The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1903-07-06
STEWART CASE UP
Millionaire Wheat Raiser APP
peals to Supreme Court.
Bank Stakeholder Made Charge
of Fraud.
HE WON HIS SUIT.
SUIT.
Got a Judgment Against the
Wheat King.
An Interesting Case Comes
from Kansas City.

John T. Stewart, the millionaire wheat
raiser of Sumner county. appealed to
the supreme court today from a deci-
sion of the district court in Sumner
county by which he was declared to
have been guilty of fraud and misrep>
resentation. The jury in the lower
court gave A. 3. Harris a verdict of
$2,S9ioS against Stewart, which was
every cent that Harris sued for, with
per cent. interest added.
Stewart, it seems, is president of the
Wellington National bank. Harris was
a stakeholder. Harris owned twelve
shares, for which he paid $3.50 a sharN
Harris complained to Stewart because
there were no dividends paid on the
stock. That was where the alleged con-
SDirdcy commenced.
1t is claimed by the plaintiff, Harris.
that Stewart told him the bank was in
bad condition; that it had been obliged
to charge off" $4,000 worth of worth
less paper, and that all the earnings
were being used to replace this asset
and maintain the value of the stock.
MIR. Stewart showed the bank state-
ments to Harris, which presented a
very discouraging view of the situat ton.
Shortly after, I. +. Randolph, acting
for Stewart, came to Harris and offered
to buy his twelve shares of stock, and
a trade was made, Harris selling his
twelve shares for 81, 1000, which was less
then he paid for them.
Not long after Harris discovered, he
says, that he had been made the VIC
time of conspiracy. He says that
deliberate attempt had been made by
Stewart to depreciate the value of the
stock so that he might buy a control~
ing interest in the bank. He says that
the bank books had been falsified, and
the earnings had been charged to profit
and loss, and to fund known as the
cashiers fund.- or fixed up so that the
q c1, Gov. flaiv
amount. The real estate owned by the
bank it is claimed had been appraised
at less than its real value. The $4,000
worthless paper had been charged off
/ away back in 1896, and had all been
cleared UP before Stewart bought his
stock so that he might buy a controll-
what he paid for it Harris alleged that
the stock was really worth $3.50 a share.
and he got a judgment for $2,S940S
more than the original $1,000 which had
been paid him.
One of the interesting features of the
case is that Attorney Williams, who
1 represents Harris. was for 20 years the
attorney for Stewart. Some years ago,
Williams and Stewart had big row,
and Stewart dismissed Williams from
his employ. Williams was laying for
( Stewart, and he went into the case
| against him for blood. He knew how to
go after the bank president, and seems
to have won his case.
ANOTHER PECULIAR CASE.
| 1t is not often that the supreme court
calls upon a litigant to prove that said
litiga1t is an illegitimate child. That is
the situation in the case of the Bethany
/ Hospital company of Kansas City
against Emma Swartz Hale. The case
came up before the supreme court once
before, and the supreme court reversed
it because the evidence was not clear
| as to whether Emma Swartz Hale was
the Legitimate child as she claimed
to be.
William Swartz. bachelor aged so
years, died in Bethany hospital, Kansas
City, in February, 1900. He left nearly
| all his property to the hospital, diSin-
heriting Emma Swartz Hale, whom he
had always acknowledged to be his il
legitimate daughter. He left $1,000 to
| Emma Swartz IIale's son. Mrs. Hale
! then went into court for the purpose OF
breaking the will on the ground that
| William Swartz was insane when he
made it. In this she succeeded, but the
| supreme court held that no evidence
had been introduced at the trial to
prove that Mrs. Emma Swartz Hale was
really the illegitimate daughter of Will
liam Swartz
At the rehearing of the case D. S.
| Danielson testified that when he mar
| ried the mother of Mrs. Emma Swartz
Hale, the woman had a child two
months old and this child she told him
/ was the child of William Swartz. Other
| evidence was introduced which proved
that Emma was born June a. 1877, and
Danielson and the mother were married
in September, 1877.
The jury again held that William
Swartz was not in his right mind when
he made the will. and if the supreme
court sustains this contention. the will
will be broken, and Emma Swartz Hale
will inherit all of her fathers estate.
GOT A LARGE VERDICT.
The case of Otta Sonderegger against
Chas. Andreae was filed today as an ap-
peal from Stafford county. Sonderegger
claims that Andreae hit him with a
piece of iron pipe. causing him to nearly
go blind Andreae asserts that the as
sault was in self-defense. The fight took
place at the little town of Hudson, SAT-
ford county The jury found for the
plaintiff in the lower court. and fixed
the damage at $2072S0.
A cattle case comes up to the supreme
court from Wyandotte county. J. w.
Newland and D. r. Newland loaned
money on cattle, which were down at
Fall River Kan. The cattle were ship
ped out and sold to Greer. Mills & Co.
of Kansas City. before the mortgage
was satisfied The Newlands then came
down On the Greer firm with a claim for
81. 900, and secured verdict in the Wy
andotte court for $500. Greer. Mills &
Co. have appealed the case to the SUI
prene court.