The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1893-08-20
AFTER JOHN L. AVER.
A Former Seattle Man Accused
Of Swindling.
MeTeoRic CAREER ON THEcoAsT
Man Of Many Occupations and Gaudy
whiskers Wanted for Robbing
Building Society.

swath in this city until about three
years ago, and has occasionally bobhed up
like wandering comet in his course up
and down the Coast, has gotten into the
clutches of the Law at Portland, in man
ner described in the following dispatch:
PORTLAND, Aug. ia warrant has
been issued for the arrest OF John L. Aver.
manager of the New England National
Building, Loan and Investment Company
of this city. It is charged that Aver, IN
his capacity as manager OF the company,
hypothecated $1,000 worth oil stock for
which ne made no accounting. Aver left
town several weeks ago and ii is thought
that he is now in the East. He came TO
this city q few years ago from Seattle.
Aver was the chief promoter and or
ganizer of the investment company. He
persuaded prominent men 10 become OIL
GERS by telling them they would have
little TO do ana saying that other leading
citizens were TO be stockholders or direc-
tors. Aver had taken considerable GUAM
titles of stock, signed IL himself and Sc
cured the signatures of the second vice
president and secretary and then sold 1t.
keeping, as the company claims, the
money himself Some weeks ago Aver
held a meeting. The meeting was per-
sonal one but il sufficed. At il the COM
pany's officials aliege he made himself at
torney OF the company. and ordered that
he be paid SIX years salary IN advance.
For this. it is said, he took large
amount of stock of the company IN pay
ment, reaching up into the thousands. In
the reports of his alleged meetings Aver
would write ont few paragraphs on one
page, leaving several vacant before it. He
would go to the secretary and casually re-
mark, opening to the written page, that
in the absence of the secretary he had
just made q brief record himself and the
secretary could sign it. He would do so
and Aver would return to his office and
fill in the vacant pages with whatever
orders and records he wished.
ABOUT two years ago Aver had metc-
ORIG career as q politician in this city. 1t
is said that before coming to Portland he
figured prominently in doubtful way at
Seattle. San Francisco and in Nevada. He
family is highly respected. Ayers trans
actions in no way affect the solvency of
the investment company"
John L. Aver came here early in the
summer of 1889, when newcomers were SO
numerous and so welcome that it was
neither practicable nor popular to look
too closely into the foundations of their
claims to distinction. He had unlimited
cheek, was a man of oserweening conceit
and assumption. and thought himself an
idol of the ladies. lie had hair which
some would call red. whiskers and mus
tache which were undoubtedly of
the sunbeam's hue and wore startling
clothes. He did not delay to
get acquainted with as many people as he
could, joining the Knights of Pythias and
the Red Men to that end. He went into
partnership IN the real estate business
with G. f. Chaplin, and after the fire the
firm opened offices in what was then the
Hotel La Pierre on Second street, between
Seneca and University. They plated a
townsite called Inglewood. on the east
shore of Lake Sammamish. and handled
Falrhaven property, besides becoming in
terested in Green lake.
But Ayers chief delight was to pose as
q newspaper man. He had a card certify
ing that he was correspondent of the New
York World and also claimed to be the
Associated Press representative here. He
usually wore a light check cape oyercoat,
but whenever a fire alarm sounded he
rushed to his room and donned high tor
boots, a cowboy hat on which he stuck a
badge declaring that he vas 'the Press"
man, and flinging a blanket over his
shoulders as though he had just jumped
out of bed TO hasten to the post of duty
-
pencil and notebook in his hand, dazzling
the eyes of the firemen with his fame
colored whiskers and wearying them with
his silly questions He Haunted his badge
at the theaters to secure free admission,
and no sporting event, such as qniet
fight or q wrestling match, took place
unless he was at the ring side TO make his
commanding voice heard. He shone re-
mia TAM At L. kaff and ia
own estimate OF himself was just, no
social event was complete without him.
When the Butler block was completed
in the early months 1850 Aver, who hal
meanwhile dissolved partnership with
Mr.. Chaplin. opened elegantly fitted offices
on the Second street side and established
himself as the Ayer-Chapin Company.
He had a fine banking room. there, but
was not known TO do any banking bust
ness. In April OF that year he had pub
iished IN short-lived Sunday evening
paper called the Builetia a telegram from
New York stating that the Ayer-Chapin
Company was about to erect large iron
works at Seattle. OF course this was an
advertisement written by Mr.. Aver him
sell, and 10 it was tackled description OF
his offices. Viii ch made il appear that the
Ayer-Chapin Company was the greatest
and weaithiest corporation in Seattle.
Then his glory began to fade. for people
''got onto him." and they dropped him.
The fire offices were closed, the sampiu-
oas fittings we're taken out ard Aver dis
appeared. He was next heard of at san
Francisco. where he represented that he
owned coal mine at his suburban town
OF Inglewood. He organized a company
IN a 80 81, all R4R co. ha
innocent Goa consumers of the Golden
Gate by offering a contract to sell 1t at
reduced price 20 al VINO bought certain
o.