The Monmouth inquirer., 1890-04-10
is DAZZLING IN CANADA7
Strange Disappearance of John
F.. Plummer's Partner.
A MILLION OF DOLLARS IS GONE.

Darling Was Financial Manager of the
Knows Why the Crash Came-He Has
Been Missing Nearly Fortnight.
New YoRK, April Partner w. s.
Darling, of John F. Plummer & 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 Mr.. Darling has been missing for over
week furnishes the key to the mystery OF
this remarkable failure. Furthermore, it
relieves Mr. Plummer of some of the impu-
tations which had been made against him.
But the question, ''Where has the money
gonef' has not been answered yet. All
that is definitely known is that big house,
doing profitable business, with supposed
surplus Of at least $1,000, has suddenly
collapsed, and that the 100000 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.
How the Partners Worked.
This situation was made possible by very
peculiar arrangement in the management Of
the affairs of john T. Plummer & Co. There
was an arbitrary division of duties among
the partners. John F. Plummer and his
brother attended solely to what may be
termed the outside end Of the business. Mr..
Plummer gave his special attention to de-
signing and selecting designs for goods to
be made at the mills. Mr.. 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
,ot ou1ifinrr Of bio re
He gave his partners to understand that
they were doing a most profitable business,
with earnings at the rate of about $150, 900
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. 1t is
said that the senior partner drew enough to
enable him to live at the rate of about $4O,-
600 annually.
Mr.. PIummer Was Amazed.
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 $780,
900. This brought to light tie real state of
affairs, and no one was more amazed than
Mr.. Plummer himself The mills asked for
preference on their claims Mr.. Plummer
consulted counsel and Mr.. Choate's advice
was: .If you can't meet your liabilities
fail like man, without partiality to any
creditor Then Mr.. Plummer made an as
signment and began to inspect the ruins.
A week before he supposed himself to be
comparatively wealthy man, butit needed
only brief investigation to show that he
couldn't pay so cents on the 81 of his liabiG-
ties. Before the situation had been fully
Po narIiror had ar.a6
Is Darling in Canada?
"We haven't heard a word from Mr..
Darling" said Mr.. w. L. Strong yesterday,
'but / haven't much doubt that he is in
Canada. The examination of the books has
not been finished yet, and we have no clew
TO what has been done with the money. I
hope the books will show, but they may not.
There are all sorts of rumors, but none of
them has been verified. Yes, this develop
ment relieves Mr.. Plummer of all suspicious
rejecting on his integrity, but it does not
free him from responsibility in the eyes of
business men. 1t was duty he owed his
creditors, if not to himself, to know more
about his business than he did. So his busi-
ness reputation will suffer in the light of
these latest facts"
Politics Did Not Interfere.
'Did his interest in politics contribute to
this ignorance of his financial affairsa"
~ think not. His duties under the ar
rangement among the partners were fully
attended to. He had plenty of leisure. He
had designs all made and orders given
ahead to the mills to the amount of fully
81 900 600, and enough to keep them busy
until next September. Still Mr.. Plummer
had good reason for placing confidence in
Mr.. Darling. Years ago Mr.. Plummer was
in Mr.. Darling's employ, and he had been
associated with him for nearly twenty-five
years. Mr.. Darling was Mr.. Plummer's
senior, and had apparently led an exemplary
life.n
"Will there be legal proceedings against
Darling this weekT'
II don't know. What would be the usel
The bird has flown"
What John r. P1ummer Says.
John F. Plummer said to reporter yes
terday that he had heard nothing from his
partner, and had no information of his
whereabouts. II trusted everything to Mr..
Darling said Mr.. Plummer. II had been
associated with him for nearly twenty years,
and If that is too soon to trust a man when
should confidence begina He was the fnan-
cial man of the firm of Stoney & Darling as
well as of our firm, and Mr. Stoney can tell
you nothing more about the real situation
than I can. The examination of the books
will be finished in few days, and then per-
haps we shall know more about it. For my
part, haven't the slightest idea where the
money has gone"
At Mr.. Darling's apartments at the Grenor
BILE it was said yesterday that he had not
returned, and that nothing had been heard
| from him
| Where Did the Money Go?
There are various rumors about the s., ,0OO,-
0O0 which apparently has disappeared from
the assets of the firm. First, it is said that
Mr.. Darling has speculated in stocks. A
man who ought to know says that Darling
lost something less than $4,000 some time
ago in Wall street, but that the big defici-
ency has not gone there. Another report is
that he has lost heavily on real estate held
In his wifes name in the upper part OF the
city. The fact about this is that three years
ago Mr. Darling bought forty-three lots on
One Hundred and Eighty-fifth street, which
stand in his wife's name, and which cost
$S1, 900. Today they are worth fully S7O,-
0O0 The creditors do not know yet whether
this property can be added to the assets of