The citizen. (Honesdale, Pa.) 1908-1914, 1908-12-09
CHURCHES LOSE.
Catholic Institutions In a
$4,5OO,OOO Failure.
BOOKS MISSING, SAYS RECEIVER
Many Seminaries, Colleges, Priests
and Nuns Suffer by Collapse
of the Fidelity Fund
ing Company.
BOOKS MISSING, SAYS RECEIVER

New York, Dec. S.-That the affairs
IF the Fidelity Funding company,
which was organized to finance the
building operations of Catholic church.
IS and allied institutions, are in an ex-
,eedingly tangled condition is asserted
oy the receiver. Thomas +. Gilroy, Jr.
p. j. Kieran, up to short time ago
president of the company, could not
be seen when sought for a statement
in connection with the company's af-
fairs and was said to be out Of the
city.
According to Receiver Gilroy, the
,ompany's liabilities will aggregate
not less than $4,500,0OO with prac-
ticaIly no assets. Its creditors include
fifty churches, semlnaries, colleges and
hundreds Of priests and nuns. These
are located all over the country, from
the New England states to Oregon.
Chief among the company's creditors
is ST. Mary's academy of Nauvoo, Ill.,,
which is involved for at least $780,
700.
The heads of converts and parishes
are spending anxious hours, wondering
what will be the outcome Of their hay.
ing placed mortgages and notes with
Kferan.
"Some of the most important books
and papers are missing" said Receiver
Eilroy. II understand that Mr.. Kieran
claimed them as his personal proper
~. His lawyer has promised to pro-
luce these books and papers,"
AS explained by the receiver, most
Of the Fidelity Funding company's
loans were to run for twenty years.
In addition to these loans, the compa.
ny also issued life insurance against
the lives of priests and nuns.
The Fidelity Funding company also
Catholic church. These are secured,
according to the receiver, by mort
cages on property. but how much may
be recovered from this source 1t is as
yet impossible to say.
In addition to the Fidelity Funding
company, Kieran also conducted q
number of subsidiary companies. All
these, Receiver Gilroy declares, were
financed by funds from the Fidelity
Funding company.
The authorized capital of the Fideli-
ty Funding company was $5,OOO,OOO
and $2500,000 surplus, the buyers Of
the stock being for the most part
priests and nuns. Former Secretary
Of the Treasury Leslie NJ. Shaw is
down oh the company's books as hav-
ing made a loan of 100000 to Kieran.
This is secured. Mr.. Shaw also pur-
chased $4,000 Of the company's stock.
st. Vincent's college Of Chicago
gave notes aggregating 100000 over
and above a mortgage for 5000, 900, and
the st. Thomas Aquinas church Of
Cleveland, the largest and finest Ro-
man Catholic church In that city, -
involved to the extent Of 1926, 5000.
The present head of the company ID
Duncan H. Sill, and among it's f6r.
mer directors were Father Lanigan,
vicar general of the Buffalo diocese,
and Father Fletcher, pastor Of the
Baltimore cathedral.
The receiver declares that he con.
templates bringing suits aggregatins
100000 against a number Of banks
and financial institutions on the
ground that heavy bonuses were
charged for loans made to the Fidelity
Funding company.
The receiver also announced his In.
tention to proceed against other bahkI
which, he alleges, loaned sums Of mon
ey to Kieran on collateral which be-
onged to the company.