Connecticut western news., 1890-04-09
IS. DARLING IN CANADA7
Strange Disappearance of John F., F. Plummer's Partner.
A MILLION OF DOLLARS IS GONE.

.s3' r. luIIlIleI dICUeI. A MILLION OF DOLLARS IS GONE. Darling Was Financial Manager of tho q Firm of Plummer & Co.,, and Alone
 Knows Why the Crash Came-He Has Been Missing Nearly a Fortnight.
 NEW YORK, April 7.-Partner w. s. Darling, of John F. Hummer & Co.,, did not come to town yesterday, and the creditors of the firm would now be very much sur- prised to see him in New York. The news that Mir. Darling has been missing for over week furnishes the key to the mystery of this remarkable failure. Furthermore, it relieves MT. Hummer of some of the impu- tations which had been made against him. But the question, "Where has the money gone" has not. been answered yet. All that is-defnitely known is that big house, doing profitable business, with supposed surplus of at least $500, GOO, has suddenly collapsed, and that the $500, ,0O0 is on the other side of the ledger. A million has dis appeared, and the only man who can tell where it has gone, has gone. too. F." How the Partners Worked.
 This situation was made possible by very peculiar arrangement in the management of the affairs of John F. Hummer & Co. There was an arbitrary division of duties among the partners John F. Hummer and his brother attended solely to what may be termed the outside end of the business. Mir. Hummer gave his special attention to de- signing and selecting designs for goods to be made at the mills. Mir. Darling had charge of the books and of the whole finan- cial department as absolutely as if he had been the sole member of the firm There was not even an auditing of his accounts. He gave his partners to understand that they were doing most profitable business, with earnings at the rate of about $15O, 900 a year.
 The volume of the business fully war ranted this statement, and for that matter it hasn't yet been shown to be untrue. The partners did not draw all their profits. It is said that the senior partner drew enough to | enable him to live at the rate of about $4O,- GOO annually.
 | MT. Hummer Was Amazed.
 The crash came when some of the mills de- l manded security or payment toward the great advances they had made the firm. In l the case of one mill the amount was $4OO,- | OOO AAlS OIOu&AO tO AS nO tAo AS3A o1oS0 OA affairs, and no one was more amazed than 1 MT. Hummer himself The mills asked for 1 preference on their claims Mir. Plummer 1 consulted counsel and MT. Choate's advice was: eff you can't meet your liabilities l fail like man, without partiality to any l creditor" Then MT. Hummer made an as- alignment and began to inspect the ruins.
 "A week before he supposed himself to be | @ comparatively wealthy man, but it needed 1 only brief investigation to show that he couldn't pay 50 cents on the $1 of his liabili- ties Before the situation had been fully disclosed Partner Darling had disappeared. i5 Is Darling in Canada3
 .'We haven't heard word from Mr. Darling" said MT. w. l.. Strong yesterday, .but I haven't much doubt that he Is in l Canada. The examination of the books has not been finished yet, and we have no clew | to what has been done with the money. hope the books will show, but they may not. l There are all sorts of runors, but none of | them has been verified. Yes, this develop ! ment relieves MT. Hummer of all suspicious reaecting on his integrity, but it does not free him from responsibility in the eyes of business men. It was a duty he owed his creditors, if not to himself, to know more l about his business than he did. So his busi- ness reputation will suffer in the light of l these latest facts" :" l t Politics Did Not Interfere.
 "Did his interest in politics contribute to l this ignorance of his financial affairsf' 1 , sI think not His duties under the ar. | rangement among the partners were fully attended to- He had plenty of leisure. Hs had designs all made and orders given ahead to the mills to the amount of fully 1 $1,OOO, 900, and enough to keep them busy | untll next September. Still MT. Hummer | had good reason for placing confidence in Mir. Darling. Years ago Mir. Plummer wal in MT. Darling's employ, and he had been associated with him for nearly twenty five years MT. Darling was Mir. Plummer'. senior, and had apparently led an exemplary
 lifen ,..-.. ...
 twill there be legal proceedings against
 Darling this weekp'
 '.Idon't know. What would be the use
 The bird has flown"
 What John F. Hummer Says.
 John F. Hummer said to reporter yes
 terday that he had heard nothing from hii
 partner, and had mo- information of his
 whereabouts. "I trusted everything to Mr.
 Darling," said Mir. Hummer. ''I had beer
 associated with him for nearly twenty years r and if that is too soon to trust man whel r should confidence begin7 He was the fnan | cia1 man of the firm of Stoney & Darling a
 well4as of our firm, and Mir. Stoney can tel | you nothing more about the real situation
 than can. The examination of the book
 will be finished in a few days, and then per
 haps we shall know more about It. For my
 part, haven't the slightest idea where tn
 money has gone"
 At MT. Darling's apartments at the Greno
 ble it was said yesterday that he had no | returned, and that nothing had been heart
 from him.
 Where Did the Money Cor
 There are various rumors about the q, GOO,
 OOO which apparently has disappeared iron
 the assets of the firm. First, it is said tha
 Mir. Darling has speculated in stocks.
 man who ought to know says that Darling
 lost something less than $50, ,O00 some tim' l ago in Wall street, but that the big dehci
 ency has not gone there. Another report i
 that he has lost heavily on real estate helt
 in his wife's name in the upper part of tn
 city. The fact about this Is that three year
 ago MT. Darling bought forty-three lots o,
 One Hundred and Eighty-dfth street, whicl
 stand in his wife's name, and which COS
 $31, GOO; Today they are worth fully $70.
 OyO The creditors do not know yet whethe
 this property can be added to the assets o
 the firm. ..-... .... .s, 7 -...
 MT. Darling, it was said by ono of hi
 friends yesterday, owns one-sixth of Q valu
 able Arizona mine, which may possibl,
 figure among the assets of the failed firm
 before settlement is finally reached.
 He Was a High Liver.
 Mir. Darling is not without defenders Hi } friends profess to believe that he will return and explain everything. MT. Darling i
 about 50 years old, and is what would b called a high liver. Hs has wife and tw children. He formerly lived at Netherwoo NY T..~ T jointly interested in q large summer hotel Mr. Darling was quite active in poli4ics an,