The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1934-02-27

The Indianapolis Times in
vestigated the guardianship
affairs of those veterans, now
wards of the court with banks
for parents, and found estates
dwindling over a period of
years from large balances to
pin-money.
The Times will show in this series
on the affairs of patients and
former patients of the Marion hos
pital for veterans that one estate
alone dropped from a $4,000 bank
balance to FOURTEEN CENTS and
several bonds of doubtful value.
1t will show that it was necessary
for one closed bank to lend money
to the guardianship it held in trust,
in order that court reports might
be made to balance without the
sale of doubtful holdings.
1t will show that court reports
on the condition of the finances of
the veterans estates were sworn to
by banks but that the true values of
the securities held in the veterans
estates were not divuiged.
Change Charged
Investments of thousands of dol
lars we're made without court order.
/ t.,
purchased two and three years be-
fore the circuit court of Grant
county knew of the purchase.
The series will relate how the
Grant Trust and Savings Company,
closed institution, bought bonds
in one company when reports of
that company showed that it had
not paid taxes for two and one-half
years and had sustained net loss
the year bonds we're purchased, Of
$4,000.
1t will show, however, that Off
GERS of the Grant Trust in petition
ing Grant circuit court for the right
to invest, declared the investment
safe and sound and without haz
ard"
Wholesale transfers of mortgages
to veterans estates will be shown
to have been made on one day by
the Grant Trust Company. One
month later, the Grant Trust was
merged with the First National bank
of Marion (now a closed institu-
tom The mortgages in some cases
still remain unpaid.
1t will be shown by court records
that loans were made to beer i'm
porter of Marion at that time, an Of
fetal in the bank where the trust
was held.
APPROVAL of the purchase of Sc
curities for the veterans was given
by the court in some cases and
some of those securities are never
shown again as having been bought
or transferred, in the guardianship
records of the Grant circuit court.
The series will trace operations of
one trust officer, who also was listed
as secretary, as being in direct con-
tact with these estates of veterans
through three banks.
Laxity Is Hinted
1t will charge that he had knowl-
edge of investments from as far
back as 1922 and 1923 until the
present day.
Present state of these investments
indicates that the circuit court was
lax in Investigations before giving
approval to the purchase of securi-
ties for the estate of the veterans.
1t will be shown that up to the
time of The Times investigation,
Circuit Judge o. D. Clawson never
had ordered an audit of the books
of the Grant Trust. The Grant
Trust is in receivership in his court.
Much of the frozen assets and
losses to the estates of the incompe-
tent men occurred during the bust
ness years of the Grant Trust and
up to November, $780,
1t will be shown that those
anemic investments were taken over
in the merger of the Grant Trust
and the First National of Marion
tnOW IN r6C6lNeTSIlp).
1t will be shown that records Of
some estates have come to the
attention of the United States dis
trict attorney in the guardianship
estates, but no action has been
taken.
While on one hand, the guardian
ships have been depleted in one
Closed bank by insecure investments
it will be shown that in the Marion
National bank (now in liquidation)
the securities, or declared main liza
bility, were adequate and safe, but
that the wards were permitted
seemingly extravagant expenditures.
One veteran was permitted to
buy eight watches and five watch
chains in ten years time by the