The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1883-08-29
The Norwood Lumber Company.

From trustworthy sources we gather
certain particulars in relation to the Nor
wood Lumber Company which, we grieve
to say, do not brighten the prospects of
the depositors of the st. Adams Trust
Company. The lumber company it ap-
pears is made up of Lawrence Brainerd
and E. p. Cotton, ex.lieutenant-governor
of Vermont and reputed to be a very
capable, sound and prudent business man.
The locality of the company's operations
is better known as Potsdam Junction, its
former name. The company has three
mills on the Racket river, with capacity
each of from thirty-fve Thousand to sixty
thousand feet of lumber in eleven hours.
There is also large box factory and
planning mill, about twenty dwellings, a
store and an Office. The property is at
the junction of two railways, a fact which
renders it desirable. The company has
been in business about seven years and
has made considerable money. Its mills
are in good condition and two of them
are nearly new. The timber lands, it is
| said, have been more or less cut over and
are not considered of the highest value,
being worth from fifty cents to 81 per
acre. 1t is thought that there is sufficient
stock at the mills to run till it freezes up
and the company has at least three mil
lion feet of lumber ON hand. The esti-
mated worth of the company, by persons
in the vicinity whose experience qualities
them to judge, varies from 100000 to
$4,000. The records in the office of
the clerk for St. Lawrence county show not
less than $50 900 of preferred claims for
freight, insurance, accounts, acceptances
and for money borrowed of individuals
in that vicinity and of the banks in Ma
lone and Ogdensburg. These debts the
assignee is directed to pay in full, and
then, if there is anything left, it can be ap
piled on the Norwood Lumber Company
notes held by the st. Adams Trust Com
pany. "The facts are," says our inform
ant, 4" that Mr.. Brainerd has made Nor
wood Lumber Company notes for the
benefit and for the purpose of helping
Mr.. Barlow out of his troubles, to the ex
tent of $350,000, and Mr.. Brainerd has
taken quite large sums of money from
Norwood to st. Adams, and for som,
purpose outside of the lumber company
business. AS understand it, the abov,
amount of paper made by Brainerd wa
without the knowledge of Mr.. Cotton, 81
that those liabilities will only affect Mr.
Brainerd's interest in the company, ant
not Mr.. Colton's. | understand that Col
ton holds deed of the Reynolds, one o
the mills of the company, but do no
know" Mr.. Colton's management of tn
affairs of the company is spoken of il
terms of warm commentator and tn
man himself is held in high esteem
Such were the qualities which distir
guished Lieutenant Governor Cotton il
Vermont, and which drew from the pres
and people expressions of sincere regre
when few years ago he went from tn
state to assume the management of thi
Norwood Lumber Company. His friend
J in Vermont-and they comprise the Who'll
state-sincerely hope that he will nc
, suffer financial loss in the embarrassment
, in which the doings of his partner hav
, involved the company. The sources fror
} which the particulars narrated above hav
been CLEANED leave little room to questio
I their accuracy. The amount of Norwoo
: lumber paper in the st. Adams Trus
l Company is $4,000. The Norwoo
( Lumber Company at the highest estimat
: is worth $4,000. There is lare
amount of preferred claims 80 that tn
! hope of the depositors in the trust CON
{ pany for the means at Norwood wit
: which to pay nearly third of millio
4 of lumber paper must be receding to th