Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1905-11-29
DUNCAN AND HIS MILL.
The Situation Is Becoming More Complicated
and Duncan VIII Not Talk for Papers.

The Union aud Buffalo cotton mills
seem to become steadily more compli.
GATED as the days go by, and all are look
ing forward with great interest to the
bankruptcy hearing which is to be had
in Charleston on the 9th, when impor-
tant new developments are expected to
be brought out in definite form. At that
hearing it is thought that ex-Presdent
Il. @. Duncan's position will be fully out
lined and some of the various rumors
afoat about him definitely answered.
Just now the intimation comes strong
and straight that it is his intention to
fight In the courts the action of the new
directors in closing out tho cotton con-
tracts made in his name for over 100000
bales, it being clear now that had the
directors waited few days they would
have been $3.50, 900 ahead of the game on
this transaction instead of half million
behind, tho total loss being million
dollars. And friend of Mr.. Duncan
here said that it was of record that the
directors promised him not to close out
these contracts before the 25th of this
month. For seven years he had been
kiting these properties through storms
successfully, in the full knowledge of
the old directors, it is said, and Mr.. Dun
cans friends claim conspiracy has
been formed to down him, and that he
will fight to the bitter end.
Mr.. Duncan's attorneys have forbidden
him to talk for publication, but friends
who have talked with him say that he is
as anxious as anybody to recover the
ledgers which recently disappeared from
the company's Office at Union. They as
sert that these books were last in pos
session of Mr.. Fleitmann's expert ac-
countants; that the two experts Mr..
Duncan brought from Atlanta to also go
over them were refused access to them;
that the day before they turned up miss
ing Mr.. Fleitmann's men had them up
stairs, and it was presumed that they
returned them to the safe; that Mr..
Duncan was out of the city at the time
of their disappearance. On the other
hand it is asserted that there were a
dozen or more people who knew the
combination to this safe. 1t appears to
come from Mr.. Duncan that these books
showed big transactions against the
Buffalo mills, which it is Mr.. Fleitmann's |
interest to steer away from bankruptcy |
1t is further asserted by Mr.. Duncan's |,
friends that these books showed that in
of ,n1f della
standing against Mr.. Duncan on open |
account, the amounts for which he drew |
on Mr.. Fleitmann from time to time were |
secured by 100000 of Union and Glenn
Springs railroad bonds, some $20O00O of
Union and Buffalo stock aud over $780,
Shoals. Mr.. Duncan has Mr.. Fletmann's
receipts for these securities, and has re-
Gently exhibited them to friends. In this
connection it is also asserted that lead
ing Richmond banking concern offered
to pay the Fleitmann concern all Mr..
Duncan owed it on the securities the
Fleitmann concern had at that time
On the other hand the story is going
the rounds that Mr.. Duncan short
time before the crash came raised over
one hundred thousand dollars from three
and distinct sources on the
same bunch of warehoused cotton which
had no existence except in the imagina-
tion of Mr.. Duncan.
When a correspondent asked one of |
Mr. Duncan's closest friends how Mr. |!
Duncan explained dsposing of cotton on
which warehouse receipts had been used |
to raise cash, he replied that there has
been custom among the mill people to |
use such cotton as they require it and |
the credit of the mill stand for the |
amount due.