Newark evening star and Newark advertiser. [volume] (Newark, N.J.) 1909-1916, 1910-05-12
RECEIVER CHARGES
FRAUD IN FERGG
BREWERY REPORT
Defendants Counsel Fights Pay
ment of Items in Lawyer
: Wo0druff's Bill.

There was a long legal skirmish be-
s fore Vice-Chancellor Emery today pre-
~ liminary to the hearing involving the
application for the discharge of J.
Randolph Woodruff as receiver for the
John Fergg brewery, which went TO
1.-THE wall recently, and after Mr.. Wood
ruff had made a statement as to what
he had done he asked for a compen-
sation of $50 a day for his services.
Tn Vice-Chancellor said he would con-
slider the matter.
In his statement Mr.. Woodruff re-
newed the fact that he was appointed
received April 6 by Vice-Chancellor
Howell, land luckily, l must say, for
the creditors" He went on to say
lfrthat the appointment was made for
"a temporary receiver instead of a rule
to show cause, because of the rule to
bshow cause had been made, the proba-
bility is the books would have been
all destroyed and the minute book
would never nave been found.
% 1.-THE reason they have fought the
oreceiver so bitterly" Mr.. Woodruff
eadded, land tried to GUST him. is be-
cause the receiver has known that
Joseph Fergg has made false reports
ito the government, signing his name
as president and treasurer of the John
Fergg brewery, and it is n fact that
sneither Joseph Fergg, Anthony Fergg
nor Mrs. Fergg hold at present any of
the stock, nor have they held any for
a long time, and because the receiver
has discovered that he had signed his
name to notes as president when he
did not hold the office.
~ offered Big Sum to Quilt, He says.
The testimony OF Mr.. Fergg is that
as soon as the receiver was discharged
he intended to get rid of the machinery
rat once. some of the machinery is
Grated and ready now to he shipped,
and if it had not been for the vice
chancellor's good judgment in appoint
ing a receiver and not a rule to show
cause nothing of the plant would have
2pen left. The statement that / have
wanted to hold on to the brewery is
absolutely untrue. l have sent a letter
to each of the creditors stating that l
would like to have their sworn state
ments made as soon as possible"
1t was also set forth by Mr.. Wood
ruff that Mr.. Fergg had offered him
$1,000 and a contract for three years
IL he would quit.
Su~pplementing his written statement
with an oral one, Mr.. Woodruff said he
sent out 129 notices after the creditors
meeting and had a great deal of
trouble and in connection
with the matter.
Former Judge George H.. Lambert, as
counse for William Hill, to whom the
creditors claims have been assigned,
strenuously opposed several of Mr..
Woodruff's claims, including stenogra-
piers fees and bills to be paid for
services of a deputy sheriff in the
course of the trouble.
Fight Over Compensation.
The net result of the opposition . on
the part of the lawyers who have been
fighting Mr.. Woodruff was that the
court allowed, instead of $50 a day,
which would have run the cornpensa-
tion up to 81 800, only $500, while Frank
A. Boettner. who was his counse in
the case, was allowed a fee of half that
mount. With the allowance of these
sums the receiver was discharged.
#sMr. Lambert ridiculed the idea that
the receiver spent as much time as he
said he did in strengthening out the
financial tangles of the brewery, and
Said:
: "The brewery and the creditors were
injured, injured ir~revocably, by these
proceedings. Mr.. Woodruff did not act
in the interest of the creditors, but to
their detriment."
Mr.. Boettner put in a trenuou pro-
test against these words, saying:
when Mr.. Lambert says that the
property was injured by the receiver
ship he says something that is abso-
lutely untrue"