The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1905-10-04
This Story Of the TregO County
Shale.
An Echo in the State Supreme
Court.
OFT CASE APPEALED.
An Amusing Brief Filed in the
Case.
When Shale Owners Thought
They We're Rich.

One of the relies OF the Kansas gold
shale excitement arose specter-Iilze be-
fore the supreme court Tuesday, and in
sisted upon being heard. It was the
difficulty which in Topeka Is known as
the sOtt-Poindexter fight" The title of
the case is Geo. A. Poole ct al, VS.. E. w
Poindexter ct al.
The quarrel is between the stoekhold-
ers in mining partnership formed
about 1899 for the purpose of extracting
gold from the Trego and Ellis county
shales. Mr.. OFT thought he had a pro-
cess by which the gold values in the
shale could be extracted, and do so
eheaply that there would be a sure profit
on every ton of shaIe handled. With
shale in unlimited quantities, the profits
would be, according to Mr.. Otis pro-
position, only question of multiplying
the facilities for handling the shale.
However, the company had a falling
out because the process didn't work as
1t was expected to, and finally the OFT
faction brought suit against the Pom
dexter faction for an accounting, and
a dissolution of the mining partnership.
The lower court decided against him,
and his appeal to the supreme court
was argued yesterday before the SUI
preme court.
The brief of the defendants in error
the Poindexter faction-eontains some
interesting illusions to the gold shale
craze. It says:
Some time prior to 1900. s. S. OFT
solicited the. defendants, E. w.
Poindexter, F. A Lewis. Edwin Scott.
H. P. Dillon, A. B. Quinton, E. S. Quin-
ton and one T. 0. Popenoe to enter into
a mining partnership for the purpose of
extracting gold, precious gold, untold
&c do -
Trego and Ellis counties. Think of it,
representing to said defendants that
such shale carried gold in profitable
quantities; that he had various process
ses for extracting it; that the gold fields
OF africa, the former heritage of the
Beers land it was a Beers scheme),
was very similar. except smaller in
value; showed and presented each one
of US with gold buttons, Jumps of gold,
that he himself had easily and readily
extracted s-Om the shale; that there
were thousands of acres of it. and what
he wanted was about forty or fifty thou
sand dollars from these defendants to
put up mill and work this shale.
THE above defendants, born of the
faith of the Apostle Paul in that it
was the substance of things hoped for
and the evidence of things not seen,
in the common expression of the day,
readily bit, and put about $50 900 into
Otis hands without any bond or Sc
curity on the part of OFT whatever,
which was part of the above de-
scribed faith, with a carte blanche of
authority for him to build a mill for
the purpose of working and mining
this ore. He built the mill, or what
he called A mill-and oh, what mills
1.-THE gold did not materialize, and
we We're continually called on for
more money, until, wearied of the
same, as hope deferred maketh the
heart sick the defendants COM
menced to ask and inquire politely of
Mr.. OFT what had become of our
money and what had become of the
gold from the shaIe of Trego and Ellis
counties. Our inquiries grew with
such force and pertinence that S. s.
OFT. fearing that we would sue him
for an accounting. as he had In his
hands all of the money and property
of the company and was still calling
for more money, commenced himself
this suit against the rest of the MEM
bers of the mining partnership for a
dissolution of the mining partnership
and an accounting. He anticipated
our action with Hindoo god cheek
that amazed US. We could not believe,
and are hardly sensible of the fact
now. that he would bring suit against
these defendants or any other mem
Der of the mining partnership. when
there was not single one of them
that had anything to do with the
handling of the funds or property of
the concern.