The Pacific Commercial Advertiser

COHEN NOT CULPABLE
An Innocent Go-between According to Mr. Humburg.

An amended bill to set aside Sheriff's sale and for an injunction in the case of August Humburg vs. John C. Searle, Sheriff of Hawaii, James E. Fullerton, H.B. Gehr and Kohala and Hilo R.R. Co., has been filed by the complainant in the Circuit Court.

The complainant seeks to have the execution sale of property belonging to the Kohala and Hilo R.R. Co., on Waianuenue street, Hilo, set aside, because of alleged "fraudulent representations" made by bidders.

Humburg says that on February 9, 1905, under a writ of execution issued December 20, 1904, out of the First Circuit Court, in an action wherein Jas. E. Fullerton was plaintiff and the Kohala and Hilo R.R. was defendant, Sheriff Searle offered for sale to the highest bidder, at Hilo, the right and title of the K. & H. R.R. Co. to certain land on Waianuenue street. Humburg was present at the sale and made the highest offer, $1000.

But during two months preceding, the K. & H. R.R. Co. and H.B. Gehr, an officer of the company, had offered to mortgage said land to H. Hackfeld & Co., making representations that the K. & H. R.R. Co. owned the land. Gehr knew the complainant, who was manager of the Hilo branch of H. Hackfeld & Co., was actively interested in said negotiations, and knew him to be one of those advising in the matter, and he avers that Gehr knew that the negotiations, although carried on in Honolulu, would be referred to him (Humburg), that such representations of Gehr and the railroad company were false and "were made with knowledge of their falsity on the part of said Gehr, officer of said railroad company, and with intent to deceive and defraud any to whose notice said representations might be communicated, including, particularly, the said complainant."

"There was present at said sale one Joseph Cohen of said Honolulu, representing thereat the said execution creditor and plaintiff, Jas. E. Fullerton, and also said H.B. Gehr; that shortly before the bidding began, in response to said offer of sale, said Cohen handed to complainant a certain map or plat of the land above-described, purporting to show the same to be the land of said K. & H. R.R. Co., and said Cohen then and there stated to complainant that complainant's brother, John F. Humburg, had sent said map over to complainant from Honolulu and 'wanted complainant to get said map.'"

Complainant further alleges "that the statements of said Cohen aforesaid were not the truth, were contrary to fact, and that said John F. Humburg had never had anything to do with sending said map to complainant, but that said Cohen, an innocent agent in the premises, had repeated to complainant the foregoing matters and things under instructions of said Fullerton and said Gehr; and that Fullerton and Gehr had instructed said Cohen to make said statements to complainant, although said Fullerton and Gehr well knew the same to be false, and that they made such statements through Cohen with intent to deceive and defraud said complainant."

Humburg says that under the circumstances he can not receive anything for his $1000. The K. & H. R.R. Co. and Gehr are summoned to appear before Judge Robinson on Monday, June 25.