The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-12-23
ROPER TESTIMONY
Officials Of His Loan Con-
Germs Tell What They
Know.
TREASURER IN NAME ONLY
Foster Found Schemes Were
Fishy and Got
Out.
TREASURER IN NAME ONLY
rc,oo,a1 to ..q-be Jersey City News. ]

rSneeiaI to 1.-THE Jersey City News
NEW ARK. Dec. %, 1s99.-Osmer W.
Roper. president of the Realty corpora
ton of New Jersey, and alleged 70 DC .ns
organizer of three other get-rich-Quac
concerns who was arrested py Onllee
states officers recently on charge q
using the mails for a fraudulent purpose,
was brought down from the County jan
yesterday for another examination ~
United States Commissioner Whlteheaos ;
office.
Tinted states District Attorney ].
Kearny Rice. Postoffice Inspector Snow
and Deputy Marshal Garside represenleo
the prosecution, and Roper's lawyer looked
after his interests. There We're present as
witnesses for the Government Ross Il.
Foster. former secretary and treasurer OF
the Realty Loan and Title Company ana
the -Four Per Cent. Loan Company, two OF
Roper's concerns; Eugene Hilton, who
was bookkeeper for all the concerns; I'D
ward S. steingle and Norman c. Scar. Of
ficers and directors in some OF the com
NAMES. and J. w. Thomas, who was
director.
Mr.. Foster was on the witness stand
nearly three hours. He said he was in
duced BY Roper to act as organizer Tor
him in the spring of 1895 Roper giving
glowing description Of how money eouid
be made in a lawful way by making loans
through his companies. Foster began
work in May. 1898, and was put on
weekly salary, he said for his services,
though he figured as a secretary ana
treasurer in the business The Four Fer
Cent. Loan Company was organized IN
October 189S and Foster was an ofacer
of that and the Realty Corporation
Il opened letters received for the com
panies with which was connected, Fos-
ter said, "but 1 turned all the money. over
to Roper, who banked 1t, 1 suppose. l
got nothing but my weekly pay.
After while, began to suspect that
ell was not right, because OF complaints
that came from persons in many States
about not getting loans that were prom
ased to them. Therefore.I and several
friends who had gone into the business
when I did, got out of the concern 1t
was in August last I think, that drew
OUT
.-s--zzesseE identified today the signature of
Roper to letters sent TO persons, and he
said that he signed many letters IN reply
to persons who invested in the concerns.
He alleged that his name had been signed
by Roper to some letters.
He claimed that he went into the con-
Germs in the belief that they were straight
and said that as soon as he was pretty
sure that the concerns were not all right
ne got out and his friends did the same.
Il suppose Roper's lawyer aims to try
80 shift some of the responsibility from
Roper to me and others who served as
Officers said Foster, after he had testi-
1ied, but I do not believe he viii sue
eeed. There are others who will tell the
Government more about Roper's manage
anent of the several concerns than can"
Norman C. Sears was called as a wit
ness after Ropers counsel had question
ed Foster. He was expected to tell how
Roper managed the Realty Corporation
and how he discovered that the business
was not conducted as he had thought It
was.
Eugene Hilton, New York bookxeeper,
came to Newark every Sunday TO write
up the books of Roper's concerns. For
this work he was paid SIG month, he
said this afternoon, but as all he mad
to do was to enter from checks the
amounts Of money received and deposit
ed each week he did not know much OF
the actual transactions Of the companies.
But last summer he told Foster that
the accounts OF LQ6 our 7 SI NSlt- 1OeAhA
Company were short about $3.50 and that
he had better look into the matter. Fos-
ter investigated and got out Of the con-
Germs. Sears told steinle and Hilton last
September that Roper's concerns We're
not straight and that all of them had
better get out.
I'VE knew that Roper and Sears were
not on good terms" said Efifton land
therefore we did not know whether to
believe what he said. Neither of us knew
that the business of the companies was
not straight We had no positive proof
that there was anything wrong, but we
had decided to withdraw and were about
10 do so when Roper was arrested
Hilton said that at one time loans had
been made in the name of the Realty Com
poration on about thirty pieces of real
estate, but the number dwindled so that
when the business was stopped by Roper
arrest not more than eight or ten pieces
of property were held Sin the name of
the concern"
Postofice Inspector Snow expects that
Roper. who cannot give 5000 bail. will be
held for the United States Grand Jury,
and that fifty or sixty witnesses will go
before the jury for the Government These
witnesses will come from Iowa, Kansas,
Louisiana, Texas and other States to tes-
tify to letters they received and the sums
of MOI they forwarded to Roper ard
yet di not obtain loans asked for.
After Sears and a young woman testi-
fed the examination was adjourned to
ten o'clock next Thursday. United States
District Attorney Rice wanted the amount
Of Roper's bail increased. because of de-
yelopments at the examination. but it re-
mained at 5000.
This is a great case" Mr.. Rice said,
at the close Of the examination. as viii
be shown when the whole story comes
ept
Il is thought that before the case is
finished before Commissioner Whitehead
ethers besides Roper may be drawn into
the Governments net.
An Old and We'll Tried Remedy.