Evening star., 1939-07-18
Rheem Co. Trustees
To Take $4,000 Bid
To Firm sCreditors
Lone Offer Is Made at
Auction Of Building at
727 Fifteenth St. NV.

Trustees of the bankrupt Wash
ington investment house of Swart-
zell, Rheem & Hensey Co. planned
today to present to the firms 1,7OO
creditors bid of $4,000, the only
offer made when the firms former
business quarters at 727 Fifteenth
street NV. were offered for sale
at public auction yesterday.
The building is now occupied by
Laidlaw & Co., a brokerage firm,
on monthly rental basis. Auc-
tioneer Thomas j. Owen stood on
the front steps and addressed a
crowd of more than 100 spectators,
but there was only one bidder, John
M. OBrien. who offered $4,000 in
behalf of James ODonneIl, retired
chain drugstore operator.
Judge Michael M. Doyle, one of
the trustees, explained the creditors
had set figure of $4,000 as the
minimum sale price, and this price
had been made binding by an order
of Referee in Bankruptcy Fred J..
Eden.
5000 Deposit Not Accepted.
Judge Doyle and the other
trustees, Col. Julius I. Peyser and
Henry P. Blair, went into a brief
huddle after the only bid was sub
mitted and then directed Mr.. Owen
not to accept deposit of $1,000,
the sum required if the bid had been
accepted.
Mr. O'Brien said the bid would
stand pending action of the credi-
tors. Louis A. Dent, representing
the trustees, named no definite date
for such action, but said it would
be in the near future.
The Fifteenth street structure, To-
Gated in the heart of Washington S
financial district, is the last piece
of real estate owned by Swartzell,
Rheem & Hensey Co.
The firms crash early IN 1881
ruined hundreds of investors and
resulted in the indictment and con-
viction of its executive vice presi-
dents, Edmund D. Rheem. 1t had
operated in Washington for 60 years
and had earned a reputation of
being as good as gold" prior to its
failure. Then followed a long chain
of court litigation in which cred
itors sought to recover at least a
part of their losses. Thus far they
have received only 5 per cent, paid
in May, 1887.
Mr.. Rheem was found guilty in
District Court on July 10, 1881, of
carrying away and concealing notes
of $4,000 belonging to the COM
pany and with embezzling that
amount.
Paroled in 1885.
Justice Peyton Gordon sentenced
him to seven years in Lorton Re-
| formatory. Mr.. Rheem was paroled
on November 2, 1885, and left the
city under stipulation of the Parole
Board designed to protect him from
the possible carrying out of threats
by some of those impoverished when
the firm collapsed.
AvAA. AtAASSAAA WaO q 8 dOudCC O1
Princeton University and widely
known sportsman. During his stay
at Lorton he kept books and coached
the prison football team. He was
paroled to the custody of a friend
in Buffalo, N. Y.
His wife, the former Alice Ward
man, daughter of Harry Wardman,
divorced him a short time after he
went to prison.
The firms petition for receiver
ship, filed in District Court January
81, 1881, revealed that outstanding
! notes amounted to $18,0O0,O00. The
organization had participated in the
financing of building operations for
extensive apartment, hotel and of1ice
building developments here.
The next to the last piece of real
estate owned by the defunct COM
pany, an apartment building at 705
Fourth street NV, was sold late
last year when District Court rati-
fled an offer Of $4,000 for the
rronertv.