Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 February 1907 — THE GILMAN TRIAL. [ARTICLE]

THE GILMAN TRIAL.

The state closed its evidence Monday at three P. M. and the defendant not being ready with any witnesses the hearing was adjourned until next morning, One of the most important witnesses was Charles D. Wellington, the well known life insurance agent, formerly of Goodland and now of Lafayette. Wellington testified that he had on deposit §1,070 on the first day of June, 1904. On*the fifth ot the month he drew a check for $642. Shortly after making this draw Gilman caller! on him and said his his funds were low and asked Wellington if he had any ready cash. Wellington produced draft for $677, and Gilman said he would take care of the check. The drafts were collected but Wellington was compelled to pay his check over again after the failure. The defense was preparing to prove that Gilman had $15,000 in life insurance policies. Wellington informed the court that one policy for SIO,OOO had lapsed and the other two policies were continued on the four payments made by Gilifian and were without commercial value except in case of death. The time deposits were proved bj the bank’s books and totaled about $90,000. Among the list day’s witnesses from Jasper county were Hugh Trainer, of Remington, who had in $366 (and Wm. Keene, who got soaked for $1,500. Gilman’s wildcat speculations were greater than the public has heretofore been advised. He invested $15,000 in the Hoosier Mining company, $15,000 in the Consolidated Gold Mining company, SII,OOO in the Hoosier Oil company and $2,500 in the Evans Van Peck Mining company. Trustee Wiles testified that he had been unable to realize on any of the above stocks, and that he found them to be of no market value. The defense began its evidence Tuesday, after an opening by Judge Darroch] in which he painted Fred’s standing and popularity before the failure .in glowing colors. J. A. Patton, now of Hillsdale, Mich., (explained his big poultry and egg business which swallowed up so much of the bank’s money. He was cutting a wide swath in that line, there is no doubt, and h id 13 branch houses besides the main one at Goodland, and claimed that his different branches and bviness were worth about $38,0C0. Also claimed to have $25,000 worth of stock in storage in the east when the failure came, and to have realized 75 per cent, upon it, but seemed unable to explain what be came of the money and why his bankrupt estate paid only ten cents on the dollar. Patton’s own evidence showed that he had been insolvent for years and that Gilman had plenty of opportunity to know it. A number of witnesses testified to Gilman’s good reputation in Goodland, previous to the failure, and then Gilman uimself took the • stand.

He made as good a story as coaid have been expected of his failure and especially of the Patton deata. Patton had a big fire in 1901 bat Bred add he was still solvent after its occurence, but admitted that he owed the bank §20,000 at that time. The storage stock in the east which Patton himself said was worth only $26,000 Fred said was worth $47,000 or almost twice as mach. He also said that paper which the trustee found to be worthless, was good. He said his own estate when he failed was worth $43,000 not'inclnding his wildcat mining stock. A new deal in this line was that of the Shasta Mining Company, in which it was not before known he was interested. He said he owned 225,000 shares worth now $65,000. The state expects to make him produce this stock, and to either prove

it worthless and Fred a prevaricator, or to add it to his bankrupt assets. Fred Gilman makes a mighty good witness for himself, and one oi his best hits Wednesday was a grandstand play for sympathy in describing his family with his wife and children around him. But he has a good story ready for about every one of the bank’s trans actions which have been brought prominently against him by the state. The testimony of the tempery "Wes Butler was explained by Fred who said that as a matter of fact he never had $2,800 an deposit in the bank. Butter was a horse trader and checked against his deposit as soon as it was made Fred said. Gil nan declared some of the depositors had filed accounts with the referee in bankruptcy that were ilj legal. He cited the case of William Keene, who gathered together several deposit slips and filed a claim for $521. Gilman states Keene drew the money from the bank long before the failure and was overdrawn $165. The witness explained at length the operation of the Hoosier Oil Company. The company was or ganized in Goodland and its stock was sold over northern Indiana. The company was organized to sink oil wells in Wyoming, but its st ck proved to be worthless. This company gave Fred a hunch and he organized the Indiana Oif Company. Ben and Clem Constable thought it looked good to them and they went into it good and strong and of course lost out good and strong, but Fred says it was a square deal on his part while the Constables declare Fred beat them out of $3,000 by sharp practice. Fredjalso went after the testimony of Eugene Parks, who filed claims for and got his dividends on $313 open account and $4,000 on time deposit. Fred swore he never had a time deposit. Parks’ daughter had $16,000 on deposit, as they claimed, but Fred swore he had paid $5,000 of this by a draft and that at the failure the bank owed her but $9,600. Fred intimated that the account was in the daughter’s name to avoid the taxes. Regarding the transactions with Hartley Brothers, Fred says they used $3,000 of his money as an offset for one of their notes in the bank. The published statement that the Hartley Grain Company owed the Home bank $30,000 when the grain company went broke, is denied by A. E. Hartley in a card to the Indianapolis Star. He says that when the grain company went out of business the bank owed them nearly $3,000. Hartley Brothers, a different concern, owed the bank $7,200 when Fred quit.