Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-11-30
.DUEz HELD FOR TRIAL
FOR 100000 THEFT
Church Liquidation Scandal,
Which ConvuIsed France, to
Be Barred in Court.

i PARIS, November 3o-Ferdinand Ed
mond Duez, at one time lquidator for thu
property of the congregations dissolved
by the association law, who confessed
last March to the endorsement of S.
! 600 OOO has been held for trial at the
assize court, charged with breach of trust
/ and forgery. His confidential secretary
Martin Gautier. and two agents. Lefebvre
/ and Breton, have been held on similar
charges.
! Not since the days of the Panama
scandal was France SO stirred by revela-
tons of fraud in official circles as when
the news was published. in March last,
that one of the three chief liquidators
OF church property had confessed that he
had embezzled S2.G0o,co0 of the funds re-
sulting from the sale of the property of
| the religious associations dissolved by
the law of 1901.
| On account of the magnitude Of the
| sum involved and hints that more than
one high official was intimately concern
| ed in the fraud the affair instantly be-
| came the subject of INTERPRETATIONS L..
parliament which led to bitter attacks
on the government and became real
| political issue. NJ. BRAND, the premier,
LIun.ised a 1ull anu Impartial lnqulrs +.
! with the severest punishment for the
guilty ones, and his attitude was ap
proved by an immense majority i'll the
| chamber of deputies.
Ferdinand Edmond Duck was judicial
administrator of the civil tribunal OF the
depar. ment of the Seine. He was i'll
charge of the liquidation of the property
O.. thirteen congregations. the most I'M
portant of which was the Christian Broth
ers. who had about two thousand schools
in France and Algeria. Others were the
Misericorde Missions, the PicpuS Fathers,
the Marists. Oblates, RedemptOrfsts and
Oratorians and the Ladies of nt-Maur.
Immense Value of the Properties.
The total value of these properties had
been appraised at $o12, 900 and the gov
eminent expected that they would yield
sos, coz, 600. out of which the old age PEN
sicns voted by parliament could be paid.
When Duez was arrested about half of
the go liquidations had been made and
the total sum actually turned over to
the treasury was only $1,461.:S;1. Duez
confessed that he had taken 100000, his
private secretary, Martin Gauthier, made
similar admission to the extent of
100000 and another secretary, Poitell said
he had taken $1,000. Bourse speculations
which had turned out badly We're given by
Duez as the cause of his downfall.
Charges of collision between the liqui-
GATOR ana the purchaser OF the CndftreuSe
property were made in parliament when
1t was learned that the property, for
which S1,OO0.O0O had been offered. had
been sold for 100000. Altogether about
$11.OO0,O00 is still unaccounted for.
Duez before his arrest was living quiet
| ly with his wife in an apartment in the
Latin quarter. He made no great display
of wealth, and credit has been gwen to
his story OF unlucky speculations on the
bourse. Other persons connected with
the liquidation have. however, been the
target for criticism on account of sudden
af1uence, and it is expected that in the
course of the trial names will be NEIL
toned which will disclose a scandal as
far reaching in it's consequences as that
which resulted from the revelations of
Arton's juggling with the Panama funds.