty-second-st., on Tuesday to have
the stock transferred to the purchaser. Presi-
dent Allen was not III the office at
the time or the discovery of his guilt
might have been delayed. Ralph j. Jacobs, 1r.,
treasurer Of the company, looked at the books and
saw that the certificates held by Mr. Prentice, the
broker were fraudulent. as they bore the num-
bers of certificates which belonged to other per-
sons. little investigation made Aliens dis
honesty plain
Hastily calling together some OF the other
directors Of the company, Mr.. Jacobs informed
them of his discovery. 1t was not known at the
time how much Of the fraudulent stock had been
manufactured by Allen or to what extent the COM
pany was liable and the directors were both as
tonished and frightened. They went to Police
Headquarters and held consultation with
Chief Inspector Byrnes. He advised the
prompt arrest of Allen, who by
that time was at his desk in the cOmpanys Office.
unaware that his crime had been brought to light
DetectiveSergeant Rogers was sent to the office
to arrest Allen, and the prisoner was locked up
a suspicious person. Yesterday morning he was
taken to a police-court and remanded into the
custody of Inspector Byrnes until to-day After
ward meeting of the directors OF his company
was called at the Hotel Metropole, in Broadway.
near Porty.second-st There were present Treas
urer Jacobs, Secretary c. p Emmons, George q.
Mitchell George Greene, NJ. Feuchtwanger George
IL. Heinrich and John NJ. Calhoun. Allen was
voted out of Office and Mr.. Greene was elected
actlng-presdent.
SOME or TIE BOGUS CERTI IFICATES.
Mr.. Prentice consulted with the directors, and
bv his aid they learned where $50 fraudulent
certificates Of stock had been placed by Allen.
In was said that the capital stock Of the company
vvas s750 600. and each one of the 1900 shares
were held by persons who did not wish to sell
them A certificate, the nominal value OF Whlch
is 500, is held to be worth about S265, Oh ac-
count of the large earnings OF the railroad 1he
directors thought that if many duplicates OF the
genuine certificates had been hypothecated Dy
Allen it was surprising that none of the holders
Of bogus stock had not called on the company for
their supposed earnings
In the afternoon the directors saw Allen IN the
rrescpce Of Inspector Byrnes at Headquarters,
and Allen made statement OF his dishonest trahs'
actions. IL was the old story of stealing money
with the idea that it was only borrowed, 10 DC
repaid at q convenient time. Allen said he began
10 manufacture the bogus stock about SIX years
ago when he was the companys treasurer and the
late Charles Curtis was president OF the company.
Al that time, Allen said, he was interested in an
iron mdUuldClOflJ anu D'N"AhC uOJN''iA'NN '''N
man who had invented patent iire-escape, which
could be used for drying clothes on the roofs OF
houses. He undertook the manufacture and sale
of the patent Greescape, believing that there
WIS a fortune in it, Inspector EsterbroOk, OF the
Buildings Bureau, refused to sanction the use
Of the fre.escapes on buildings in this city, and
afterwardy Superintendent DOench took the same
stand. The opposition of the officials caused
Great loss of money to Allen, and he supplied the
drain by issuing the bogus certificates and get
ting loans on them He said he had issued 700
hogus shares of stock and had borrowed on them
between sl25.OOO and Sl3O,OOO, intending to
take them up as soon as the patent iirc-escapes
BEGAN 10 pay. lie was unable to tell the
directors where all the fraudulent certificates
had been pledged, and Inspector Byrnes thought
that they might have been disposed of through
an accomplice The Inspector and the directors
refused in the afternoon to tell reporters what
bank or banks had been known 10 hold any Oh Jhc
bogus stock as security for money loaned 1t
was said that the publication of Aliens crime
would quickly result in the tracing of all OF the
worthless securities TO the holders. Inspector
Bvrnes said that Allen was held prisoner on the
charge Of forgery, the signature of the late
President Curtis having been forged on the bogus
certificates.
Allen is fifty years Old and fine-loohng man
of medium height and build, with iron-Sray hhlr
and mustachc. He has lived in expensive style at
Pawling, ~ v: his family consisting OF two
arown-up daughters Lately he has been travelling
in Europe, and he returned TO New-lock only
few weeks ago.
THE TREAsURER'S STATEMENT
Ralph j. Jacobs, jr., the treasurer OF the com
many. who has a brokerage office at No. 40 Broad
way, is staying at the West End Hotel, Long
Branch. lie told a Tribune reporter last night
that he was as yet ignorant Of the manner III
which President Allen had conducted his opera
tions, but the circumstances as i"r
os he understood them favored a be-
lief that the fraudulent stock had hot
been sold outright, rs IN that case the purchaser
,-nnh hnye claimed the dvdcnds and q disclosure