The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1920-04-01
J. C. Stoner of Washington
Asks Judge Taylor to
Reopen Famous Case.
NOTHING DOING HERE
Judge Taylor Declares No Adj
ministrator Will Be Nam
ed for Mythical Estate.

Like the proverbial bad penny, the
ghost Of Banquo and other things
which were accustomed to show up
with wonderful regularity, the famous
old claim against the United States
government on the part of alleged adj
ministrators Of the estate of Charles
Durkee, one time Kenoshan and one
time member Of the United States sen
ate, bobbed up serenely again this
morning when County Judge George
W. Taylor received letter from j. G..
Stoner in Washington asking that he
be advised as to his standing in the
local courts as administrator of the
estate.
y The letter suggests again the collec-
tions of millions and probably tens of
millions from the famous old bonds
which Senator Durkee was alleged to
have left with the United States gov
eminent and also suggests that the
men who have been promoting the Dur
kee claim for years are anxious to get
a new lease of life and exploit the case
again.
OIOucE has NO OLdNulNgs
"Stoner, as administrator of the es-
tate of Charles Durkee or in any other
capacity, has no official standing in the
courts of Kenosha county" declared
Judge Taylor, "and if he wants to rat
tie the dry bones of the Durkee estate,
he will be forced to do the rafting
down in Washington where rafting
must be lot better than in Kenosha
county. Just at present the estate Of
Charles Durkee and its famous claim
against the government Is without an
administrator in Kenosha county. The
late Henry ]. Hastings was named by
this court as administrator de bonis
non of the estate Of Charles Durkee
and it was my understanding that the
job of administrator died with Mr..
Hastings. So far as I know, the adj
ministrator prior to his death had not
made any new discoveries in the case
and had not unearthed any assets for
the estate. Mr.. Stoner has been con-
nected with the Durkee claim for a
long time and he probably is simply
seeking a new lease of life for the
claim with a view of starting some
new agitation in Washington"
Never Found Evidence.
While the late Henry J. Hastings,
who went deep into the merits Of the
old claim, had at one time expressed
the belief that there was possibly some
basis for it, he never found any evil
dence which was filed with the courts
here, and at the time of his death he
was still investigating statements
made by the people who had long ex-
plotted the famous claim against the
government 1t was shown by the rec
ords today that while the claim ran
into many millions and that thousands
of people in all parts of the country
had bought shares in the amount to
be collected that claim was never rec
ognfzed by the government in any way.
Several times in past years the gov
eminent issued fraud orders against
the use of the United States mails by
men exploiting the claim Stoner is
one of the old pioneers in the case.
Racine College Beneficiary.
The records in the county court here
show that should anything ever be
realized by any claim which the estate
may have against the government, it
would not be turned over to the pro-
motors, but it would be turned over to
Racine College which is named as the
final legatee to the estate Of the form
er United States senator.