The Newtown bee., 1892-03-11
Gregory, Ballou 6 Go. against Elon.

Bridgeport, last week. Davenport opened on Wednesday for Gregory Ballou < Co.,, Mir Tweedy followed on Thursday for the estate and MT O'LIara closed for Gregory, Ballou & Go. on Thursday and Friday. The decision of the commits sioners, Judge Huntington of Woodbury and Robert A. Clark, is now awaited.
 The brief prepared for Gregory, Ball. lou & Co. reviews the dealings from which this suit grows. Charles Jonas, who had previously dealt in oil on Elon Booths money, made another agreement with him to go into an oil venture in Mo- vember, 1885. MT Jonas bought 1000 bar rels of oil through Gregory, Ballou & Co.,, November 20, depositing $560 of his own money with them. December l, MT Jonas bought 2OOO barrels more and, De- cember z, Elon transferred $500 of the funds he had deposited with Gregory, Ballou & Go. to MT Jonas's oil account.
 The purchase and sale of oil went on, Elon advancing more money and Mir Jo- mas drawing out $2S0, until, February 9, 1886, MT Jonas had $2S0 and Elon $2500 in the oil transaction. Oil was then worth less than it cost and going down, when Elon Booth signed this agreement, on the strength of which the suit is brought:
 I hereby promise to keep good a
 margin of at least 5 per cent. on 20,-
 of oil
 which are held by you for the ac-
 count of MT Charles Jonas and, in
 the event of the said MT Jonas wish
 ing to sell any part or all of the said
 oil at a profit, he is at liberty to do
 so, without my order, provided he
 does rot draw any cash from the ac-
 count.
 December fl, 1886, Elon signed an other writing directing Gregory, Bal lou & Go. to sell any part of the 10000 barrels of oil and to buy it back, but not to increase the quantity held, upon the order of Charles Jonas and L. B. Booth. November 12 of that year, the margin account was $5000 short and Gregory, Ballou & Co. kept writing to Newtown to have Elon remit more money. This he did not do and August %, 1887, Gregory, Ballou & Go, being unable to use oil cer- tificates longer in loans, wrote to MT Jo- mas that he must relieve them or order the sale of the oil. Next day, Messrs Jo- mas and l.. B. Booth wrote to them to sell 10, GOO or 15,00O barrels of oil, ''with the understanding that have the privi- lcge of buying back when the market is again in shape" Gregory, Ballou & Co. sold out the whole 10000 barrels at 6l 5.S, bringing them $12, 1905 and leaving balance due them of $7SS1 S2.
 Gregory, Ballou & Co. asked the com- missioners if they or Elon should bear this loss, since he executed the contract "by no solicitations of theirs, but solely for his own benefit and protection. They claimed that correspondence showed the oil certificates to be in their possession i; they were not required to preserve the particular certificates, but only to have the number that the account called for in their possession; the storage charges were a legitimate part of the bill; they had the right to hypothecate the oil cer- tificates; even conceding that 5000 bar rels of the oil was sold without authori- ty, Elon's estate was only entitled to re- cover $50. They offset the testimony of l.. E. Booth, "a witness whom we are forced to distrust," by the positive state ments of MesSrs Gregory, Ballou and Gately that it was never demanded that they should buy the oil back. Even if 5000 barrels were sold without authority, the sale was subsequently, ratified, as it was never repudiated; L. B. Booth, as Elon's agent. promised to pay the Greg ory, Baliou & Co. claim and asked an extension of time in which to pay it ]; Western Union stock was brought them as collateral for the indebtedness and Elon promised MT Ballou that he would pay the claim dollar for dollar. It was not gaming contract. ''The most that can be said is that Jonas and Booth were speculating ill oil and that Gregory, Bal lou & Co. advanced them money for this purpose, but this was neither illegal nor immoral" Elon Booth had as consider ation for his contract the protection of the $250O he had advanced as margins, it gave him control of the Jonas account and Gregory, Ballou & Co.acted upon it, making it binding. Tine contract was made ill Connecticut and Connecticut laws govern as to it's formalities. Greg ory, Ballou & Co.'S failure to notify Elon of fluctuations in oil and of the money needed to be put up under the contract at the time of final sale does not affect their right to recover.
 The argument for Elon's estate opens with the total bill, March 23, 1891, of $l0,455 40. But Gregory, Ballou & Co. have no account against Elon Booth; it is against Charles Jonas. Elon was sim ply guarantor of Charles Jonas, the prin- cipal debtor. '.Elon Booth had no inter- est in this account; the moneys advanc- ed by hin were by way of loan, upon which Jonas was required to and did pay interest and for the repayment of which he sought to give security.'' 'sAs guar antor, with the consent of Jonas and the claimants, he has right to control the dealings in measure to protect himself.' ; The fact that there was atthe time, and afterward remained, sufficient mal gin in Elon Booths account to hold this par ticular oil until all the oil was finally sold is conclusive as to any claim of any or iginal liability on the part of Elon Booth for this single item or the account gener- ally.''
 Elon's contract with Gregory, Ballou & Co. was void for want of considerat-