Abilene weekly reflector., 1922-05-04
!, KANSAN LosT HIS SIS. 900 !
Thomas Kite, Farmer. Thought he
Could Beat Game

Could Beat Game
The FL Pas0 Times relates the
story Of the trial Of Mark Tillery
who II Is alleged buncoed Thomas
Kite, farmer Of Ransome. Ness
county, Kansss, out Of $4,000. 1t
| says:
Kite occupied the witness chair
the greater part Of the day. He told
Of Tillery's alleged operations In Ell
Paso, and how, through promise OF
sudden fortune, Kite mortgaged his
farm, sacrificed his earnings Of many
years In order to place bets on a
fckle and alleged "phoney" stock
market.
Charges Of fraudulent use Of mails
were originally filed against Tillery,
and two alleged confederates named
as L. J. Stem and Jack Porter In
the grand jury indictment returned
last February. Stem and Porter
have not been arrested.
Kite, according to his testimony,
met Stem at the local Chamber OF
Commerce in the latter part Of 1920.
They proceeded down the street to-
gether and passed what appeared to
be q stranger, he said. Stem, how
ever, recognized the man, and the
two cOnversed. The stranger, Kite
said, proved to be Tillery, alias
Spalding, who produced newspa-
per clipping telling Of the financial
success Of mysterious" stock
broker, who had thrown the financial
interests into a panic" through his
immense winnings.
A copy of the newspaper clip.
ping was introduced as evidence by
the district attorney, who declared
that these clippings had been print
ed in wholesale quantities in furth-
erance Of the "buncO" scheme.
"They told me that could make
money by placing bets on the stock
exchange" Kite testified. "Tillery
claimed to have inside information
on the New York exchange through
his affiliation with the International
Exchange" he said.
Then, according to testimony, Kite
made hurried trip to Ransome,
Kan, mortgaged his farm for $10,.
900 and came back to III Paso to in
vest it. The transaction was delayed
a few days, he claimed, while q local
bank verified his signature through
with the Kansas in.
stitution.
subsequently, he testified, he met
Tillery and Stem in one Of the local
parks and turned over his money.
They left him, he said, apparently
to 60 to the offices of L. j. Over
lock, broker, 317 North Oregon street
to place the bet.
"They said 1t took 80 minutes for
the stock to go up," Kite testified.
1T developed" Kite continued,
that $4,000 more was necessary
in order to put up trust securities
before cleanup Of $4,000 on the
bet could be collected" Tillery, he
said, claimed that unless this
amount, Kites proportionate share
Of larger sum, was produced all |
would be ruined.
UNLESS we get the money my |
little girl, all Of use, will be ruined
he told me-" Kite said.
Again Kite journeyed to Kansas,
sold an option on his farm and came
back with the money and turned it |
over to Tillery, 1t was testified.
"He told me to go back home and |
ne would 90 there to see me later"
Kite declared. "But I never saw
him again until he was arrested in
FL Paso."
G. w. Rees, cashier of the Abb
enc National Bank, was one of the
witnesses for the government, Kite
having deposited his first $4,000 in
the Abilene National and taken a
check for 1t, which he car
-ied to FL Paso and turned over to
rellery. The case is still in court.