The age-herald., 1901-07-14
A BIT OF
 FLAGLER
 SCANDAL


 in lower Broadway, and wherever else they may happen to be, to keep out of the courts. and 1t must be said for them that in this they succeed very well, con sidering their large and varied engage ments. But, strange enough, Henry M. Flagler. one of the feathered chieftains of the oil crowd has, by series of cir cumstances, gotten himself entangled in more law than he is likely to see the end of in many weary month. MT Flag Ter Is T years old. He was born in Can adaigua county, this State, in 1880. When IA years old he worked his passage to Buffalo on board a canal boat, and now he can ride from one end of the United States to the other on railroads that he either owns outright or in which he Is a large stockholder. There is not, of course, much in Florida in the way of railroad or fine hotel property that MT. Flagler does not own, and his holdings In the leading railroads of the country are enormous. In the recent railroad combinations in the West the Rockefeller Flagler millions have played large part. MT. Flagler is not seen often about the
 
 Der of the Union League, Metropolitan, City Club, New York Yacht Club, Larch- mont Yacht Club and American Yacht Club. He is also a member of the New England Society. MT. Flagler helped to suckle the infant oil octopus, having been one of the original oil refiners of Cleveland. The firm was Rockefeller, Andrews and F'lagler and it was the gem esis of the Standard oil Company.
 MT. Flagler has the destinction of being just now at both ends of divorce litiga- tion In Florida he is a petitioner for a divorce from his insane wife, now in Dr. McDonald's sanitarium, at Pleasantville, near White Plains, and in the Supreme Court in this State he is named as one of the correspondents in the case in which E. c. Foot seeks a divorce from Mrs. Foot, and, incidentally is $100,0 900 damages from MT. Flagler It sets forth in these court papers that MT. Flagler has be- slowed as much as $4O0, 900 in money, jew els and real estate on Mrs. Foot. One of the gifts a fine house in East Fifty-sev- enth street. this city, rents for $4200 a year. Other valuable property, includ- ing 5000 in cash with which to furnish a flat, is scheduled as coming from Mr.
 
 show his interest In the lady. There is another correspondent mentioned in this celebrated case, who Is as poor as MT Flagler is rich, and who has himself had some lively litigation in which MT. Flag Ter was conspicuous. Mrs. Foot was also right in the seething center of this, al- though she was personally in Europe at the time, where it was alleged by the lawyers that she was journeying at MT Midas's expense and with a view of keep ing away from the unpleasantness of broil In court.
 This was really a very interesting case, but perhaps, because it was tried in It, tie one-horse court up in Winchester county the particulars did not get to the anxious public. In this case-or in one of these cases-J. H. Maiden sued MT. Flag Ter for $18,S6S75, being as he alleged, the difference between the amount which Mir Flagler had paid him for seventy-fve shares of Standard oil stock and the real value of said stock. This stock today would be worth $60,0OO Maiden had been a clerk in a railroad office In town and met Mrs. Foot at a boarding house kept by her mother They became good friends and Maiden suddenly developed into a man with money to burn, and he proceeded to burn it all along Broadway.
 The seventyfive shares of oil stock was one of the handsome gifts from his lady
 
 cordance with her wish that he took the certificate to No. 26 Broadway to have them transferred on the books of the Standad Oil Company in his own name. Leave the certificates here and come back in a day or two and we will have the transfer made,' is said to have been the instructions which Maiden received at No 26, and he acted accordingly. When he returned to the temple of man. mon he was told that MT. Flagler wished to see him, and he was ushered into MT. Flagler's private den. There, according to Malden's attorney, the oil man gave the young clerk what the police call the third degree with view to recovering the certificates which he recognized as once having been his own. Maiden was as firm as a clerk could expect to be in the presence of Midas, and stoutly de- clared his ownership of the property by virtue of gift from a wealthy lady friend.
 According to this authority there was monkey and a parrot time between Nal den and Midas, continuing over several days. Midas began by offering to give 5000 for the stock and drop the whole matter. Maiden did not know as much about oil values as he might, but he had a sneal1ing notion that his oil property was worth more. He wouldn't sell at that figure. There were other heated and interesting lHterNleWS anu lhiudS TdlSeu the amount $5000 at crack until $20, GOO was reached. That seemed a good deal of money to the young clerk and he ac- cepted it, the certificates going back into oil pot. By and by some one told Maiden that he had sold too cheap and looking at the tape he thought so himself. He went to an eminent lawyer in the Equitable building, who brought suit against MT. Flagler to recover the difference, $1S,S6S. .75. In the meantime these were glad and golden days for Maiden, and he was hay ing more fun than a barrel of monkeys. He had a bank account and his checks were flying around as if there was no end to his resources.
 Here it was that the clerk made a mis- calculation. He gave two checks, one to a livery stable man and the other to Mar tin, the restaurant man, both checks amounting to not over $50 more than he had in the bank to meet them and he was arrested. It was alleged that the oil man was back of these cases pressing them and whether he was or not Maiden was unable to extricate himself and was sem tenced to six months imprisonment This included the hot months of last summer and during this torrid time the young clerk was fighting cockroaches in the Toombs. Mrs. Foote, the fair vision of female lovliness, that runs through this romance, was formerly belle of Schenec- tady, this state, where she had many ad- nirers One of the curious features of the case is, of course, that the rich oil king and the poor clerk who have been involv- ed in fierce lawsuits as opposing litgants should now find themselves bound to-