C. E. Trump of Superior Motor Car Co. Is In Serious Financial Tangle.
Charges of selling six new automobiles, against which mortgages totaling $7,200 are held, will likely be faced by C.E. Trump of the Superior Motor Car company in case he is apprehended. Mr. Trump left Sterling a week ago last Monday and it is generally believed that he has made his getaway, fearing prosecution, although his wife is of the opinion that he has met with foul play.
Last October Mr. Trump obtained six new Oldsmobile automobile, for which he has been the agent in Sterling. Shortly afterwards he obtained a loan of $7,200 for these cars, a chattel mortgage being given on them as security.
Investigation following his continued absence from the city has revealed that all of the six cars, which were mortgaged, had been sold without the knowledge of the mortgagee. None of the purchasers were informed of the mortgage against the car, each believing they were buying a clear title to the machines.
The last two of the mortgaged cars were sold in Chicago last week by Mr. Trump, who took them to the city, together with an Overland. The cars were valued at $5,000 and it is understood that all three of them were sold for $2,100.
These cars were driven to Chicago last Monday, Mr. Trump being accompanied by his wife, Wilber Hoover and George Hunt. Mrs. Trump remained in the city with her husband until Tuesday evening when she returned to Sterling, expecting her husband to follow in a day or two. She went to the home of her Mother in Tampico and on last Saturday when she had heard nothing from her husband, she became worried and came to sterling to ascertain if any of the employees of the Superior Motor Car company had heard from him.
Finding that no word had been received from him there, Mrs. Trump, accompanied by Wilbur Hoover, an employee of the Superior company, went to Chicago Tuesday to see if anything could be learned of her husband’s whereabouts. They went to the hotel at which she and Mr. Trump had stopped the week previous and there it was learned that he had checked out of the hotel on the same day that she had returned to Sterling. Mr. Trump had checked his handbag at the check room of the hotel just before his wife left the hotel to come home and inquiry there disclosed that he had not returned to obtain the bag. Identifying the property, it was turned over to her. She examined the contents of the traveling bag and noted that none of the contents had been disturbed.
Mrs. Trump returned to Sterling that night firm in the belief that her husband had met foul play by thugs and robbed him of the large sum of money which he had on his person.
There are those however, who believe that Mr. Trump has mad good his getaway, knowing that his illegal deals would soon come forward and his arrest was inevitable.
There are many angles to the financial tangle, all of which surely will come to light as legal proceedings are instituted in efforts to straighten out the mix-up.
Furniture Sent To Fugitive By Wife Gives Clue Leading To Arrest
C. E. Trump, under indictment for confidence game and disposing of chattel mortgaged property, who has been a fugitive from justice for the last three and one-half months, has been apprehended in Owego, Tioga county, New York, where he is being held pending the arrival of Sheriff P.A. Whitney, of Morrison, who has started to that city. Petition has been made to Governor Small for requisition papers upon the Governor of New York for permission to bring Mr. Trump back to Whiteside county to face charges preferred against him.
Mr. Trump, who conducted the Superior Motor Car company in Sterling and acted as sales agent of Oldsmobile automobiles, is alleged to have sold six new automobiles, against which mortgages totaling $7,200 are held. In October of last year, Mr. Trump obtained six new automobiles at his place of business in this city. Shortly afterwards he obtained a loan of $7,200 on those cars, a chattel mortgage being given on them as security.
Sells Mortgaged Cars.
About the middle of last March, just before the note he had given became due, Mr. Trump left the city. Investigation following his continued absence from the city revealed that all of the six cars which were mortgaged had been sold by Mr. Trump without the knowledge or consent of the mortgagee. None of the purchasers were informed of the mortgage against the car, each believing they were buying a clear title to the machines. It was learned that the last two of the six mortgaged cars were sold in Chicago the week previous to his getaway from here. The two mortgaged cars, together with a used Overland, said to be worth about $5,000, it is reported, were sold for $2,100.
At the time of his departure from Sterling, an air of mystery was lent to the case by the belief advanced by his wife that he had met with foul play in Chicago and had been robbed of the large sum of money which he had on his person. There were few, however, who held to this supposition, most believing that Mr. Trump had improved his opportunity to make his getaway knowing that the illegal deals would soon come to light and that his arrest was inevitable.
Tampico Clue Leads to Arrest.
A clue that led to the arrest of Mr. Trump was obtained in Tampico a week ago last Thursday night when an official of that village saw a large moving van from Clinton, Ia., back up to the home of Mrs. Trump in Tampico, at which time the van was loaded with furniture. The moving van returned for another load of furniture on the following Saturday night. The conversation overheard by the village official led him to suspect that the goods were being prepared for shipment to Mr. Trump. Shortly after the furniture had been transported to Clinton, Ia., it was learned that Mrs. Trump had left Tampico.
Goods Billed to Owego, N.Y.
As the result of the Tampico official’s aroused suspicions, the sheriff’s office at Morrison an investigation. Deputy Sheriff Berry went to the freight depot in Clinton and ascertained that the furniture and household goods had been billed in the name of the moving company to Owego, N.Y. Firm in the belief that the furniture was being sent to Mr. Trump at that city, Sheriff Whitney telegraphed the officials there explaining the charges against Mr. Trump and asked them to watch for the arrival of the shipment of furniture and if Mr. Trump should call to claim the goods to place him under arrest.
Three days later a telegram came to Sheriff Whitney announcing that Mr. Trump was under arrest and was being held pending the action of the local officers. This message indicated Mr. Trump would return to Whiteside county to face the charges preferred against him without requisition papers and added that the accused man admitted everything.
Ask Requisition Papers
State’s Attorney R.W. Bessee, who has co-operated with Sheriff Whitney in the apprehension of the fugitive, however, did not desire to take any chances of Mr. Trump changing his mind about returning here without the requisition papers and petition were made to Governor Small the first of this week for the papers. Sheriff Whitney left on Wednesday for Springfield to obtain the requisition papers and from there he will proceed to Owego, N.Y. to present the papers to the governor of New York. No trouble is expected in having the chief-executive of the Empire state honor the requisition.
A warrant will be issued for the extradition of Mr. Trump and in all likelihood the accused man will be returned to Whiteside county by the latter part of this week.
Three true bills, including seven counts, were returned against Mr. Trump by the grand jury at the April term of court. The indictments are for perpetrating a confidence game and for disposing of chattel mortgaged property. Conviction on any count carries a penalty of from one to ten years imprisonment.
Clayton E. Trump Is Cleared of Charge of Confidence Game In Court
After being out less than an hour the jury returned a verdict of not guilty in the trial of Clayton E. Trump on a charge of confidence game. The case was a hard fought one and the trial took three days. Trump is still under $6,000 bonds on two indictments of the grand jury on the charge of selling chattel mortgages.
The defense contended that there had been no confidence game in connection with the transactions between Mr. Trump and the First National Bank and that the bank had full knowledge of everything that was going on. The defense pointed out to the jury and court that to prove confidence game there must be a swindle in connection with the obtaining of the money and that in this case there had been no swindle.
According to the defense, Mr. Trump had secured the money from the bank, the amount being in the neighborhood of $7,200 and had given a mortgage on the cars, they being the only thing he had to give the mortgage on. In order to pay off the mortgage he would have to sell the cars and there had been a number of bills of sale introduces as evidence to show that Trump had the sanction of the bank to sell the cars, and that he did business with the bank for several months after the offense of confidence game. is alleged to have been committed.
The drop in the price of automobiles was claimed to have been the cause of Mr. Trump’s failure and some of the cars brought less than what was paid for them and he finally lost out entirely.
