The weekly tribune and the Cape County herald. (Cape Girardeau, Mo.) 1914-1918, 1915-06-11
Judge Ranney Takes Suit,
Tried for a Week, Under
Amusement.
MAY HAND DOWN HIS
OPINION THIS WEEK
Whitelaw Gives History of Case
Which Caused Big Legal
Battle.

| 'NNSiNAiS CflNCliNC IOI llNt
days beginning on Monday, May 81 anc
ending Friday afternoon at 5 o'clock
and after hearing the argument yes
terday afternoon and last night unit
midnight, Judge R. G. Ranney with.
held his decision in the case of w. H
Harrison and John H. Himmelbergel
VS.. Rodney G. Whitelaw, and now has
the matter under advisement.
Mr.. Whitelaw when interviewed last
evening concerning the litigation, gave
the history of the case as follows:
"The street car company borrowed
100000 from the st. Louis Union
Trust Company. The street car COM
pany are the makers of the note. The
note was endorsed by the street cal
company, w. H. Harrison, John Him
melberger, w. H. Miller, L. S. Joseph
D. A. Glenn, Rodney G. Whitelaw and
Robert w. Matteson.
Harrison and Himmelberger went
to st. Louis and had this note assign
ed to them. They made a new note fol
100000 of their. own.
'Now, Harrison and Himmelberger
made and assigned that second note to
the st. Louis Trust Company and they
put up their personal collateral for
the second note, Himmelberger putting
up collateral to the amount of $4,000
and Harrison putting up collateral to
the amount of $4,000, and signed the
note jointly for 100000, and had this
street car note assigned to them.
''Mr. Joseph has died, insolvent; Mr..
Glenn has gone into bankruptcy; Mr..
Miller has died and his estate is in the
process of administration, and a set
Element was brought about with Mat
teson's estate, so Mr.. Matteson states.
when the First National Bank fail
ed Matteson gave mortgage or deed
of trust on comparatively all of his
real estate to secure his indebtedness
to the National Bank. 1t was seen that
Matteson would not have anything to
pay his pro rata on his street car COM
pany note, and as the mortgage was
given within four months they went to
the National Bank holding this mort
gage, and to Mrs. Klosterman, who al
so had mortgage, and insisted on al
lowing Harrison and Himmelberge
to participate in the mortgages, whir n
was done.
"In order to save his credit Mr..
MattesOn agreed to permit them to
participate in the mortgages held by
the National Bank and Mrs. Kloster-
man. Matteson paid them $500 and
gave them all his stock on a $4,000
indebtedness, of which $4,000 was due
the Trust Co., $4,000 due the First Ma
tiOnal Bank and $1,000 due the Bank of
Morehouse, besides the note for
100000.
"They were allowed against the
Glenn estate in the court of bankrupt
cy, about $4,000, which relieves Mr..
Glenn of his liability on the $4,000
Indebtedness.
Harrison and Himmelberger joint
ly brought suit against me in the Cir
cult Court at Jackson for S26, 666. This
suit was withdrawn by Oliver & Oil
YER, attorneys for the plaintiff. Then
w n. Harrison brought suit in thr
Circuit Court at Jackson against me,
and John H. Himmelberger brought a
separate suit in the court at Jackson.
Upon a motion of my attorneys,
Lane and Houck, the cases were
brought to the Common Pleas Court on
change of venue.
at is a friendly suit brought to de-
termine my ability on this 100000
note. l have no inclination to avoid
the payment of whatever my indebted
ness might be, and this suit has been
brought to determine that question.
"While am sued for something like
500 ,0G0, my contention is that until the
assets of the street car company have
been absorbed in the satisfaction of
the debt, l, as surety, cannot proper
ly be held responsible, and if l am in
debted as a surety, the amount can
not be determined until the property
of the company has been converted in
to the payment of its Indebtedness.
when the suit was first brought
in Jackson, it was for. an amount to
cover what was later held by the court
to be the Indebtedness of the estate of
w. H. Miller, and for that reason the
claim was changed from $4,000 to
10000"
Mrs. W. H. Kennedy of Poplar Bluff