Conspiracy Is Charged

CONSPIRACY IS CHARGED

By the Cement Company at Four Mile Lake

AGAINST VICE PRESIDENT

W. C. McMillan, President of the Company that Claims to Have $750,000 Capital Paid in.

The West German Cement Co., who own 178 acres of marl land at Four Mile Lake, four miles from Chelsea, have filed a bill in court charging a conspiracy on the part of their vice president to obtain possession of their property. The company have graded the land somewhat but have not as yet put up buildings. Their bill states that they have a capital of $1,000,000, of which $750,000 is paid in. William C. McMillan, who aspires to the leadership of the republican party in Michigan, is president and Linus S. Lerch, secretary and treasurer. It charges that Homer C. Millen, the vice president, took an option on Lerch's stock, which has been renewed, so as to obtain a controlling interest in the corporation, that Millen was in charge of the work at Four Mile lake and in May, 1903, reported that there was $300 indebtedness for labor, and funds were given him to pay it. It charges that on June 23, 1903, six suits were commenced against the company in Chelsea and notice served on Millen, that no other members of the company knew of such suits and no defense was put in and judgements amounting in the aggregate to $1,648.56 were obtained and six levies made upon their real estate, which was advertised for sale at the court house today. One of these suits was commenced by Henry Chase, a brother-in-law of Homer C. Millen, another by Frank J. Riggs, who is charged with being a private attorney for Millen and who represented each of the six plaintiffs in the suits. The other plaintiffs were John Kalmbach, Wm. O. Randall and Bernard Parker, and all are charged with being parties to the conspiracy Millen is charged with causing claims to be assigned to these men instead of paying them and permitting judgment without defense.

It is charged that no member of the company had any knowledge of these suits, excepting Millen, until too late to have the judgements set aside by legal process, and that they desire to pay whatever is determined to be due after an equitable trial and want all proceedings set aside. The lis pendens filed will probable serve to prevent the sale of the lands today.

Attorney Riggs is in the city today and claims that the six judgments were obtained for labor debts due in Chelsea, ranging from 45 cents up, which to prevent a multiplicity of suits were assigned to the plaintiffs, who brought the suits in justice court, and that the trouble lay in the fact that the stockholders were not willing to put up any more money to pay the labor debts.