New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1913-05-01
MANAGER OF SOUTHERN
DEFENDS c. {. ELLIS
intel Being Run on Reform
''II ines When Police Inter-
fered, He Says.
PROPRIETOR HELD IN BAIL
Man Accused of Maintaining
nuisance Received 3-Year
Sentence for Promoting
Kornit Mfg. Co.

charles E. Ellis. proprietor Vi WV
..ha,., Hotel. in West 54th street. mean
Sous which was raided on Iuesoay
Dit ~, nv Inspector Dwyer ana squau VI
nls"' occompanied by Deputy Commission
"',r a.hereer. was arraigned before Chlel
Z. 1,.,-ate McAdoo yesterday on charee
M.,e9ao,,,,, and maintaining public NUS
oi I'd held in $500 bail for examina-
ton on May L. .,,o o,osire-
Tne evidence which led TO the clos'ne
-, enc Mace was gathered by two detee-
- 80 on DIVERS staff, who registered as
osts NJ the hotel a week ago. They got
lido view of what was going on
o." .,,,nc reports on their experiences each
~, Their local color had to do chleh!
,.,, tho turkey trot' held there each
night . ,or If the
ii vas confronted by one OF THESE
n,ns,ders" he recognized in him a close
,.ierd of years standing whom ne never
dreamed was a policeman. -,
aWben he told me l was under arrest
.o,d "Gus" last night, ''you could nave
Srocked me over with feather
.horpht he was kidding me- But ne
osr,t The roljce have absolutely noth-
TO On us. They have certain evidence
hut they have got it wrong. Mr. Ellis mas
nod charge Of this place only SIX weeks
ord was making every effort 10 run IL oh
r,ora Of high responsibility. only q
-oor ago we turned out seven people
,tbose WAYS we didn't like, and were lear
,ny lawsuits from them as result OF our
ao,,on We have refused TO take in M
.aon neople who didn't suit us, and had
FIVE more on the blacklist whom we were
watching for a chance to get somethihs
on.
.1t Is pretty hard lines to take man 5
r,eans of livelihood away from him TINS
,,ov II means a loss of $4,000 to us. X
or,ounts 10 the same thing as punishlnS
. man first and then proving him guilty
afterward'
II was remembered yesterday that Ellis
hos been in trouble with the law before.
IN october. 1910, he with Erwin X
Graves was convicted of using the mails
for purposes of fraud and sentenced "
three years in the federal prison AT Al
lanta. Il,
rus was president and Graves vice
president of the Kornit Manufacturing
cnmpanv. They advertised in the Mag
,z,,e of MYSTERIES" conducted by Ellis,
tba, they had a patent for the manu1act-
IRE from the horns and hoofs OF cat'ie
NJ substance known as "kornlt' oes-
fined TO replace hard rubber in It's Vari-
ous uses. As result of their advertising
in the magazine. which was distributed
widely through the mails, they sold stock
IN perso0s all over the country to the e%-
tent Of S37l eco worth.
Some of those who got "stung testineo
AT the trial that they were hard workins
people who had sunk the savings OF a
lifetime in the enterprise. The promoters
sold slO7 worth of their product, but at
tbe trial il was shown that the substance
was not what they had represented 1t
TO be.
II was through bankruptcy proceedings
following the burning down of their rae
tory that the fraud was revealed. After
the fire they had appealed to their STOCK
holders for more subscriptions to rehaoiii-
tate the business, but 1t did not go, and
the financial crash came. 1t was said
that the receiver appointed for the de-
funct company finally recovered sZoO'OJV
that Ellis had invested in real estate ana
other enterprises.
In December, 1911, after serving fourteen
months of his three-year sentence, EdlS
received a parole. He was the father OF
four daughters, two of whom were young
and had not been told of their father 3
being in Jail. -
In January, 1910, Ellis's wife died from
burns received during the New Year s
celebration in the old Martins at Broad
way and 18th street
Ellis Is also proprietor of the Hotel
Frederick, in 56th street, where he and
his wife lived at the time of her death.