376 William Zeffert—For Plaintiff-Direct 377 one who came up with Mr. Kanner was a Mr. Schumacher. Q. Was Mr. Kanner the broker? A. Yes. Q. Who is Mr. Schumacher? A. Mr. Schumacher is a member of the organization of Goldstein & Company. Q. What are they? A. Fire adjusters, down. town, New York City. Q. And did you subsequently retain Goldstein & Company to represent you in the adjustment of the loss? A. I think the following day or the day thereafter. Q. Now, from that time on, did you yourself or some member, some officer, representing-representative of yours, of the plaintiff corporation, do anything to ascertain the loss or damage sustained to your merchandise? A. Yes. When we were allowed to go in, by that time a Mr. Howe showed up. Q. Can you give us the date? A. April 17th, around 10:30 in the morning, about the time they let us in the premises. Q. Was Mr. Howe there then? A. Mr. Howe who represented himself as a member of the fire loss committee Q. Is Mr. Howe in court? A. Yes. Q. Which one is Mr. Howe, the gentleman standing up? A. That's right. Q. He came to the premises? A. That's right. Q. What did you do and he do, if anything, at that time? 378 Mr. Cuff: May I ask Mr. Berger if he will concede that Mr. Howe. represented the defendants at that time and throughout this entire investigation? William Zeffert—For Plaintiff-Direct 379 Mr. Berger: I will concede that Mr. Howe was an adjuster, so-called, representing the defendants. The Court: I thought he said he was from the fire loss committee of the Board of Fire Underwriters. Mr. Berger: That is not quite correct. The Court. An adjuster representing the Mr. Berger: I put it precisely. Mr. 380 committee on losses. Mr. Cuff: If you will let me look at The Court: Howe? Mr. Cuff: Mr. Howe swears that he was Mr. Berger: That is correct. Mr. Berger: Employed by the commit- Q. All right, Mr. Zeffert, will you go right ahead and tell us what the conversation was that you had with Mr. Howe on the 17th of April. A. We met him in front of the premises, the place was completely covered with blankets from the entrance of the store to the rear of the store, on all the floors, basement and mezzanine. By blankets, I mean those placed there by the fire companies. 382 William Zeffert—For Plaintiff-Direct 383 Q. You mean the Municipal Fire Department? A. Well, I don't know who put those blankets there but somebody connected with the Fire Department during the progress of the fire. Mr. Golding, a member of the firm at that time Q. One minute. When you say Mr. Golding, you mean Mr. Golding who was connected with the Crest Furniture Company? A. That's right. Q. He was an officer of the Crest Furniture Company? · A. Yes. Q. What office did he hold? A. Secretary and treasurer. Q. Go right ahead. A. In the company of Mr. Howe and myself, we tried to the best of our abil. ity to go through this store, as it was full of water and puddle of water there, and said Q. Who said? A. Mr. Howe said that he would send some experts up here to examine this loss. Q. How long did Mr. Howe remain there that day? A. 15 minutes. Q. Now, after that day, April 17th, did you yourself go through the various parts of your store there and ascertain the identity and quantity of the merchandise that had been affected by the fire? A. Well, several days had to elapse, I don't know whether it is one, two or three days before we were able to do that. The place was full of water and we spent all that time baling out the water with the help of a couple of men from the Fire Salvage Department, they kept baling the water and carrying it into the washroom. Some short time thereafter,— with a man designated by Goldstein & Company, we started to draw up an inventory of the damage. Q. And did you make a partial list of the mer 384 William Zeffert—For Plaintiff—Direct 385 chandise that was destroyed or damaged at that time? A. At the time the gentleman was doing this with me, this gentleman I referred to as a member or designated by Goldstein & Company, we started to make this list and we went through certain sections and downstairs everything was upset, it was impossible to get to some of the goods. Q. In the cellar you are speaking of now? A. In the cellar, and when we were through with this list, he said to me 386 Mr. Berger: I object to that and I ask to strike it out. Mr. Cuff: I consent. Q. You cannot tell us what anybody connected with Goldstein & Company said. In any eventA. We made this list. Q. As far as you could go at that time? A. As far as I could go at that time. Mr. Berger: I ask at this time the phrase "at that time” be limited as to days. 387 Q. Can you give us the date when you finished making that partial list that you have just described? A. About three or four days after. Q. After the fire? A. After the fire. Q. Now, subsequently did anyone representing the Fire Insurance Companies or representing Mr. Howe come to the premises Mr. Cuff: I withdraw that. A. Q. When next did you see Mr. IIowe? About ten days later. 388 William Zeffert-For Plaintiff—Direct Q. And in the meantime, had any other person representing the defendant fire companies visit the premises ? A. No, sir. Q. This is ten days after you finished your making this partial list of the merchandise that was destroyed or damaged, is that right? A. No, about ten days from their initial visit. Q. About ten days after the fire? A. Yes. Q. That would be the latter part of April? A. No. Q. The fire was on April 17th ? A. About the 389 latter part of April. Q. And will you tell us who was present when Mr. Howe came that time, the second time? A. Mr. Knapp. Q. Who is Mr. Knapp? A. He claimed to be employed in the same capacity as Mr. Howe. Q. Is Mr. Knapp in court? A. Alongside of him. Q. He is sitting alongside of Mr. Howe. Also representing the Loss Committee, is that right? A. The same capacity, he claimed. Q. And how long did Messrs. Knapp and Howe 390 remain at the premises that day? A. They spent about around an hour, I don't remember. Q. Will you tell us what they did while they were there? A. In the presence of these two named gentlemen and myself and Mr. Golding who is a member of the firm and an officer, we went through the premises and we asked them, would they please try to rush this thing along as for ten days not a soul has come in from the fire insurance company. Q. This is your conversation with Messrs. Howe and Knapp? A. With Messrs. Howe and Knapp, |