The Wilmington morning star., 1945-07-04

views of Mr.. Pegler, and often disas ee
with them as much as many Of his read
ers. His articles serve the good purpose
of making people Think
BY WESTBROOK PEGLER,
Copyright, 1945, by King Features Syndicate)
NEW YORK; have had two visits lately
with John Kantor, a portly man of perhaps
60, of sad eye and solemn manner, who spent
twenty months in New York prison as
swindler and is now parole and working,
apparently successfully, as legitimate sales
man. AS he talked and as 1 questioned him,
became convinced that, in general, he was
telling the truth.
Mr.. Kantor said that he had been involved
with Elliott Roosevelt and Elliotts uncle, Hall
Roosevelt, the brother of Mrs. Eleanor Roose-
welt, and with the late New York new deal
congressman, William Sirovich, in the flota-
ton of the $200,O00 loan to Elliott by John
Hartford, president of the Atlantic and Pacific
grocery chain, and in efforts to arrange other
loans to Elliott He described his role in these
dealings as that of a finder In the fl
nancial underworld this means one who hunts
around to discover individuals who are will
ing to lend money on securities which are
"unbankable."
He told of calls on several New York men,
Including wealthy radio manufacturer and
manufacturer of Watches also interested in
radio, of lunches at the Harvard club with
Hall Roosevelt of being hired by Elliott
Roosevelt as salesman for one of Elliotts ra-
do companies and finally Of being fired from
this job. He said further that he had been
induced to sign legal release to Elliott, Hall
Roosevelt and Sirovichl Mr.. Kantor had de-
tails and corroborative and verisinilar facts
which could not have been faxed.
Some years earlier, this man had been
questioned in connection with the notorious
McKesson and Robbins failure. McKesson and
Robbins was a large wholesale drug company
at Bridgeport, Conn.,, whose president, F. Don
aid Coster, born Musica, was exposed as
criminal adventurer and spectacular imposter
and killed himself after the expose.
My visitor seems to have had no important
part in Musicas operations but was indicted
for swlrldle in burial plots and got from
:wo and ore-half to five years in prison Kan
.tr says Musica told him he had supply
CT old Sritish Lee-Enfield infantry rifles and
proposed that they be shipped to Honduras
tor revolution. Kantor said he hal an in
terest lii a crab-meat cannery in Honduras
at the time, but added that Muscia did not
produce the Lee-Enfields.
At this time Musica was supporting legsla-
ton in Congress and in the various states
hostile to the Atlantic and Pacific grocery
chain.
Kantor presented document on a letter.
head, purporting to be that of Elliott's Texas
state network, with Elliotts name printed at
the top as president" and bearing sigma
ture purporting to be that of Elliott Roose-
welt. The letter. dated May %, 1889, said, in
part, that the undersigned was "desirous of
entering into the following arrangement for
your services"
4. "I propose" the document said, ito pay
you a yearly salary, starting June 1st, 1885,
and running to June l 1910 of $10,500 pay
able in equal installments bi-monthly,' and
further, you are to devote your full time
and energy to making financial contacts IN
the matter of raising capital for the various
enterprises that am interested in Still fur
Their the document read, this agreement is
contingent upon and is subject to your being
successful in obtaining an additional loan for
m at this time of 100000 to be used in
the promotion and operation of the Texas
state network
1T is further understood, another para
graph read, that Immediately upon the for
nation of the Regional BroadcaSting Network,
Inc, will see that you receive reasonable
stock participation which shall not be less
than per cent of the total stock issued
My visitor said that few months later he
saw Elliott in the New York office of the
Texas state network in Rockefeller centre,
and that Elliott handed him a salary check
to date and wanted to cancel the employ
ment contract because he, Elliott, himself,
hal arranged to get large sums for his busl-
ness Mr. Kantor said that a third man was
present. sitting on a couch in Elliott's office,
and that this man was a Well-knoWn agent
of the Federal Bureau of Investigation who
gave a false name.
My caller told me that late in the fall of
1899, Srovich and New York dress manu-
facturer summoned him to the Roosevelt hotel
and induced him to sign the release. He said
he gave them an argument" But, by that
time he, Kantor, was having his trouble with
the law and his position was weak
Kantor had another document purporting to
be letter from Carrthers Ewing, counsel
for John Hartford, concerning revisions OF the
terms of Hartford's 5000, 900 loan, so as to
enable Elliott to borrow further money. 1t
this is an authentic letter, it strongly sug-
gests that Mr.. Kantor did take part in ne
gotiations to raise money for Elliotts radio
properties. Mr.. Ewing does not recall Kantor
but Mr. Hartford does. According &c Mr. narl-
ford's recollections, however, Kantor came to
him and wanted to buy up Elllott hooseVel'
notes on EllioSt's 5000, 900 loan which, subse-
quently, was settled by Jesse jones' tnen sec
rotary If Commerce in the Roosevelt Cabinet
and chief of the R.F.C. Tor $4'ooo. hantor
noiob+ have wanted to buy the notes for him
self and for his own purposes or on oeha1
~ :. ,,r;ncinal Mr.. Hartford has no clear un-
Outstanding as to that. .
Kan+or saws he also entered negotiations
with former New York Judge reured to
rr;1-.+e nractise, whereby client of the for
raar i1dee was to lend 100000. but that FL
.;o.t ;nterfered with the deal and that he,
AAo'o Korf {ba