Waterbury evening Democrat., 1893-03-27
POTTER BREAKS SILENCE
The Millionaire Replies to the
 Charges Against Him.
DENIES THE DuNNlvANr STORY

Says He Had Nothing to t>o With Putting
 the eN-Newsb"y in Prison to Get Him
 Away rrom His What He H
 to Say Concerning His Connection With
 the Wards Estate.
 CHICAGO, March 21.-O. w. Potter, the millionaire iron manufacturer, who was sued by Ernest Dunuivant, an ex newsboy who claimed Sl00, 900 because, as he al leges, Potter had him railroaded to the penitentiary to keep him away from Ger trude w. Potter, the daughter of the mil ionaire, has broken his silence on the case and addressed a letter to the press upon the subject. He also alludes to settlement of the Wards estate at Detroit which he is alleged to have mismanGged. The letter is as follows:
 Il am fully aware that the constant dropping of water will wear away a stone and with this in mind, in view of the con stant publication in the newspapers of arti- cles intended to damage my reputation, 1 write this letter and ask for it's pub lcation that l may not seem indifferent to my reputation or to the good opinion of my friends who are very dear to me.
 "The Dunnivaut suit which would have been tried before this but for the absence of the judge before whom it was set, is %,sed upon the charge that I was guilty of causing an innocent boy to be sent to the penitentiary for four years To this charge give an unqualified denial.
 Il had no connection, directly or indi- rectly, with his arrest, prosecution or con Nlctlon and am absolutely and entirely in Hocent of the charges made against me.
 The insinuations and statements so freely made that I caused Dunnivant's ar rest in the case now pending before a police magistrate, seem too absurd to call for de- nial, but their continued repltition induces me to say that did not cause his arrest and had DO connection directly or indirectly with his arrest or confinement and did not know that he was in the city until 1 was charged with having spirited him away.
 'On the first page of the morning papers is printed full synopsis of bill filed nearly year ago in Detroit by certain of the legatees under Captain Wards will The charges made in this bill are not only maliciously false but my answer in detail to all of the charges is on file, yet not one word of the answer to the charges was printed in the papers.
 At the time of Captain Wards death in 1875, practically all of his estale except that devised to his widow, was mortgaged or out of his possession as collateral to his not's. Nearly a million dollars of debts was proved against his estate to pay which only about $l ,O00 was turned over to me in cash.
 His property had to be sold to pay his debts. The property was nearly all sold at public auction and, owing to the financial condition of the country and the character of the estate, the property brought much less than it was worth. made reports of all my accounts as eNecutor to the probate court every three months and the disposi- tion of the estate by me was known at the time to the court, to the public and the parties interested.
 "rhc estate was settled and was dis charged as eXecutOr nearly nine years ago and vet no complaint was ever made against me until the filing of this bill. MT. Ashley Pond of Detroit was my attorney as eNerutor and my acts as eXccutOr were done Iy his advice and under the direction of the probate court at Detroit.
 Il have all of my books and vouchers st.n in my possession and there is not a single charge in the bill that have not the data to diSprove and to conclusively prove that the charges are made either through ignorance or malice.
 "Captain Wards was the nearest friend 1 had in the world and it was this fact and the urgent solicitations of his sister that, induced me against my wishes to become sole CNeCutor or administrator of his estate which was practically insolvent at the date of his death. The details of the answer to the charges made are too voluminous to state in this letter but will have u synop- sis of the same prepared and furnished to you and l hope it may be us fully published by you as the charges have been.
 "Itwas my desire and intention to meet the charges against ne in the courts rather than to discuss item in the newspapers but l felt that a denial of the charges is due to my friends and the public
 "All l desire is an opportunity to pre- sent my proofs in open court and that in the meantime I may have fair treatment at the hands of the press. o. w. POTTER"