Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1890-04-07
VANISHED ASSETS.
The Financial Vacuum of John
E. Plummer & Co.
A NEW YORK BUSINESS MYSTERY

Disappearance of One of the Firm and
Also of About 81, 900, OO0-The Wicked
Partner Probably in Canada, but the
Money, Where. Oh Where Has 1t Gone?
Unlike the Baseless Fabric of a Wis.,
ion, 1t Leaves a Bad wrack Behind.
NEW YORK, April THE failure of John
81. Plummer & Co., which occurred recent
ly, is the talk of the town just now, because
the more the matter develops the more
startling are the developments. 1t was
noted Saturday that the creditors did not
expect to get a cent, and now W. S. Darling,
a partner, is missing, and the creditors
would be very much surprised to see him
again. But his disappearance probably pro-
vides the key to the mystery of this remark
able failure. Furthermore, it relieves Mr..
Plummer of some of the imputations which
had been made against him. But the ques-
ton, "Where has the money gone." has not
been answered yet. All that is definitely
known is that a big house, doing profita-
ble business, with a supposed surplus of at
least 500, 600, has suddenly collapsed and
the $500, zoo is ON the other side of the
| ledger.
A Round Million Nanishes.
A round million has disappeared, and the
only man who can tell where it has gone has
gone, too. This situation was made possible
| by very peculiar arrangement i'll the man.
| agement OF the affairs of John f. Plummer
| q Co. There was an arbitrary division of
| duties among the partners. John +. Plum
ner and his brother attended solely TO what
BAY be termed the outside end of the bust
bsss. Mr.. Plummer gave his special atten-
| non to designing and selecting designs for
goods 20 lie made at the mills To his skill
| in this direction, it is said, has always been
| due his success.
Darling Had Charge of the Books.
Mr.. Darling had charge of the books and
of the whole financial department as abso-
| lutely as if he had been the sole member of
1 the firm. There was not even an auditing
of his accounts He gave his partners tC
understand that they were doing a most
profitable business, with earnings at the rate
| of about $3.50, 90 a year. The volume oi
business fully warranted this statement
and, for that matter, it has not yet been
| showed to be untrue. The partners did not
| draw all their profits. Ii is said that the
senior partner drew enough to enable hin
30 live at the rate of about $40, 600 annually
| The crash came when some of the mills de
manded security or payment toward the
| great advances they had made the firm In
| the case of one mill the amount was S4OO, 600
| But He Has Gone 20 Join Emo.
| This brought to Tight the real state of af-
fairs and no one was more amazed than Mr..
| Plummer himself. "We have not heard a
worl from Mr.. Darling" said Partner W.
| l. Strong yesterday, "but l have not much
| doubt that he is in Canada. The examina.
| ton of the books has not been finished vet,
| and we have no clew TO what has been done
with the money. l hope the books will
/ show, bat they may not There are all sorts
| of rumors, but none of them has been veri-
| fie1." There are various rumors about the
| $1,000, OG0 which apparently has disappeared
| from the assets of the firm First it is said
that Mr.. Darling has speculated in stocks
The Man who Ought to Know.
A man who ought TO know SAYS that Darl-
| ing lost something less than $50. 900 some
| time ago in Wall street, but that the big de
| ficiency has not gone there Another report
is that be has lost heavily on real estate held
in his wife's name in the upper part of the
city The fact about this is that three years
ago Mr.. Dgriing bought forty-three lots on
One Hundred and Eighty-ffth street, which
stand in his wife's name, and which cost
SSl, 600. To-day they are worth fully $50,
0O0 There are also stories told about Mr.
Darling's private life, but nobody substanti-
ates them, as they would hardly. if substanti-
ated, account for the disappearance of a
fortune.