Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1910-05-30

the evening of the 3Oth of June when
Mr.. Rexdale came to my house In
great excitement, saying that he had
Just heard by telephone from L. M
Campbell at Peoria that a rumor was
current there that the reserve fund
had been withdrawn from the Chicago
Title & Trust company. That fund
had been accumulated by deposlting
10 per cent of the collections monthly
and was held by that company on
contract which required resolution
by. the board Of regents that II as
sessments would not suffice to pay the
death claims for the year, and requir-
ed also 90 days notice of such resolu-
ton to draw it down. Inasmuch as Mr..
Rexdale and l, as well. as Messrs
Whitman, Craig and Galloway, had at
tended all the meetings of the board
and no such resolution had ever been
passed or even suggested, we were in
clined to discredit the report. Mr..
Rexdale had asked Mr.. Campbell TO
investigate the rumor at once and tel
ephone him further, which he did the
same evening, stating he was salts
fed the report was true. That was
the first intimation either of us had
that the reserve fund had been touch
ed or affected in any way.
1--WE at once telephoned Mr.. Whit
ham at Aledo, urging him to come at
once to Rock Island, which he did on
the second of July, as I remember,
and also returned on the 5th.
How 1t Was Divided.
"By the terms of the original ar
rangement the 5000 was to be di-
vided as follows: To Whitman and
Craig, each $500: to Rexdale, S.
0O0 to Weld, $4,000. The $4,000 came
to me by a draft from Mr. Whitman
from Lansing, Mich, on Nov rs, 1908,
six days after the contract was made,
and l know that none of 1t came from
the treasury of the Fraternal Trib-
unes
Information that the reserve fund
had been Withdrawn came to me on
June 80, 1909 On July 6, 1909, and
before I knew the particulars of the
withdrawal, l turned the money back
to Mr.. Whitman, from whom had
received it.
81 understand that Mr.. Rexdale also
received his money from Mr.. Whit
ham at about the same time did
mine, and that he returned it to Mr..
Whitman on July 6, 1909.
AT the time | received the money
considered it a legitimate transac-
ton and that the Fraternal Tribunes
would greatly profit by the deal.
When it appeared that the reserve
fund had been taken down without
our knowledge and the order might
be a loser. both Mr.. Rexdale and l re-
fused to profit by the transaction. The
one aim of Mr.. Rexdale and myself
from that time forth was to save the
society and protect the people who
would be without protection if the
order failed
I'VE have been successful in that
attempt.
CAS- to the taking down of the re-
serve fund, 1 first learned of that on
June 80, 1909, as stated. AS to notes
and contracts between officers of the
two societies, l have no knowledge
whatever, except as above set forth,
except by hearsay AS to the disposi-
ton of the reserve fund and payments
made of notes and other Indebtedness
by the Home Circle, have no knowl-
edge whatever. l can only say that
nothing was further from my mind
throughout the whole transaction than
the committing Of any fraud or the
surreptitious removed of any funds
from the treasury of either order
was invited to contribute to the re-
turn OF the reserve fund of the Trib-