The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-22
THE MURDERER OF OLIPHEET
mas 4 FRIEND ar BROJ WER,
WHO RORBED THE FIRM.
seurFllOus Letters Asking for GlenIency
Tor ISrOnw sr We're SigneGi ga and Are
Believed tO Have Gene FrOR' aieIger
-BrOkeP's Funeral TI lie TO-m0rrOw.

Believed tO AIaNe CSne FrOM assIGer
-BrOkeP's Funeral VIII lie TO-mSrrSw.
Half "A dozen porters carried a long table,
eight feet al unvanished pine, out Of the
banking ONCE 81 james Il. Oliphant at 20
Broad street yesterday afternoon. Few
people noticed the red stains on the table
top. Nobody who saw the table being
removed knew, in all probability. that
il was the table Mr.. Oliphant fell back upon
when he was shot on Friday Afternoon by
DR.. Charles A.. Geiger Of Beaufort. y.
T.. or that IL WIS the table around
which Mr.. Oliphant and the members Ut
his firm Sat when they first investigated
the peculations OF George II, Brouwer,
the confidential manager OF James H..
Oliphant a Co., who wis sent TO Sing Sing
recently.
In his two years " speculation through
the Oliphant concern DR.. Geiger had trans
acted q good deal OF his business through
Brouwer, and it. was said yesterday by
one OF the confidential employees of the
house that Brouwer and DIR. Geiger were
pretty close friends. Among the many
letters received by Judge ROsalsky while
the BrOuwer case was ON letters from
William X. Wilcox and dozens ~ other
prominent men urging clemency were sew
sral signed %" which Judge Rosalsky took
exception TO because Of their threatening
and sc%urri,ous nature. 1t was thought
that DIR. Geiger might have wanted TO get
Brouwer of il possible.
Something more Of he South Curolinian's
operations with james II. Oliphant & Co.
was learned yesterday IL was said that
or January 1, 1909. when he put up Virginia
deferred bonds Of the par value Of $50 ,OOO
and 500 shares Of United States Steel com
mon AZ margins Co cover his plunging. the
bonds were worth 10. the Steel shares around
10. The value Of the securities he advanced
ss collateral was, roughly. So, 90. In
addition, it was said. DR., Geiger had put
in some cash aud "A Japanese BOND or two.
all Of which went in the End, making his
losses in the neighbOrhOod of $50, OOO.
Geiger's Deculiarities ~ y trader we're
described Yesterday by one who was ia
miiiar with his business will The Oliphan nj
firm. He came here frequently from Beau
fort. s.. G.. or from Roswell. Ga. where he
had relatives. and spent weeks in this city.
stopping al the Holland House and spending !
q good deal of time in the customers room
Mt James II. Oliphunt n Co = office at ~
Broad street. He had very little TO say 10
anybody. was moody, apparently. especially
In the last year. when his losses began TO
IlONll w. ADOlll u year ago ne beRln TO |
trade almost exclusively in United States
Steel common. buying and selling a. much
as 5000 shares in "a day.
Geiger was what some brokers call a
crazy trader. He followed lunches Of his
own. In the morning no might sell a thou
sand or two Of Steel shares, almost alwnys
with such bad luck that he lost substan-
usAg, ~ the afternoon he would get an
idea that he ought To buy. and usually he
lost in buying, whipsawed in the day1-
operations. His transactions in Steel have
amounted TO as much as SS7 900 worth On
margin in four days.
Wtthip the last few weeks. il was said
yesterday, Mr.. Oliphant got the idea that
tteiger was mentally unsOund and didn't
like the idea Of being alone with him. Mr..
OIphan remarked as much in his own
office. When Geiger went TO the Office
on Friday afternoon after the talk he had
with Mr.. Olphant in the morning Mr..
Ulphant was anxious TO get rid Of him.
put n was Geiger, on the plea of very com
ndential business. that drew Mr.. Oliphant
back into the little storeTOOm where he
shot the broker to death. The employees
OF the Oliphant concern who saw Geiger
when he entered believe that ne went to
the Office with the idea IF C~oercing Mr..
Ohphant into giving him money or killing
him.
Geiger never talked much about him
self, hut once he said that he had been a
in the British army. At another
time he said that fifteen years ago he was
W AbyhHiht anu WIS hlpE NfileIlk 3
court physician. He old another story
10 the effect that he had been private ply
stefan for the Sultan Of Morocco. lie
TOO, that he had lost a great deal
of money through unfortunate promotion
IN the South before he ever came
10 New York.
The body Of James II. Oliphant was re-
moved yesterday morning from the Hudson
street hospital to his home, at Il5 Clinton
street, Brooklyn. where a private funeral
will be- held Tomorrow afternoon
At 2 O'Clock. COrOner's Physician O'IIanlOn
performed an autopsy before the body
was taken away. DIR. OHanlon found the
bullet THAI killed Mr.. Oliphant embedded
in the muscles Of the back just underneath
the skin. II had gone in at about the centre
81 the abdomen, worked upward, piercing
the stomach, then passed downward again.
the larger intestine. finally am-
bedding itself in the back muscles. j..
Norris Oliphant. the son Of James n
Ohphant was present az the autopsy and
received the bullet from DR.. OHanlon.
Gciger's body was taken from the Morgue
10 an undertaker's in Brooklyn. IL was
hy an uncle, ID. ". Allen. and will
0e shipped tomorrow 10 Savannah. Ga.