The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1901-12-31
Deed to Property Owned by John
0'Gara Forged and Attempt
Made to Dispose Of Land to
EImira, N. Y. Man
THE MATTER WILL BE
FULLY INVESTIGATED
Board of Trade Members Wonder
if Maryland Knitting Company
Intends to Locate in Town or
Whether the Story Is Part of
a Plot to Defraud Them

Special to The Spy
Spencer, Dec. 30.-John O'Gara of
Spencer, owner of Railroad Park in
the West End, received a telegram
from Elmira, N. Y, today asking him
if he had decided certain property in
Spencer to E. NJ. Shepard who is con-
nected with the Maryland Knitting
Company which the Spencer Board of
Trade hopes to induce to locate in
town. Mr.. O'Gara Immediately wired
back saying he had not decided any Of
his property in Spencer to Mr.. Shepard
and that if any one had in their pos
session such a deed it was forged.
When Mr.. O'Gara received the mes
sage it started him thinking and when
the story became known about town
there was much talk on the subject.
and as a result members of the Spen-
Ger Board of Trade are on the worry
| list.
About three weeks ago the Spencer
Board of Trade opened up negotiations
with the head of a new industry that
they hoped to locate in Spencer. and
last week it was definitely announced
that the new industry was the Mary
! land Knitting Company and that it
would locate in Spencer e. NJ. Shep-
ard was at the head of the new com
pany and upon making inquiries the
Spencer Board of Trade found that
Mr.. Spencer had a good record in the
state of Maryland. Among the Mer-
camille Agencies.
The company sent a representative
to Spencer and plans were laid for in
staIlfng the knitting company in this
town. The agreement was that the
Board Of Trade raise $500 which was
to be delivered to the company at the
end of the first year. The money
was raised and all plans completed and
Monday Dec. IS A. A. Barker of the
firm of Barker & Nourse, architects of
Worcester, H. c. Rapp, representative
of the new industry, and John O'Gara
of whom the land was to be secured,
met in Spencer and looked over the
O'Gara land at Railroad Park
Here Mr.. OGara has erected a long
board fence on which Is painted a sign
announcing that he will give away a
tract of land to boni-fide manufactur-
ers. The amount of land that he would
give is about four acres. sufficient for
a building 100 feet long and 80 feet
wide. The representative of the COM
pany looked over the land and appeared
satisfied with 1t, and said it would suit
the companies purpose. Mr.. O'Gara did
not give the man deed of the prop
erty, waiting to see the plans of the
company assume more definite shape.
Since then news has been received
from Elmira, N. Y, of the bunco game
some one is trying to put up on Mr..
.O'Gara. 1t appears that somebody who
has heard of the property and the
steps the Spencer Board of Trade has
taken to secure the new industry has
forged a deed to Mr.. O'Gara's property
and tried to pass it to third party in
Elmira.
Some of the Spencer people knew of
the matter early today and they say
a man who is in the states prison there
Matched up the plan, and the work was
carried out by some one on the outside.
If the matter ends as easy as that, and
If that is as much as the town of
Spencer will be mixed up in the case,
the town will be thankful. Many are
inclined to think that the whole thing
is scheme for making money. The
question now is are the owners of the
Maryland Knitting Company aware
that the Spencer Board of Trade is
trying to induce them to locate in
Spencer.
If they are there will be a great
burden taken from the shoulders of the
Spencer Board of Trade, for many
Spencer people who claim to know
something of the facts concerning the
new industry say that they believe it
is all a gold brick.
Members of the Spencer Board of
Trade were seen tonight by The Spy re-
porter but as yet they are not aware of
the facts in the case themselves. Henry
NJ. Tower, President of the Board of
Trade, has received a telegram, pre-
sumably from Elmira, n. Y, but the
contents he does not choose to give out
at present, The matter will be thor
oughly investigated.
The efforts of Alphonso Querie, the
Chestnut Street barber, to cut prices in
Spencer. as told in The Spy last week
are beginning TO be felt in town, and
Tuesday night there will be a meeting
of the BARRIERS of Spencer in the barber
shop of Mr.. Querie on Chestnut Street,
to take action on the request Of that
individual.
ALL Spencer felt the effects Of the
rain storm Monday. The business men
Of the Sugden block were surprised
when they visited the cellar of the
block in the morning to find there was