Arizona republican., 1903-04-07

Buffalo, N. Y.4 April 6.-The Commer- cial this afternoon publishes story in which it is alleged that Arthur R. Pen nell, who was killed in an automobile accident on March 10, was a defaEiter to the extent of from S150,00 to S2O0,000. The story, the Commercial says, leaked out as the result of a legal dispute over the life insurance policies, and is to the effect that Pennell induced friends in east who had known his family and the family of his wife to place money i'll his hands for investment. He acted, in fact. as their financial agent.
 He would inform them of some good investment which he had come across which would pay an excellent rate of interest, and they would send him money. The money which was sent to him for investment, it is alleged, he spent, and when interest payments fell due he made payments out of his own pockets. Wallace Thayer, who was Pencils attorney and intimate friend. is referred to by the paper as saying he had suspected irregularities but that he had no proof of any such wrong do- ing.
 Incidentally, it has been learned that Pennell made provision for the pay ment to Mrs. Edwin L. Burdick of s25,- eco out of his life insurance. Pennell carried S200,000 life insurance in order that, as the Commercial says, after his death the eastern estates to which he is alleged to have been a defaulter, might be able to recoup the losses which they sustained through him. in his will Pennell named as adninistra- tor of his estate his brother, J. Freder- ick PenneN.
 He left to his administrator sealed instructions that upon his death he should make good in full out of his es- tate all the losses which had been sus- tained through his defalcations. The Commercial adds that Pennell had con- templated suicide for two years, and says the fact is known that Pennell planned two years ago to throw himself in front of a train at Peekskill and to make it appear that his death was an accident
 He stopped off at Peekskill on the way back from New York, with the in tention of committing suicide in that way, but his nerve failed him. Recent ly he told the story of the Peekskill incident himself.
 During the Spanish-American expo sition he sought for days for an op- portunlty to commit suicide in man. ner that would make it appear acci- dental. He had an idea that he could be run over in some way while at the exposition but he never could nerve himself up to the point where he could throw himself under a train or <lrop under the wheels of trolley car. It appears that there were two life poli- cieS which had not been handed over to the administrator. One was for S15.0G0. and the other for S10,000.
 These two policies had been assigned by Pennell to Attorney Wallace Thay- er in trust. In one he was referred to as Wallace Thayer trustee" and in the other he was designated Wallace Thayer, as trustee" The insurance companies took legal counsel in the matter and held up payments. J. Fred erick Pennell, the administrator of the estate, was called in and insisted on having more information before he would consent to the payment of any insurance money to MT. Thayer as trustee. Ii was then that the story of Pennell's alleged defalcations end his plans to commit suicide were made known.
 The $25.000 insurance money assigned to Thayer in trust is supposed to be paid over to Mrs. Burdick ill accord