The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink AboutThe Exeter Times-Advocate, 1936-08-20, Page 8thviwday, Avers® aoti>, isse THE EXETER TIMES-ADVOCATE Brokers Sent to Trial After Huggard Declares Clients’ Boxes Looted Goderich, Aug. 14.—After nearly three hour of evidence Thursday afternoon, Magistrate Winter, with out comment, committed Gordon A. MacLaren and Robert S. Fletcher, Toronto brokers, for trial on 31 charges of theft of bonds, totalling $94,300 in face value. His Wor ship refused the $100,000 bail pre viously set, and the prisoners were returned to jail. The $94,300 represents securities alleged to have been stolen fiom clients oi J. J. Huggard, Seaforth lawyer, who fled from Ontario last May 29, and later surrendered to (police in Los Angeles. Huggard, who has admitted his part in thefts which dissipated $150.,000 of his clients' investments ever a 9-year period, was a Crown witness, Relates Stock Dealings It was through Gordon MacLaren’s instrumentality, as a friend, that he heated in Seaforth, as a lawyer in 1934, and later took over the bond, insurance and conveyancing busi ness of the Rankin Agency, Huggard related on the stand, after receiving the protection of the i-ourt. He told of his stock dealings start ing in 1928, with Solloway Mills, Leslie <& Co., Cassels & Co. After a loss on the market in 1931 he transferred his account to A. E. Os ler & Co., on advice of MacLaren, to whern he gave authority over the trading account, he said. Says Named Erased Huggard said Ma* Laren was in his office in Seaforth when witness nemoved $3,000 Province of Alberta bonds, property of Mrs. A. M. Hilde- brecht, and erased the name written in ink of A. M. Campbell, the lady's aiiaden name, from across the top of the bonds. These bonds, he said, were stolen to replace other stolen securities which had depreciated. “I have since found out these Al berta bonds were not used for this purpose. They were stolen,” ex claimed witness. In 19 31 he was down $10,000 on the market -when MacLaren. and Fletcher agreed to take ever his ac count, he said. “MacLaren told me he bought 100 shares of National Biscuit and 100 of National Distilleries. The hooks 1 show no record of this purchase. These bonds were supposed to be in macLaren's hands, but they never were," said witness. Huggard told of a conversation with MadLaren and Fletcher in his Seaforth office when he told them he was about at the end of his tether “We were discussing what was to be done," said witness, ‘‘when Flet cher attempted to wash his hands of the matter, claiming he had nothing to do with it. MacLaren said “you are in this as much as I am,” quoted Huggard. Would Rush Bonds To Seaforth by Car Witness then told of the manner in which coupons were delivered to the bond owners. Bonds 'would be rushed by motor from Toronto by MacLaren, Fletcher or a clerk nam ed McConkey; the messenger would wait at the Seaforth lawyer’s office or a hotpj until the coupons were clipped and delivered, after which the bonds would be returned to Tor onto. Huggard testified he never had a statement from the Toronto firm with the exception of a report by MacLaren in May, 1935, that the ac count had ,a debit balance in the neighborhood of $20,000. MacLaren, he said, again put for ward a tip, that Great Lakes Paper weie re-organizing and. the bonds would improve to such an extent that the debit of $20,000 would be .more than wiped out. Huggard said he told MacLaren he had nothing further to put up. “Here’s an opportunity to pull yourself out of the hole, but you’ll have to dig deeper," Huggard quot ed MacLaren. “It was then I began taking bonds from the other boxes,” said the wit ness. MacLaren reported he had purchas ed $100,00 0 .Great Lakes Paper at 39i to 4U and $1(5,000 at 42. ‘•I have since ascertained no such purchase was made," said witness. “The Great .Ixikes tip was correct, but the purchase was never made. Had it been made I w’ould have re couped my losses,” testified Hug gard. Went Through Boxes “On cne occasion,” Huggard con tinued. “I spoke to Fletcher about these Great Lake bonds, in the win ter of 1935-36. It was on Sunday, Oct. 6, 1935. Fletcher came up from Toronto with McConkey, a clerk out of the brokers’ office. MacLaren was sick. “I told. McConkey in Fletcher’s presence that they had $115,000 of my Great Lakes paper bonds. I told them to sell at 58, They replied that MacLaren’s instructions were to hold on until the stock went to 60. I never had any direct dealings with Fletcher, but at one time he was present in my vault when bonds were taken. I have discussed de livery of coupons and securities pre- ments” for a person and there was a loss of $2,000. He admitted that he had made the investment with out the client’s knowledge or con sent. “That’s the Beginning” In January, 1929, continued Hug gard, G. G. MacLaren knew of the deficit. “I told him I was in the hole to the extent of $2,000. He advised that a certain movement was going to take place in a certain stock. As a result of that tip I purchased 300 shares of Dominion Power and Transmission, through his advice dealing with a house named Cassels and Co, "That is really the beginning,” said the witness in a low voice. The Dominion power and Trans mission, (purchased at 82, fell over night to 45. A year later it was sold at 75 with a potential loss of $3 or $4 a thousand. In reply to Crown Attorney Holmes’ question as to'how he financed the dealings, Huggard replied: “I put up, without know ledge of my clients, or box holders, bonds under my own personal key.” After that loss the account was carried by Cassels and Co., until !under Huggard’s instructions or MacLaren’s advice, it was transfer red to A. E. Osler & Co. Huggard read his letter, dated November 14, 1930, to A. E. Osler & Co., in which he gave MacLaren I full authority to deal without in structions from him. The under standing was that MacLaren was to use his knowledge of the market to attempt to recoup Huggard’s losses. He was later informed by Mac Laren that operations in Radio Keith had resulted in a $5,000 loss, the stock dropping from 21 to 1. Had To Put Vp He said he was required to put up funds from time to time to cover on purchases made by MaciLaren and these bonds were delivered by letter or, on one occasion, by per sonal delivery, -when in his office he handed MacLaren Province of Al berta bearer bonds, the property of Mrs. John Hillebrecht, valued at $3,000. On April 2 9, 193 6, MacLaren ad vised Huggard that there was some difficulty getting ready the bonds which were due on Maj- 1st. “On the 20th I went to Toronto to get the bonds and coupons for May 1st,” said Huggard. “At that time he (MacLaren) advised me that the Securities Commission had demanded that he deliver the firm’s books up to them, and he was un able .to make delivery of the stuff. “He said the cause of the difficulty was that a couple of his customers had placed matters in the hands of the Securities Cccnmisison. There •was $4,000 o'wing the Beaumont ac count.” If it could have been cleared up, said witness, the books -would have been 'released and they could have carried on as previously. Apparently things had gone too far. MacLaren and Fletcher were to appear before the Commission. “It appeared that because of my account being held by G. G. Mac Laren, his own personal debts would be taken out of the account, thus reducing any credit there might have been. “I see now I shouldn’t have left but I hardly knew what to do,” said- Huggard, referring to his precipitate flight which ended at Los Angles. Contemplated Suicide Didn’t Know What To Do “I contemplated doing away with ■myself,” Huggard said, “I didn’t know what to do. McLaren said if he hadn't a wife and two child ren he knew what he’d do.” McLaren turned a deaf ear to Huggard’s plea for a loan to stage a getaway, but Mrs. McLaren cash ed a cheque 'Which Huggard had on his person. McLaren told him he had nothing. Miss Isabella Campbell, daughter of Alexander Campbell, who was the greatest loser among Huggard’s clients, testified briefly. Her aged father, who was too ill to appear in court, lost $14,000, and she lost $3,000, Miss Campbell said. Bonds Traced “Did you give anyone authority to take them?” asked Crown Attor ney Holmes. "No,” was the reply. “Would you say they were stolen?” “One would almost be led to think so,” was the cautious reiply. Other witnesses included Joseph Grummett, executor for his father’s estate, which lost $1,000 and Wal er G, Willis, who missed seven bonds from his box, totalling $3,500. Arthur Verity, securities commis sion investigator, testified that he had traced certain bonds from Hug gard’s vault to the Bank of Toronto Branch at Church and Wellington streets, pledged for loans. As for the Sim peon Company bond for $1,000, owned by Willis, witness traced it to Mellress and Co., sold outright to them. Still another $1,000 bond was sold by the accused to Dominion Securities Co., he said. Charge Gambling Orgy for trial on forgery charges and re leased on bail, were later re-arrest ed on the theft charges they faced Friday, based partly on statements of their accuser, Huggard. The dapper Huggard, a great mix er, smiled occasionally in court as though a great load was off his mind. Maclaren, strong, athletic- looking war veteran, never glanced around. Fletcher was nervous and fidgetty, a chalky white. At the conclusion of the hearing Mr. Moore asked for the dismissal of the charges against Fletcher, “There is no case against him, and no case to commit for trial,” Mr. Moore said. . “I’m committing both for trial,” Magistrate Winter said, Farm News Gardeners’ Insect Friends All garden insects are not injur ious, In fact many of them are beneficial, c’oijft'inuail'y doing good by destroying those species which are harmful. Foremost among the insects that 'help the gardener are the different kinds of ladybird beetles. Both in their larva and adult stages, they feed almost ex clusively upon plant lice and scale insects. Another kind of beetle, the fiery ground beetle is a partic ularly useful insect. This beetle and its voracious grub, which is called the cut worm lion, destroy enormous numbers of cutworms. The beetle is brownish-black, with, the wing cases spotted with coppery ! red—hence its name. The large harpalus beetle, which is very com mon, destroys cutworms. The dif ferent kinds of lacewing, and other two and four winged parasitic flies are also friends of the gardener. Draft of Ploughs (Farmers often wonder whether more power is required to pull a plough with four 14-inch bottoms or one with three 16-inch bottoms. This question has been studied by engineers who have given out the following statement. “It will take a greater force to piull a four-bottom plough 'having 14-inch bottoms, than a three-bottom 16-inch plough.-The force will be al most directly in proportion to the total width of ploughing, assuming that the depth and other conditions are the same. “In tests, practically no difference in the draft per unit width of fur row has been found, regardless of the width of the plough bottoms. In asmuch as the four-bottom 14-inch plough takes a total width of 5 6 in. and a plough of three 16-inch bot tom takes a total width of only 48 inches, it is reasonable to expect that four-bottom will pull heavier.” Well Survey in Ontario Complaints that wells in Western Ontario 'have been lower than usual have prompted a survey by Col. R. B. Harkness, provinical natural gas commissioner. Farmers have re ported a steady receding of waters in Ontario, Many farmers have had to deepen their wells or drill in new locations and a new source of water supply is sought. Ontario Agricultural College of ficials commenting on the water shortage in Western Ontario said as sistance had been given to many farmers in the way of information on most suitable locations to bore wells. It was pointed out that new re gulations, requiring all well-drillers to make a log to soil through which they were passing and at what lev els they were striking water, had proved of great assistance in this connection. Data obtained along this line makes it appear that the static level has been dropping in the last few years, attributed to lack of rainfall. In the last three years it is estim ated the level is 13 inches below noiimal of the level of the past 20 years. (Tops for Rolling Lands Permanent pastures are extensive ly grown on rolling lands. Canada blue grass, red top, Kentucky blue grass and white clover are useful for this purpose, The first mentioned grass is of particular value where the soil tends to dry out in summer. The common mixture of red clover, alsike and timothy may be sown for ’hay and the timothy left down for a number of years. Alfalfa is an excel lent crop for hillsides and is to be desired over other crops whereit will grow successfully. In order to receive a good stand of this perma nent hay crop, liming may be neces sary on some soils. Oats, rye, wheat and corn are crops frequently grown with success on rolling lands, but these crops are not as efficient in controlling eros ion as hay and pasture crops. If sat isfactory crop yields are to be se cured, farm manure must be applied at seasonss when it can be ploughed under before any loss of fertility takes place. Fall and winter appli cations of manure (farm or commer cial fertilizer) are not desirable ex cept on level land because of the great loss of fertility which is liable to occur from spring run-off. Current Crop Report ■Some excerpts from most recent crop reports by agricultural repre sentatives follow: BRUCE: Spring grains have im proved since the rain and prospects are for a fair yield. Fall wheat is yielding 30 to 3'5 bushels in some cases. Roots and corn have respond ed wonderfully to the rainfall, but more moisture is needed. HURON: (Farmers are busy with' wheat threshing and the average yield in this district will run close to 30 bus. Dealers are paying 80 cents per bushels, but the majority of farmers are holding in expecta tion of higher prices. NORTH SIMCOE: This district can still be reported as in a condi tion of drought. All late crops need rain badly. Wheat and barley threshing is general and early oats are being cut. WELLINGTON: The harvest is in full swing in the 'south end of the county. The oat crop is not a good one and in many cases the crop is a near failure. In the north section fair crojps of oats and barley will be harvested. Yields of wheat are running 30 to 35 bushels per acre with a reasonably good sample. HIA'LXHMAND: Fall wheat yields of as high as 35 bushels per acre have been reported, but the oat and barley yield will be materially re duced, Pastures and all crops are still in need of moisture, LAMBTON: Pastures are burned brown and dried out. Many farm ers are supplementing pastures by graining their cattle, - others are feeding hay. Many others have turned their cows on second crop alfalfa fields. LINCOLN: In spite of dry past ures most of the livestock is in fair ly good condition, Dairy cattle are being fed grain and hay in the stable to keep up the supply of milk. Wheat yields vary from 10 to 40 bushels per acre, the quality very good. The oat crop will be short. MIDDLSEX: (Some sections still have had no rain for several weeks. Spring grain will be extremely var iable in yield with some fields on, light poor land almost a total fail ure, but with early sown crops on rich, well prepared land giving high yields. OXFORD: The extreme heat re duced the milk yield by approxi rnately 30 per cent, and lowered the milk test as well. However recent reports indicate both production and test have returned to normal. The corn crop has been hard hit by dry weather and unless rain comes soon, a good deal of the crop will be very short. WELLAND: Harvesting of wheat is finished. Average will be possibly 15 to 20 bushels per acre. HASTINGS: Grain harvesting is in full swing, but the yield is light due to heat and dry weather. NORTHUMBERLAND: Farmers are cutting oats, which in t'he main are quite green but due to lack of rain will not fill any more. A lot of oats will be fed in the sheaf this year. New seeding is now just about completely ruined. PRINCE EDWARD: Corn and to matoes have hung on well, but rain must come soon to make them good crops. “Mamma what becomes of a car when it gets too old to run?” “Some body sells them to your father.” Of the 2,713,000 cwt. of cheese imported into the British market during 1935, the chief suppliers were New Zealand, 7,763,000 cwt.; Canada 469,000 cwt.; Holland, 199,- 000 cwt.; Austrlia, 134,000 swt.; Italy, 80,000 cwt.; and South Africa 22,000 cwt. Sir Malcolm Campbell’s “Blue bird” the mam'moth 'racing car that attained a speed of slightly more than 30-4 miles per hour on the salt flats of Utah, will be seen in the Automotive Building at the Cana dian National Exhibition. I 4 TODAY'S PRICE MAKES THIS TIRE A GREAT BUY 1 6 HIGH-PRICED TIRE FEATURES IN THIS LOW-PRICED TIRE Come in and let us show you how AA quality, “double-curing” and the other high-priced tire features built into Cavalier Tires make them the money-saving, mileage-increas-i ing Gres you need for your car. Rut act now while our price is so low. You’ll be the winner! ^Prices subject to change without notice 1 1ft s I Thos. C. Coates Bliones Garage 300 House 209 Exeter, Ontario OUT OF LUCK A hitch-hiker died, And his astral form Started thumbing a ride One pearly morn. He flagged a truck, After missing seven; He said, “I’m in luck; Now I’ll get to Heaven/1 But they sped right by The golden stairs Where spirits sigh Off their earthly cares. .For luck had turned 'On this transient soul; a The truck 'he learned Was delivering coal. sumably on deposit with him.” Huggard testified that on two or three occasions MacLaren had been in the vault of the Seaforth office with him ah cl that they had gone through "practically everything,” opening safety deposit boxes ,with a paper knife, Huggard, speaking slowly and carefully, revealed that during the I year 1927-28, when dealing with i the Solloway Mills firm, he made! some “rather unfortunate invest-1 The three man are alleged to have been principals in a stock gambling orgy over a period of nine years which dissipated $150,000 in securities, property of clients of Huggard. They met for the first time in ten weak Friday. It was on May 29th last that Huggard in a panic after all was lost, fled to Los Angelos, where he gave himself up. MacLaren and Fletcher, first held as material nosses, later arrested and committed rfT"9 tHheum Eczema Rheum as it is often called is oWnf the most agonizing of skin diseases^' Tj^untense burning, itching, smarting, especially at night, or when the affected part *us exposed to heat, or the hands placed in water, are almost unbearable. Use Burdock Blood Bitters internally, and apply it externally. A few bottles are usually sufficient to afford relief from this torturing blood and skin disease. Itching, Burning/Stinging Eczema or Sal RURDOCK B.SH Bitters iirnrincnc • • • • ♦ the cbLviSje Tiziqsts / ■S-upsietne !■ h°£? 12 _ "'itU '/S**