Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-05-05
END OF FAMOUS PROMOTER
skyrocket Career of Britain,s High
Financier Closes I'm
Jail.

Towards the end Of the nineties, Ernest
Terah Hooley was a power In the land.
To the small fry Of company manipu-
iators he was an idol. Fashionable So
ciety, always In hurry to get richer
hung on his lightest word. Ancient COL
leges and venerable deans shed the HIGHT
of their countenances upon him with a
lively sense Of benefits to come. Process
sions knew him. clothed In the mag
nificence Of a high sheriff. His name
oonnoted millions. On Saturday last no
was sentenced at the central criminal
court to twelve months Imprisonment
for obtaining GOO by fraud.
He was born under the constellation
Aquarius: he was the champion waterer
Of capital. His vast paper profits were
made by the simple device Of buying
business for rather more. and selling them
again to the public for great deal
more than they were worth. Thus be-
tween 1894 and 1888 he promoted twenty
six companies. He was the engineer OF
the cycle boom, and fifteen OF his COM
panies were cycle companies. In these
cycle promotions Hooley paid f5.s440oo
to the original vendors. and received
R.65s.coo from the ultimate purchasers.
But his net profit on the transactions it
is believed. was no more than f212on.
The rest was paper profit unreahzed,
cost OF advertisements and commission.
and all the wreckage and wastags OF
reckless boom finance.
Hooley's inflated financial credit soon
burst. 1t then appeared that the gross
profit oN6,o2s,ooo on his twenty-six pro-
motions was all smoke. and that the net
result had been loss of $4,000. The
debts on which dividends were paid
amounted to f542. 900; the estate realized
f1is.0oo and the dividend to unsecured
creditors was Is I'd. He continued, how
ever. TO speculate in land and to float
companies. As might have been expected
In an enterprise to which credit Is vital,
failure dogged the footsteps of the un-
discharged bankrupt. and again last year
receiving order was made against him.
The wreckage Of certain Siberian gold
mining companies is the chief monument
Of this part of his career.
The occasion for his final downfall was
hardly worthy Of the much advertised
man OF millions 1t was over a petty
detail Of one Of his favorite speculations
in land that the law gripped him. In
August. 1910. young Mr.. Tweedaie came
in for f7,5oo. Fate decided on a re-
adjustment. and threw him In Hooleys
way. Mr.. Tweedaie was to buy from
Hooley part of another estate, that of
Thornley, Hall. for $500. This, It was
said. was below the market value. so
that Mr.. TweedAle would be able to
resell 1t at a profit. and to put himself
In funds TO meet his bills.
Hooiey insisted in a cash deposit of
Goo. much in excess OF the normal
amount Mr.. Tweedale agreed to the pro-
posal. and now follows the fraud. In reply
to Mr.. Tweedale's solicitors. Hooiey stated
that his own contract to purchase Thorn
ley had not been pledged or charged.
and he made statutory declaration to
that effect. On the strength Of this, Mr..
Tweedale paid over his GOO deposit. In
fact. the property was subject to charges
amounting to fl5coo. and the declaration
was false. TO Hooley's knowledge. Ha
obtained the H.0o by false pretenses.
So thought the judge, and so said the
jury. and Hooley goes to prison for a
year.-London Economist.