The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1900-03-24
FRESH GOSSIP
FROM GOTHAM.
Why the House Of; Appleton e CO..
Came 10 Grief.
MYSTERIOUS DEATH o {. PRIEST
Jury Makes a Man Pay an ALLEGED;
Gambling Debt = Husband Dies
That. His Wife May Marry
Younger Man. +

NEW YORK, March Especial There
is much egret here at the failure Of the
publishing house of D. Appleton & Co.
Mr.. James g. Cannon is chairman Of the
committee which has undertaken Its re-.
organization in the interest of the scredi-
tors. In speaking of the assignment, he
said that it was really a prosperity fail
ure. The very fact that the people are
SO prosperous caused such an extension
of the business Of the firm that it has not
enough capital to conduct it, and the fail
ure of Harper & Brothers had so impaired
the credit of publishing houses that D.
Appleton & Co. were unable to sell their
paper. The firm did an extensive business
in the way Of selling books on the in
stalment plan, and, as nearly everybody
has felt rich enough to ad few books
to his library in the past two years, there.
has been large expansion In the install
ment business OF the house. This business
is very profitable, but 1t requires large:
capital. illasmuch as it ties up the money
invested in the publications for six
months to year before there is return
'of profits How large this line of trade
was is shown by the statement Of the
firm that there is now due 1t in instalment
payments the sum Of 1929, 64S. This, how
is only a small percentage of defaults.
The firms outstanding paper amounts to
about 81, GOO, 600, and is held by about one
hundred banks. mostly out OF town insti-5
tutions, many of them being in Penn.
sylvania. Mr.. Cannon believes that the
ireceivership will be Short and that the
firm, which is a very honorable one, with
a record of seventy-five years, will be
set on its feet again.
PAID HIS GAMBLING DEBT
Fernando R. Walker, retired paper
dealer, when sued for si00 note, pleaded
that the note was given for gambling
debt, and that, therefore, he was not COM
PEELED by law to pay 1t. The note fell
into the hands of innocent parties, ana
when the case was tried in court the
jury decided that the plaintiff must pay. \:
Louis Cohen, a wealthy, retired saloon
keeper committed suicide in Brooklyn
yesterday afternoon He left a letter, in
which he. said that he was too old for his
wife, and that she was entitled to
younger husband. He was sixty-four
years of age, and his wife is thirty-four.s
The widow IS prostrated with grief. The
tneighbors all say that she and her husband
were devoted to each other.
WAS 1T SUICIDE?
Rev. B. F. Duffy, pastor of the Church
of the Sacred Heart in Germantown. died
at the Ashland House. in this city, yester-5
day. The room in which his body was
found was filled with escaping gas. Father,
Duffy's friends believe that he attempted
to light gas stove that was in his ROOM
and was overcome by the escaping gas.
He had for some time been suffering with.
heart trouble.
Bids were opened yesterday for the
city's 3ls per cent. bonds to the amount of,
81, $50, 0C0 The bonds will probably be-
awarded to kohn, Loen s. Co. on their
bid of 1893.
N. & WIS PROSPERITY.
The Tribune of this morning prints the
following item on its financial page:
Heavy buying of Norfolk and Western
common was a leading feature in yester-5
days market. There were various reports.
about the company, one of which said
that the road would be absorbed by the
Pennsylvania or Baltimore and Ohio. but
the main cause of the buying was found
in the roads big earnings and the dlvl-
dend prospects of the stock. Considering
the mileage of the Norfolk and Western,
it's earnings have been phenomenal. The
preferred stock is a regular per cent.
dividend payer. while current earnings
for the common indicate 5 aper cent. for
the year. With the higher soft coal rate
schedule, which goes into effect on April
LIST, the companys earnings will run ahead
of present enormous returns, ana II would
not be surprising If the common stock
were placed in the dividend column IN
July.