The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-07-27
BATTLE FOR
The CRAWFORD.
Banks Fighting Over Kansas
Avenue Opera House.
Bank of Topeka Claims 1t on q
Second Mortgage.
OTHER CREDITORS.
They AlIege That Claim is Not
Bona Eide.
L. n. Crawford Tells How He
Lost His Money.
THEIR CREDITORS.

Eight lawyers are interested today.
directly or indirectly in a contest over
the petition in bankruptcy of L. NJ.
Crawford in the United States district
court. The hearing is taking place be-
fore J. G. Slonecker, bankruptcy referee
for this district, in the judges chambers
in the federal building.
There is no contest over the applica-
tion of Mr.. Crawford to be dismissed
from his liabilities, but the Central Nat
ional bank is contesting the security
held by the Bank of Topeka on the
Crawford opera house here. J. w. Gleed
is representing the Central National and
has been conducting the examinations
Working in conjunction with him IS
Eugene Quinton, who represents L. b.
Kendall, of Denver, one of Mr.. Craw-
ford's heaviest creditors. Eugene Ha-
gen is watching Mr.. Crawfords inter
ests. Other attorneys who are watching
the proceedings with interest are Vance
& Campbell, J. B. Larimer. G. Z. Gaults
Bennett R. Wheeler and Frank r. Ben
nett.
The Central National has Judgment
of about $4,000 against Mr.. Crawford.
1t is not secured. The Bank of Topeka,
has claims aggregating about SIS 000
against Mr.. Crawford and they are Sc
cured by a second mortgage on the
Crawford opera house 1t is claimed
that this security is not bona f1de, and if
the Central National can succeed in es~
tablishing this claim, there will be just
that much more property to go to the
unsecured creditors.
The examination of Mr. Crawford
brought out his business dealings in de-
tail for the past twenty years. It COW
cred his whole experience in the amuse-
ment business. He told of the formation
of the Missouri Kansas & Nebraska
Opera House company, under which
name he operated one of the most eZ-
tenSiVe amusement circuits in the
United States; of how he had built up
his business and of the reverses that
caused him to lose all his property.
Mr.. Crawford said that early in the
nineties he considered himself worth
$15O,000, and he was making money.
The profits of his opera house circuit
for the year ending, September 1, 1892
amounted to $4,000, and for the follow
ing year they went up to $22,144. His
first heavy loss, and the greatest one
of all, occurred on the Wichita Opera
House. Mr.. Crawford put over 100000
into that opera house, and was finally
compelled to let the mortgage on it be
foreclosed. The Wichita boom col
lapsed and it sold for only 100000 MAX
ing him the loser to the extent of SS3,-
OOO The following year the opera
houses in Omaha, on which he had
leases, burned and he figured his loss
from those fires at $4,000 more. These
two losses were largely responsible for
his failure.
Concerning the Missouri, Kansas &
Nebraska Opera House company, Mr..
crawford Salu tnaI II was organized a5
a corporation in order to enable him to
capitalize it for greater amount than
he could do as a private individual, al
though he owned practically all the
stock of the concern. The company was
bonded for $50, 1000, but the bonds were
never sold, and they are now held by
the Bank of Topeka as collateral secur-
ity on a ST Joseph venture
John r. Mulvane, president Of the
Bank of Topeka, is on the stand this
afternoon, testifying concerning the
business dealings between his bank.
himself and Mr. Crawford Mr.. Gleed
is endeavoring to show that the mort
gage given to the bank by Mr.. Craw-
ford is not a bona f1de mortgage and
that the claims of the bank should not
stand as secured claims.