The Brunswick news. [volume] (Brunswick, Ga.) 1906-2016, 1915-02-20
Men Indicted Last Spring to
Face Trial in Savannah
Today.
AN OLD INSURANCE CASE
All of the Officers of Local Fire
Insurance Company Were In
dicted Charged With Using
the Mails to Defraud.

In the United States court in Sa.
vannah today the case against the
officers of the old Home Mutual Fire
Insurance company. of this city, will
be taken up, and its president. X. w.
burden, will be tried. United States
Marshal j. Ben Wilson arrived in the
city yesterday and a large number of
Witnesses were summoned to appear
in the court this morning Some of
them left last night, while the others
will go over this morning.
Judge Emory Speer yesterday over.
ruled a motion for continuance Of
fered by Judge A. d. Gale, attorney
for r, w. burden, principal in the
case
Mr.. burden sought to have the case
continued because of the illness of N.
ID. Cowart, formerly director and
Joint defendant. Certificates of his
illness were presented. He also
claimed his wife, Mrs. G. =. burden,
who is a defendant, is i'll, but Mr.
Earl Donaldson, district attorney, de.
clared the government was willing ia
ask that a nOlle prosecute be entered
as to her case, but insisted that what
the defense expected to show by Mr.
Cowart, according to Mr. Burdens
statement was not sufficiently import.
ant to the case to warrant a continu.
ance. -
The several defendants are now in
Savannah, and all of them are abso.
lutely certain that they will be ac.
quilted, claiming that they have not
III any way whatsoever, violated any
of Uncle Sans laws.
The full list indicted by the grand
jury included the following: X. w
burden president of the company:
Mrs. c. p. burden, treasurer: j. p
Shelley, vice president; N. ID. Cow.
art, agent; all of this city; r. l.. Walk.
er, secretary; G. B. White assistant
secretary, both of Savannah, and w
N. Nanney, formerly OF this city, but
now residing in Florida.
The case against the officers of
the company, which was chartered
under the laws of Georgia, making
Brunswick its HEADQUARTERS. were
brought to the attention of the
United States postoffice officials
when a complaint was filed against
the company, claiming that the com.
pany had failed to pay it's losses The
case was then placed in the hands of
Inspector Rain by the postoffice de-
partment and came up before the
grand jury in Savannah. After an
lnVstlgation indictments were return.
ed against all of the officers.
The indictments. ii is understood
charges that it was not the inten.
tlon OF the company to pay its losses
but that it was organized to de-
fraud. 1t charges that r. w. burden
president of the company, received
salary of $500 per month. which
lor some months, was practically
the entire proceeds of the company.
The books of the COMPANY which
has been out of existence for some
time, are now in the cuctody of the
court and were secured from burden
on a subpoena deduces tecum. The
oltehse with which all of the officers
are charged is punishable with a fine
OF $1,000 and Imprisonment of five
years or both.
The Home Mutual Fire Insurance
company was organized in Bruns-
WICK a few years ago, with the Of.
ilcers named above in charge. If
was operated for about wear with
offices on the second floor of thc
opera house; it was mutual com.
pany, having no capital stock and
LOOK rlsks at small premium, most
Oh "hlch, 1t is charged, had been re-
tused by other companies. It is fur.
tner charged that, though the com
pany did considerable business. that
not Il single loss was ever paid.