Delaware gazette and state journal. (Wilmington, Del.) 1883-1902, 1894-05-24
SETTLED FOR FIFTY THOUSAND

Against the Bonusmen of Ex-aIayor
Wiley, Master of Exciiequer-i IL g
Lodge Accepts $4,000, and There viii
be no Trial in Court.
The suit which the Supreme Lodge Of
the World, Knights of Pythias, threat
ened to bring against the bondsmcn Of
ex-MayOr Stansbury ]. Wiley, in the
United States court. for the recovery of
$G0,4T65l, funds of the lodge which
were carried away in the failure of r.
H. Robinson 81 Co., who went to the
wall In May last, will never come to
trial. The litigation, which promised
such important disclosures in the courts
and in which so much interest was
manifested, has been obyiated. The case
is at an end and the official bond of Mr..
Wiley has been satisfied.
The intelligence will be received with
interest not only in the jurisdiction of
Delaware but throughout the United
States and Canada, there being half q
million members of this order who will
be more or less affected by the matter.
The settlement has been brought about
by Colonel Benjamin Nields, counsel
for the bondsmen, and Levi Q. Bird and
William O. Spruance, attorneys for the
Supreme Lodge of the World, who
acted in conjunction with Walter B.
Ritchie, supreme vice chancellor of
Lima, o.
Itwillbe remembered that ex- Supreme
Master Of Exchequer Wiley had on
deposit with II. Il. Robinson & Co.
500, 476.5l, belonging to the X. of p,
which was entrusted to his care by
virtue of the office he held in the lodge.
When the firm suspended, on May d1th,
1898, the money was swept away, and
the officers of the lodge were notified of
the loss by telegraph. On the 18th of
that month, W. W. Blackwell of Hen
derson, KY, and W. b. Richie, attor-
ney, of Lima, came 10 Wilmington in
response to the message informing them
of the loss OF the funds. They had a
conference with ex-Mayor Wiley and
mis- bondsmen, At the conclusion of the
conference Messrs. Blackwell and Richie
returned to their homes and submitted
to the other officials of the Supreme
Lodge a statement of the financial com
plications which so materially concerned
the members of the order.
The next visit to Wilmington Of the
Supreme Lodge officials was on May
18th, and the result of their investl-
CATION was fully told in The Ga
zETTE from time to time. The officials
were quartered at the Hotel Willis for
several days and their secret conclayes
served to deepen the interest aroused by
the information that the funds had been
lost. The conference, in addition to
Messrs. Richie and Blackwell, COM
prised r, l.. G. White, Nashville, Tenn,
Supreme Keeper of Records and Seals;
Sir Knight Albert Steinhart, Green
vile, Ala; +. S. Mcdonald, Mime
apolis, Mimi; John G. Burns, Mans
field, O., and j. B. Brayton, Newport,
II. l.
The object of this visit was to balance
the accounts of the Supreme Keeper of
Records and Seals and to ascertain the
actual loss sustained by the lodge. 1t
was discovered that there was missing
from the general fund, $50, 1864, in
addition to $9,309.S7 of the Hines Me-
mortal Fund, making grand total of
69,476.5l. This was partially covered
by bond, furnished by Mr.. Wiley,
amounting to $4,000 The sureties
were Job H. Jackson, Henry o. Robin
son, James Bradford and e. t. Walton.
A formal demand was made upon Mr..
Wiley to restore the missing funds, and
ne for the first time cited his inability to
comply with the request, stating that
the money was lost in the failure. Then
it was delegated to Mr.. Steinhait, at a
council of the officials, to call upon Mr..
Wiley and make formal demand for
his resignation as Master Of Exchequer,
which was done. Mr.. Wiley refused to
tender his resignation at that time, stat.
ing that he was acting on the advice of
counsel.
The lodge officials, before going to
their homes, submitted TO Mr.. Wiley
and his bondsmen in the office Of Colonel
Nields, their counsel, proposition
which was that they pay over the
amount OF the bond, $4,000, retain
possession of the Beeson farm trans
ferred by II. @. Robinson to Mr.. Wiley,
and also the securities to the'amount Of
about $3.50, 900, which comprised block
of stock in the Wilmington Dental
Manufacturing Go. This proposition
was refused.
The lodge officials, on the other hand,
rejected proposition submitted to them
by Mr.. Willey's bondsmen, and slgnified
their intentions of bringing suit in the
United States court.
To representative Of this paper
Supreme Keeper of Records and
Seals X. l.. G. White said that charges
of misfeasance in office had been pre-
ferred against Mr.. Wiley, which were
presented to the Supreme Council at
session held in Chicago June 10th, and
that it would be asked that he be re-
moved from office. Before the meeting
Mr.. Wiley rendered his resignation and
his successor was appointed.
The only way Mr.. Wiley could dis
charge the funds Of tho lodge was
through warrants drawn on Mr.. White
as Supreme Keeper of Records and
Seals, and endorsed by the Supreme
Chancellor He had suffered three such
warrants to so to protest, after the fail
ure, two Of them being drawn iu favor
of the Misses Rathbone, daughters of
Justus II. Rathbone, founder of the
order of Knights of Pythias.
The Hines Memorial Fund, which loses |
50, 309.S7 by the transaction, is o special |
fund created by the Supreme Lodge |
for the erection of hall to the memory |
of Samuel Holden Hines in the city of |
Richmond, Va. Hines, who was
member of the order, lost his life in a |
big hotel fire in Richmond in an heroic |
effort to rescue comrade from the |
flames. For'this daring act of bravery |
the Supreme Lodge decided to perpetu-
ate his memory by the erection of d |
handsome hall, which was to cost $685. |
900. The funds were placed with the |
Supreme Master of Exchequer without
security.
The basis of settlement does not in
clude the funds of the Hines Memorial
Fund, but only the amount of the bond |