Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-07-29
BLAINE.s BURST BUBBLE.

His Gigantic Company to Control tho
Hooking Valley Mines and Crush the
Workingmen, which Failed TO be Sue
cessfal.
B1aine's connection with the mOnopo-
lists. says the New York Nelcs, is very
wen known. He has been stockholder
In many schemes in companies, some OF
which did not prove as profitable as he
had reason 10 expect. One OF the largest
schemes in which he has recently been In
terested was the Standard Coal and Iron
Company OF New York and Columbus, o.,
which was organized with view OF con-
trolling the entire coal and iron produc-
ton of the Hooking valley, 20 crush out
all the small furnaces and manu-
facturers, and place the miners and
workingmen under the dictatiOn OF
a gigantic monopoly, which would
make the rate Of wages at whatever fig
ure IL pleased them and the laborers
would have no remedy, as a strike could
scarcely be successful against such
power. Among the big men in the con-
Germ either as directors or stockholders
are James G.. Blaine, Eugene Hale, Sena-
tor OF Maine; Gen. James A. Hall, an
other prominent Maine man; Stephen B.
Elkins, now Blaine's campaign manager;
BlOine and Elkins were reported as push
ing the enterprise and to be working in
the interest OF some railroads. Oliver
Ames, of Boston; Gov. Charles Foster, Of
Ohio; Gen. Samuel Thomas. of Columbus,
o., President of the East Tennessee and
Georgia Railroad; Walter p. Warren,
stove manufacturer of Troy, and others.
The company was incorporated about
two years ago with an authorized capital
of $25, 600, 900. Gen. Thomas was made
President; w. d. Lee, of Newark, o., the
prime mover in the scheme, was Vice
President and General Manager; First
Vice President and Treasurer, Oliver
Ames, of Boston; Second Vice President
and Secretary. j. Henry Brooks, of
Boston; Third Vice President and AS
sistant Treasurer and Secretary, George
Chapman. of New York. The New York
office was located in the United Bank
building.
The company went in for doing things
on big scale, and the men interested had
the experience of the Credit MObilier
manipulators to guide them. Thirty thou
sand&cres of land in the Hooking valley
were Purchased, and $2,O00,OO0 expended
in opening up and equipping small part
of the property. The company secured
deeds for the land of the Hooking Iron
Company, Buchell Iron Company at Fleet
Shawnee, and others, and also obtained
options on the Akron furnaces and many
others.
The scheme was so large that a great
deal of money was necessary to carry it
out successfully. At first, money was
easily obtained, and the shares placed
among 1900 stockholders, and everything
went on smoothly for awhile. Then came
the crash in the iron market, which put a
different aspect on this scheme of mo-
nOpoly.
The price of iron was too low to work
the mines proftably, and as iron was the
principal product, there was no use con-
tinuIng. The company finally collapsed
last December, and general assignment
was made to Horace G. StanwOod. The
New York men In the concern claimed it
had been mismanaged, and undertook to
reorganize it. d. n. Stanton, of this city,
and others, who had loaned the company
money, saw no way of getting it back eX-
cept by a reorganization. They proposed
to form a new company out of the ruins
of the old one, and d. w. Stanton, John
f. Mason aud George G.. Chapman were
chosen trustees of the new COM
pany, which was named the Ohio
and Western Coal and Iron Com
pany. The capital stock was fixed at this
time at only $5,000,000, one-ifth the
amount of the old company, with bonds
for $3.000,0 900. The plan was for the cred
itors to take bonds in the new company
for the amount of their claims at par, and
many of them, it was said, did so. The
new company was incorporated in this
city, Messrs. Stanton, Mason and Chap
man being the incorporators and trus-
tees; but active operations were delayed.
The new company has not yet got into
working order. The stock of the old
company was wiped out, and neither
Blaine, Senator Hale, nor Oliver Ames
was given stock in the new company.