A Judicial Opinion of George O. SKields 



During the past year, one George O. Shields, formerly publisher of 

 Recreation, has been industriously circulating false and malicious state- 

 ments about this publication. As Recreation, under its new, honest and 

 able management, has improved, grown in influence and become recognized 

 as the leading magazine for real sportsmen, Mr. Shields' desire to injure it 1 

 has increased accordingly, and he has said and done about everything that 

 a man of his character and mentality could be expected to say and do. 

 Recreation has permitted his attacks to pass without comment, being 

 convinced that it was only a matter of time when the public would be given 

 an unprejudiced measure of Mr. Shields' true character and methods. 

 The searchlight of truth, in the form of the United States District Court 

 of the Southern District of New York, which was recently turned upon this 

 worthy gentleman, now reveals him in his true color. It stigmatizes him 

 as having taken a false oath to conceal property from his creditors and 

 as being the perpetrator of a sham paper transaction and a fraudulent 

 scheme in dealing with friends who had assisted him by purchasing stock 

 in his company. 



Mr. Shields recently applied for a discharge from bankruptcy, which 

 was objected to by his creditors, who contended that he had concealed 

 property and made a false oath in the proceedings. 



Special Master Nathaniel S. Smith, of the District Court of the United 

 States, Southern District of New York, who heard the matter, handed 

 down his report February 16, 1906, upholding these contention^. The 

 following is an extract from his report: "It having been found that this 

 property belonged to the bankrupt {George O. Shields}, the omission to 

 schedule the same must be held, it seems to me, under the facts of this case, to 

 have been a concealment KNOWINGLY AND FRAUDULENTLY done. 

 He must be deemed to have known that the property belonged to him, hence 

 he knowingly omitted the same, and it seems to be a clear inference from the 

 evidence that he did so INTENTIONALLY." 



"Having found that the concealment of this property was KNOWING- 

 LY AND FRAUDULENTLY done, I think it must be held that in swearing 

 to his schedules, in which no mention was made of this property, the bankrupt 

 has taken a FALSE OATH, which the STATUTE CONDEMNS." 



"I have, therefore, come to the conclusion that the specifications numbered 

 II and III should be sustained, and the bankrupt refused his discharge." 



Judge Holt not only confirmed Referee Smith's report, but condemned 

 Mr. Shields' unprincipled business methods in the following strong terms: 



