The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-01-17
"PERSEcUTED',
CHAMbERLA|N'S
. REPLY TO COURT
Burr & Knapp Trustee De-
clares Himself Innocent
Victim Of Circumstances.

Iohnl G.. Chamberlain, respondent
IN the petition to the United states
district court to have him removed as
trustee Of the estate Of Burr & Knapp
in bankruptcy, yesterday afternoon
took the witness stand in his own oe-
Tense. u.uoa
Answering the charges alleged
..ainst him in long complaint
chamberlain asserted that ne was tne
victim Of persecution, he himself pc
ing one of the largest losers py the
failure. 81 am stuck four times more
than the other creditors. l am Out
$4,000. which is four times what the
netitionfne creditors lost, asserted
Chamberlain.
Taking up the allegations OF the
comnlaint in detail, Chamberlain
- gain denied that he had represented
burr & Knapp directly as attorney
hut that he had represented others III
cases where the principals desired TO
remain hidden. -.
IJia connection with the settlement
NJ the p. T.. Barnum estate, which
had already entered slightly into the
proceedings, was fully explained yes
terdaysaand It became known TOT the
first time that - Herbert
Seeley during the course of his spec
tacular life in the metropolis nao
been forced to hypothecate MS inter-
est in the estate of the great snow
man. Mr.. Chamberlain explained MS
connection with the affair as folioWs'
.eThe late P. T. Barnum left an an
-nuity of $4,000 for his widow, ana
to secure that certain securities were
placed in the possession OF the con-
necticut Trust Co. in Hartford. 1t was
nrovided in the will that Clinton Bar
mum Seeley and Herbert Barnum
Seeley were to have the excess Of in
come and after the death Of Mrs.
Barnum that the property be divided
eoually between them. Mrs. Barnum
was still living Herbert, Barnum
Seeley was sent to Burr & Knapp
and they sent him to Chamberlain. He
had assigned five-ninths of his inter-
est toxpeople in New York. He stlll
had four-ninths interest whichNhe de-
sired to assign
Mr.. Chamberlain said that Mr..
Knapp found a purchaser Tor the
four-ninths interest. II won't give
his nan1e,'' said Mr.. Chamberlain, Tor
the whole country knows him. He
agreed to give $500 for the two
ninths interest, but later backed out
when his wife put up an objection
Mr.. Chamberlain testified that later
Mr.. Knapp sent for Elizabeth G. W..
Lockwood, one Of the principal petit
+ionine creditors in the present ac-
ton against him for removal as trus-
tee. and tried to get her to buy the,
interest of Herbert Seeley. Chamber
lain told her that the two-ninths In
terest would net her about $4,000,
and she gave Herbert See1ey $780,,
and he assigned the two-ninths inteF
est to her.
"All got out Of IT, said Mr.. Cham
berlafYi. was s25 for looking up the
share and seeing that it was legally
assignable. seeley gave Knapp $1,000
for getting the customer for the two
ninths interest.
previously I sent for Clinton Bar
NUN Seeley and told him that he ought
to take care Of this interest and not
let Herbert waste his patrimony, and
also told Herbert that he ought not to
throw his patrimony away in that
fashion Herbert was a most attrac-
tive fellow. He smiled like girl, and
said, + guess you are right. but
know what I want to do with the
money and I want It, In two months
the $500 which the sale Of his inter
est had netted him was gone, and he
came back and wanted to sell to Mr.
Knapp the remaining two-ninths in
terest. I don't know what Knapp paid
for it, but think it was about $4,000
Neither of them, Burr or Knapp, came
to me when the remaining and last
two-ninths was sold.
Matters went on for six months
and Mrs. Lockwood drew interest at
i've ger cent. on the interest which
she had bought. Then there appeared
here a gentleman who said he was
member Of the New York bar and
said that New York parties had an
assignment of two-ninths before Mrs.
Lockwood obtained hers, and that
they had notified the Connecticut
Trust Co. and wanted to know what
we were going to do about it. The
Connecticut Trust Co. at Hartford
soon wrote that they would pay no