Pine Bluff daily graphic., 1914-12-11
COURT CUTS BANK L|QU|DA7|NG COST Judge Elliott Refuses to AL low Personal Expense Ac-
 count of Agent. ALLOWS MIR. PUGH $25O0 Court Does Not Fix Fee of Liquidating Agent, But Halves Amount
 Sought to Be Paid on
 Account.
ALLOWS MIR. PUGH S25OO

That Special Deputy Banking Com missioner R. B. Pugh, in charge of the affairs of the Bank of Pine Bluff, should be allowed $1,25O on a claim ! of $2,500, filed in his behalf by State /, Commissioner John M Davis, as par | tial payment for his services as liq- uidating agent, was the ruling of Judge J. M. Elliott after an all-day hearing yesterday on protests filed by creditors of the Bank of Pine Bluff to the proposed fee and other items of expense incurred for the bank by the deputy commissioner. Chancellor Elliott also refused to allow the claims for sums representing the personal expense account" of MT. Pugh, who stated these expenses had been incur red by him while engaged on business i for the Bank of Pine Bluff.
 Judge Elliott allowed the items rep resenting a salary of $150 month for Frank Milner, $S5 month for Ronald Helvie and $6O a month for the stem ographer, upon the understanding that these expenditures will be reduced by January 1, when MT. Helvie and the stenographer are to be released. 9th CT items of expenses protested by the creditors were not passed upon by the court yesterday.
 Mir. Pugh Testifies.
 Special Deputy Pugh was on the stand for several hours. He was sharply questioned by attorneys rep resenting the protestants concerning expenditures, and was occasionally submitted to examination by Judge Elliott, who evinced determination to assume all responsibility devolv- ing upon him as chancellor to keep fully acquainted with the manner in which the liquidation of the Bank of Pine Bluff is being conducted. When MT. Pugh stated that he did not know if the J. w. Sanders lumber mill was being operated at 3 profit or loss; that he kept no monthly balance sheet and have the property liQuidate an indebt- edness of $1S0,000 to the bank, Judge Elliott declared that this must be changed; that the court must know more about the financial affairs of the concerns being operated for the bene- fit of the banks creditors.
 l MT. Pugh reviewed the business O1 the bank since he assumed charge on July 4, at which time the assets were approximately $967,000 Claims aggre- gating $9O9,OOO were filed by creditors not all of these being allowed. The 10 per cent paid to creditors last month, he said, represented total of $68,079,- 98.
 l Mir. Pugh defined some of his duties as liquidating agent mentioning the management of the Sanders mill, the Hearndale farm and the plant of the Clear Lake Planting company. He said he had succeeded in obtaining $10,OOO of the Sanders mill debt, and thinks the plant can soon make an other payment of $5,000.
 The special examiner represented that the expenses during the four months he has been in charge were below those for similar period while the bank was operating as such, that the banks expenses for June were $2,O86.05, of which $1.572 represented salaries. He said J. s. Mcdonnell was paid $33S as president. and w.. D. Hearn. vice president, received $200 in addition to the use of home on Main street, formerly owned by Mir. Hearn l MT. Pugh also testified that he had |