The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1897-11-25
PAYS ANCIENT DEBTS.
Amos F. Emo, of New York, Surprises
Ante-ReIIum Creditors


CHICAGO, Nov. PA special to the
Inter-Ocean from New York says:
Several of the old firms or their sue
cessors in the dry goods district have
recently been notified by Amos F. Emo
that it is his desire to pay his share
of the debts of the dry goods firm of
which he was a member and organizer
and which suspended with large LA
bilities at the breaking out of the war.
The notices have contained checks
for Mr.. Eno's share of the principal of
the debt, some to the amount of many
thousands of dollars and in addition
to the checks assurances that as soon
as the exact amount of the debt is
known and interest on it computed
there will be further checks sent repre-
senting the interest at 4 per cent from
1861. Further the notices were marked
Strictly CONFIDENTIAL
The firms that received the notices
and the inclosed checks were so as
founded that some of them in spite of
the injunction could not keep the Secret.
Even after the matter became public
Mr., Emo refused to say anything about
it. At his office in the Trinity building
an effort was at first made to deny the
fact. Then it was asserted that Mr..
Emo would not permit anybody to
speak of it. Mr.. Emo was seen at the
the matter off,
Eno's firm was formed in 1859, under
the name of Emo Bueren & Valentine.
1t dealt exclusively in silks and fancy
dress goods. The partners were Emo,
George D. Bueren and David T. Valen-
tine. John Allen was a special partner,
who contributed $4,000, and the firm
had a special capital of 100000 Mr.
Emo contributed 10000 cash.
The FIRMS hl1SineSS was nrincina1Iv
in the South. All dry goods merchants
who remember the firm say it did about
$1,O00,000 business, which, in those days,
was very large. After the firing on
Fort Sumter Southern merchants
would not pay their debts. Emo, Buer-
en- & Valentine hung on for two weeks
after the firing on Sumter, and then
made an assignment to G. N. Coffin.
Later all that it was possible was real
lied from the sale of the stock and the
business. The dividend was small but
the creditors were glad to get it, and
the members of the firm were released.
The release wiped out forever all
debts of the firm that were unpaid and
left them free to staEt business afresh.
Mr.. Emo, after short experience in the
army, did go into business again in
1865. But old debts were forgotten by
that time, and probably from that time
to this, until letters and checks were
sent out by Mr.. Emo, they were not
again thought of by any one but Mr..
Emo.
Thirtv-siX years is a long time in
business, and scarcely any of the firms
that were original creditors are in bust
ness now Even where the original
names were maintained members of the
firm have changed. In many cases not
a single member of the original creditor
firm survives. In some cases the men
in the firm are the grandchildren of the
original members. In others they are
more distant relatives, and in some
cases the business has passed into other
hands entirely, and there is not a rela-
ton of the former partners remaining
This is the condition that Emo found
when he began recently to hunt up the
creditors of the old firm with the idea
of paying his share of the debt with in
tereSt thereon. In no case was there a
man who remembered that such a debt
existed. In very many cases the books
had been destroyed and there was no
evidence that there had been such
debt. But in no cose, it is said, did Mr..
Emo hesitate to put the debt into the
list that he intended to pay.
One of the older creditors of the firm,
who did remember the failure, stirred
up his memory and said he thought
that it would very likely cost Emo more
than half million dollars to pay debts
with interest to date. The thirty-six
years interest without compromising
amounts to a good deal more than the
original debt. At 4 per cent the inter
est is $144 on every 500 Of principal
Instances similar to this payment of
debts after release when they are no
longer legally binding are not uncom-
mon today, but the record here does not
show of any other case of payment
with interest or without, after thirty
six years have elapsed. The record
does not show cases. either, where old
debts after release are paid, or their
having been paid, with so little ostenta-
ton. The customary way is to have
dinner with creditors and put their
checks under their plates.