The sun., 1897-12-30
ToNTlNE FIRE ARRESTS.
CAPT. HoDGDoN, A HOTEL MAN,
HELD As AN ACCESSORY.

oou HtFe0 Him 10 Set Htre 70 the Fnmoun
New Haven Betei-Criae Punishable with
Ltre lmprihonment - Tho Hoters History.
New HAVEN, Conn. Dec. 29.-Tho arrest Of
Capt. George r. HodRdon for being an acces-
sovy before the fact to the firing Of the Tontine
Hotol Of this city. has started one Of the most
important cases that has been on tho docket Of
the City Court. Capt Hodgdon was arrested
IN Springfield, Mass, this morning, and he has
been arraignod before the bar of the Ordinary
Court Of New Haven and charged with the
crime Of arson, with the additional offence OF
endangering nves, an offence which provisions
OF an old Connecticut statute declare Is punish.
able with life imprisonment
II In known that II II were not for another
man Hodgdon would never have been brought
into the case Frederick Cook is tho other
man. He IN painter. He once lived In New
Haven and was arrested twice for non-eupport
Of his wife, Ho drifted away.from here after
his City Court troubles were over and went to
Massachusetts, where he still continued TO ork
at painting. He was arrested in Boston for the
Tontine Gre and at FIRST said he tried to set fro
to tho Tontlno because he had an old grudgo
against Proprietor White Of the Tontinc. Az
terward, while coming to New Haven from
Boston with Detective Dennehy, he said that he
was.paid by Capt. Hodgdon to flre the hotel.
As soon as Detective Dennehy arrived in
New Haven with Cook he was hurried OF to
Springfield to arrest Hodgdon on the strength
Of Cooks statements. In the City Court this
morning Hodgdon was arraigned and the City
Attorney.askcd that he be placed under $4,000
bonds. p. w. Chase, who is Hodgdon's coun-
sci, and who was fresh from tho victory OF the
Sachse murder trial In Middetown, objected to
% such bond, OF Ian and Judge nd o Dow & finally fixed the
Hodgdon Is thirty:third degree Mason and
who were willing to go on his bond.
Cant, HModgdSn M doneqnees M yq GO tn the H., charges of
spIracy: The state viii assert as a motive for
Capt. Hodgdon's employment of Cook that
the Fontine away ' from Thi him ' Hodsdon had bad
run the Tontine for several years, and expected
White secured a lease Of the place and Hodg:
don had to get out;
Has in H aS so H%ypss "a ss
fremont House in this city. The fremont
Hons House is in charge Of Col Munger for
George T. White is also a:well-k known hotel man.
he was e. formerly e smanager for the the Heub-
man will be arrested shortly.
THE Tontine" as this long time, well; ll,;known
Sy she q
famous Green. The hotel is one Of the oldest and
for very many Of the seventy-one years Of its
existence cit i was the favorite resort for visit.
terly 1t has been conducted as a commercial
house. When the hotel was first built 1t occu:
Ne pnd sne ps s hsn
ths finest hotel bsMeen S the TIVE cities On the
e bene OF four STORIES
high, s,a and Ml,n,,a valued ct about s15o 600;
or gamble under fS which Il was BUTT and haS
since been maintained and which is variation
companies and other corporations The Ton.
tine is said to be the only hotel now
was built after this plan. The New Ha.
ven idea was taken from the Tontine coffee
house. is said @ authorities to s have eaed sfood
facing Bowling Green over 100 years ago. The
Tontin or Tontian. an italian banker @ Of Naples.
who applied the principle to organizations
The Tontine Hotel Was built in 1926 by the
Tontine Hotel Company on the FOLLOWING terms,
asst, as stated to-day by a man interested in tho un
t ,S tS the stock Atty
sefheT Each subscriber based his si sabscripton a
ehiidewho was called tho a nominee. % Tie stock stock
has been bought and sold and transferred
sns ase s IT the
but the nominee, unle ss he or she also held
deed. many Of the nominees havo never known
that they were ever nominated at all. At the
that name was extinguished but the death Of
holder of;stock, OF course made no difference SO
long as the nominee lived, except in tho trans
which Ss Of al is thS
nominees are reduced to seven. AS soon as the
eighth remaining nominee dies the property, is
of q share-or any number OF shares against
surviving nominees name will receive ono of
the seven parts as ST fpl 10y &STner, or at the present
=, The scheme has been q speculation based on
lively interest has always been manifested by
Connnectieut people; Under its PROVISIONS. a
enough TO come in for the final distribution, or
he might lose his whole investment the first day
.Sare Stood Hence the heath Of his NOMINEES
became nice matter for the investor to con-
The nominees have become scattered over
tho four quarters of the world, but their move
ments have heen and are being steadily traced
where Investments and dividends are not made
an aocount I. As the property has increased
nominees have died. the dividends and the
market value Of the shares have appreciated.
I able one. II was said today that the shares
\ had sold as high as $3.50 comparatively recently
time runs an extra risk owing to the advanced
ri sns s yPs syy nSm9ss, .
necticpt General Assembly the corporation was
authorized to 30 amend its charter that the prop
erty might be sold or transferred and the affairs
shareholder favored the plan. This amend
ment was sought by some of the shareholders
under the belief that It would be for the best In
terests Of the comparatively few of the original
number that tho existence Of the company be
terminated. No steps have been taken to dis
pose Of the property, however.
Among tho nominees appear the names Of
James B. Brewster, the carriage manufacturers;
the late ex-Gov James E. English Profs. Henry
J. Kingsley and BENJAMIN Be, silliman of Yale:
the cotton gin. and Benjamin NJ Woolsey.
Among New Haven's rich men who were In
a. Hiiihopse Wbe stond hack oS tbs Nsrs HaWeS
and Northampton Canal scheme; Gov. Oliver
Wolcott and Henry W. Edwards, as well as BEN
3amin Silliman and James L. Kingsloy.
10 Mark Ii Hung ChAnE's Tribute to Grants