Company Officials Defrauded Illinois Central Railroad, 1910

Eastern Carolina News, Kenansville, N.C., August 17, 1910

High Officials’ Crime…Swindle Illinois Central Railroad Out of Millions of Dollars

Memphis, Tenn., Special—Disclosures of a most sensational nature, involving high former officials of the Illinois Central Railroad, in conspiracy by which the Memphis Car Company is alleged to have defrauded the railroad of hundreds of thousands of dollars, were made here when a decree was entered in Chancellor Heskel’s court. By this decree every dollar’s worth of property in the Memphis Car Company’s plant and a sum of cash will be turned over to the Illinois Central Railroad. Deeds were filed from the entering of the decree.

Prosecution will immediately begin, it is said, against a number of the former officials implicated, probably in the Illinois courts first and later in the Tennessee courts. The stockholders mentioned in the decree, besides E.H. Ward and H.C. Osterman, the organizers of the Memphis Car Company, and their official positions at the time of the issuance of the stock were:

Frank B. Harriman, general manager of the Illinois Central.

Hugh McCourt, general superintendent of the Yazoo & Mississippi Illinois Central.

W.S. King, general superintendent of the Yazoo and Mississippi Valley Railroad, operating also the Memphis terminals of the Illinois Central.

William Renshaw, until May 1, 1908, superintendent of machinery having charge of the repair of equipment.

Joseph E. Buker, assistant superintendent of machinery.

John M. Taylor, general storekeeper, Burnside Shops, Chicago.

Renshaw is said to be in France, but as soon as a true bill is secured efforts will be made to bring him back.

It is known that the Illinois Central refused offers of large sums in a settlement to include immunity, declaring that the road would rather lose the millions of which it had been defrauded than to have the officials who had been parties to the alleged fraud, escape punishment.

Two of the officials, it is set forth, have returned to the Illinois Central the amounts received by them as dividends. These are H. McCourt and W.S. King, each of whom made voluntary restitution of $13,000 in cash.

One of the stockholders, Ira G. Rawn, is dead.