The Birmingham age-herald., 1910-02-14
BALL NG!R WAS
 NOT RESPONSIBLE.
Business Dealings In Decatur
 Were Legitimate
FAILED IN BUSINESS
Special Representative of Golfers Weekly Is in Decatur Investigat- ing Record of Present Secre-
 tary Of the Interior

Decatur. February 3.-(Special. )-Col- iier's Weekly has a representative In the pecaturs in the person of Richard Lloyd Jones, associate editor. He is here for several days for the purpose of learn ing about the record of Richard A. Bal finger now United States Secretary of ire Interior.
 MT. Ballinger, his wife, his mother and iother resided in New Decatur for some tune several years ago. They came here apout the year 1889 and left here for the far west about the year 1893. MT. Bal finger and his father incorporated the Southern Horse Shoe and Nail works ir New Decatur and operated the plant TOT some time. Finally the plant failed as the operators were unable to sell thelr neils The company went into the hands of d receiver, and w. w. Littlejohn, now dead, who was at that time cashier of the First National bank of Decatur, was ap- pointed receiver for the company The liabilities were about $10,000 and the as- sets were about the same. They erected in East New Decatur large brick bulld- ing for the plant This building is still standing today, and is used as cattle barn at this time.
 Mrs. Julia A. Ballinger, wife of Richard A. Ballinger, sued the Horse Shoe Nail company for money she claimed to have invested in the plant The case was tried Ill the equity branch of the now defunct city court of Decatur. Judge William IL Simpson, now chancellor of this dis- trict, was judge of the city court Of De- catur at that time. He held that the stockholders of the company were not liable for any money MT. Ballinger might nave placed in the plant, and she dldn | get one cent out of the suit
 The Ballingers were at an early day interested in the New Decatur Advertiser in New Decatur. a weekly newspaper now owned and managed by Col. c. J. Hil- dreth. Richard A. Ballinger was city eoitor of this newspaper for while in those days.
 Back in the latter part of the eighties Richard A. Ballinger was law partner of Judge o. Kyle of Decatur, and to- sether they practiced law in the Decaturs for while. Judge Kyle is still engaged in the practice of law there, and Is now candidate for circuit judge. He has held the office of state railroad commis- sioner circuit judge, member or the state legislature and United States judge in the Panama canal zone since the lays that he and MT. Barlinger practiced law together here in Decatur.
 According to the old citizens of the De- catlrs MT Ballinger was never engaged in any crooked deals in the Decaturs Tn which he swindled people out of money, as stated recently in q newspaper special from Lee. Mass. He has never engaged In the plumbing business here, neither was he ever engaged in lal nching a fictitious boom in the Decature for the purlose of swindling people out of their money. as was also stated in the Lee (Mans.) spe- cial. In fact, he never had anything to do with launching a real estat, ar any other kind of boom here. Gel C. J. Hildreth. editor and proprietor of the New Decatur Advertiser, and Jere Clark. manager of t |" Sanitary Plumb ing company and other old-tt ne citi- zens who remember MT. Bali1' ger well and who had business relations wftf him while he was here, say fiat ne never was engaged fn sWiAdllng scheme of any kind in the Decc tuis So far as your jrrespcndent her" 's apie 10 learn, MT. Ballinger'c recor1 In the necaturs was clean The Southern Horse Shoe Nail worKs, Whicr ne ana his father organized here. was D"sl- ness failure pure anl simple auch as arc liable to ne made in tho business world every iav. So far as can be learned, MT. Eallinger did not realize anything out of it, and, in fact. 1t Is said that he ana his father left here almost "dead broke" tc seek fortune In the north west.
 How MT. Ballinger succeeded after leaving the Decaturs has becrme matter of national hi~tory since his ap- pointment to q Cabinet position. It might be said that hts e reer fr the De- caturs was a failure. He lost money in the nail works and as not success full as a newspaper mar, while his law practice here In there days is said to have been far from .l success. Still. in many of the old par"rs and records of the old city court of I. i.eeature the name of Richard A. Ballinser often appears as attorney in some case now long for- gotten, although number of his for mer clients arc still Irving here.
 In the vaults of tho chancery court in the Morgan county courthouse lu De- catur is an o.d file of papers stored away among the papers of tte equity department of the old city co irt of De- catur. This particular file of papers is now of peculiar interest because the file bears the title, Julia A. Balllnger vs. the Southern Horse Shoe Nail works" These are the papers in the case in which Mrs. BLllinger. wife Of the Sec retary of the Interior, brougtt suit against the nail works for morey she claimed to have pla ed in the plsnt. Judge William H. S'rpson. at that lime judge of the Hefunc. city court of De- catur, was scared in u e chancery court room the other day when your corre- spondent examined tneso- records. lie said he had a very vivid recolle, ton of the case and of Richard A. Bailinger and his wife, Julia A Eallinger.
 Richard A. Ballingpr left the Deca- turs with a clean record behind htm and with a pocket with on'y enough money in 1t to land him and his wife .n the west, where he went to seek fortune, and succeeded in the seeking.
 nnrrFAnxy rT n rVrNAY