Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1891-01-01
CRY LOAN MATTERS.
The Directors Say That Tuesday Mornings
Statement of Pierce's Defalcation Is
mt

The Directors Say That Tuesday Mornings
Statement of Pierce's Defalcation Is
not True.
A meeting of the directors of the City
Loan Association was held Monday
at the office OF Director j. r. @. Gorrell,
real estate agent, No. S1O4 Market
street.
Auditor Reynolds was not present
No statement nor figures of any nature
was brought before the meeting.
Mr. Gorrell was seen Tuesday morn
ing and questioned in regard to the
statement in a morning paper that ex-
Secretary ]. Eldridge Pierce's accounts
with the loan show shortage of be-
tween $4,000 and $4,000.
"That statement is not correct. There
is no basis for giving those figures. Mr.
Reynolds has not made his returns yet
When the does we shall be happy to
make them public. We feel, however,
that the stockholders and shareholders
should have the information first"
In regard to when that announcement
will be made Mr.. Gorrell stated that a
meeting will be called next week when
it is expected that the authoritative figures
for which everyone is SO anxious will be
made known.
Mr.. Gorrell was asked whether the
alleged figures of Pierce's defalcation
indicate any approximation based upon
what the directors have learnad from
Mr.. Reynolds reports so far. To this
Mr.. Gorrell declined making any reply.
Another director was seen by the re-
porter. He said in regard to Tuesday
mornings statements:
ut is not the truth. That man did not
say ALL"
The "man" referred to was evidently
the informant of the morning paper.
"He should have told all if he told
anything the director continued, and
then suddenly stopped talking on that
point.
From the scant information available
having any basis of probable truth it
looks as if there is defalcation of some
nature, but as to its amount nothing is
known.
A large number of the City Loan
shareholders gathered at the Associa-
tons office, Sixth and Shipley streets,
Monday, under the impression that a
meeting was to be held there. Suisse
quently, on finding out their mistake,
they moved in body uptown to Pierce
Il Blossoms office, Seventh and Shipley
streets, and then after another disap-
pointment continued their pilgrimage
to Mr.. Gorrell's office, there only to find
out that there was nothing for them,
only directors meeting.
PIERCE ABUSES HIS FRIENDS.
Outside of City Loan affairs which to
say the least are badly tangled, Mr.
Pierce's operations in other directions
disclose the basest ingratitude. Every
friend he had in this city, those who
stood by him in his pecuniary troubles
have been mulcted out of considerable
money. 1t is stated that half dozen
or more warm friends Of the defaulter
have been imposed upon to the tune Of
from $1,000 to $t,700 each. Some
weeks before the crash Mr.. Pierce
made a statement of his affairs to his
friends and informed them unless he
could raise $4,000 or $4,000 he must go
to the wall. The men united in raising
the amount, and whether or not this
ever got into the business is not known.
Ii is probable that Pierce at the time of
his flight had considerable money about
him, and there is additional evidence to
warrant the belief that he is in South
America.