Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-04-20
DECLARES HILLS
WAS MONEY MAD
Brooklyn Pastors Desire for
Wealth the Cause Of
His Trouble.

L y IN
That DR.. Newell Dwight Hills, pas
tor of Plymouth church, Brooklyn, elo-
quent successor to Henry Ward Beech
err, and Chautauqua lecturer who APP
peared in Boise two years ago, was
money mad and this led to his unfor-
tunate disputes with his relatives over
money matters. that recently brought
about suits and an open scandal, is
the charge made by his former attor-
] ney, Frank L. Ferguson of Brooklyn, in
actions lately filed, in the New York
courts.
Advices from the east telling of MFR.
Ferguson's allegations, assert that DR..
Kills Is painted as a reckless plunger
into coal and timber speculation, eager
at all hazards to gain the power that
wealth brings. He is declared to have
strayed from the high ideals that he
portrayed In his sermons.
AS a result of his reckless opera
tions. it is declared, he became hope
lessly involved in tangle of financial
deals and was threatened with innum-
cradle lawsuits.
| Mr.. Ferguson has filed an account
ing setting forth that DR.. Hills owes
him $S5.s04 for money advanced and
for services during the period from
| 1910 ia 1915. 1t is declared that Mr..
Ferguson was of great service to DR..
Hills, and was making progress in
getting the clergyman out of the maze
of debts in which he had become en-
meshed, when the two quarreled.
| Half a Million Paid Off.
/ During the years that he handled
DR. Hills affairs Mr.. Ferguson con-
tends he reduced the liabilities of the
latter from $S7S,030 to $302, 500. He
asserts that he made $123.990 for DR..
Kills In various transactions and that
he helped the plunger-clergyman by in
dorsing his notes and getting them
discounted at various banks.
1t was British Columbia timber lands,
| it appears from Mr.. Eerguson's as
sertions, that lured DR.. Hills to his
| financial ruin. He took his nephew,
Percy, into the plan to exploit the tim
Der land and also interested other
members of his family in the business.
He sold timber licenses or limits" as
they are called in British Columbia, to
influential friends and he Is said to
have urged heavy purchases in view
of the fact that the president at that
time was about to urge taking off the
duty on foreign lumber, which he said
ought to add So thousand feet to
the value Of timber holdings across the
line. 'r-
In the year 1907, says Mr.. Ferguson,
Dr. Hills operations yielded a profit.
This encouraged him to branch out. ex-
tensively. He is said to have started
with capital of $4,000 and to have OBJ
| tanned $4,000 acres. This holding was
| increased to $4,000 acres through prof
| It's made by the sale of timber IL
censes to friends. parishioners and
| others.
Relatives Can't Agree.
DR.. Hills relatives in the west, 1t is
| said. began to quarrel with him, say
ing he had made all the profit DR..
Hills in reply. is said to have written.
ut seems hopeless for relatives to try
to do anything in business"
DR.. Hills biggest enterprise, IL is
said. was the attempted purchase of
the Graham island coal and timber
lands. He had planned to get control
of these properties and form big COM
pany. He got an option on the Gra-
| ham island properties by the payment
| of $4,000. The total cost was to have
| been 100000, payable in installments.
Dr. Hills is said to have put s67,5O0
| AAeo siV ieeaosf putf TO mF.
Ferguson, he was unable to meet the
payments and finally sought to sell the
| property to James A. Moore, of the
Western Steel corporation. The deal
| was closed.
DIR. Ferguson says in his accounting
that DR.. Hills was engaged in large
and hazardous speculative operations,
which resulted in inevitable financial
complications and endorsements
causing the plaintiff increasing alarm
and distress. His transactions and la
bilities were altogether out of pro-
portion to his financial resources"
DR.. Hills 10 quite we'll known to
Oregon people through his appearance
in that state at various times on the
Chautauqua lecture platform He was
in Portland last July. appearing at the
different Oregon Chautauqua assem-
blies, when one Of the several suits was
filed.
Shortly thereafter news of a serious
break with his nephew, who threatened
suit. became current and his complete
embarrassment in a financial way fol-
lowed DR.. Hills spoke In a repent
ant way to his congregation, but was
kept in his position by that body. Since
that time his tangled affairs have been
adjudicated in the courts.
-
Illinois Republican Convention.
Peoria. ILL.,. April 20.--when the Re-
publican state convention of Illinois