Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1885-01-16
Oliver Bros. & Phillips. Ono of the
Largest Iron Firms in the World,
Suspend Payments.
Their Liabilities Between Three and Five
Million Dollsrs-The Failure
general Surprise.

some indulgence, TO pay every dollar OF |
our indebtedness
The report of the embarrassment of |
Oliver Bros. d Phillips, the greatest |
iron firm In the city VIII all ite con- |
nectiOns are considered, flew about like |
wild-ire and set the town agog with |
excitement. Such an eventwa recog- !
nized as catastrophe unequaled
by any previous failure, |
and the great popularity |
Of the Individual members OF the firm !
made it all the more to be deplored |
The truth Of the matter seemed to be |
that
THE DULL TIMES,
an immense payroll and other neces-
airy expenses have compelled the firm
to ask for an extension somewhat SINH |
lar TO that given TO Graf, Bennett 81
Co., who failed two years ago. There
are
MANY RUMoRs AFLOAT
as TO the Immediate cause Of the
trouble, but IN the banks and on all
sides It seemed to be the general feel
ing that an extension would be asked
for and would be granted by the cred.
itOrs. 1t IL impossible To guess at the
liabilities of the firm. They are re-
ported to be from So 900 600 TO 5000,
600 The local bankers say that there
IL about million or million aud half
of paper held with good collateral for
almoat all of II and large blocks Of pa
per are held In the Eastern states as
far east as Massachusetts,, while very
large sums are carried in New York
and Philadelphia. The firm has made
large Investments in real estate and
| aas an immense amount of collateral
/ OF various kinds. 1t is thought that
without doubt an extension will be
/ granted and that the firm
WILL PLAY IN FULL.
The banks have the greatest conf
| dence ia the management and heads
| of the firm, and will be as liberal rs
| possible in their arrangements. Har-
| ny w. DIV r, the senior member OF the
| firm, was seen by reporter this after
noon. He said that the whole affair
was 40 sudden that they had not time
to collect their thoughts. He WAS
UNABLE TO GIVE FIGURES
to-day, but said that as soon as 1t was
possible full and complete statement
would be given the public, Every
dollar they had belonged to the cred
itors, aid he felt confident that their
assets would largely exceed their
debts.
taEN6AllONAI HO MOhS.
Regarding their embarrassment a
number OF sensational stories have
been denied. One of the
that paper TO the amount OF $50, 900
had been protested in New York
Among the bankers II is said that the
banks were willing to continue to car.
ry the paper Of the firm, but that
, owing to the hard times the firm were
unable to realize money to meet the
inter st and pay their employees, and
the banks say that the firm have re-
duced their expenses TO lower point
than for years, and the embarrassment
rs A SURPRISE TO EVERY ONE.
. Some attribute the embarrassment
to the purchase made OF the Isabelll
. Furnace company. The company no
/. expecting the money to he called for
! 1t was unexp eCtedly demanded. The
embarrassmtn MT does not effect III, b
Scutt & Co, barbed-wiTe works. Dor
Cameron's name has been mentioned
in connection with the firm, but Harrl
= Oliver says that he has not dollar a
interest.
AN ARABIAN NIGHTS TALE.
!, The history Of the rise of this firm
one Of the most remarkable in the an
! nails of the country. Seventeen year
=, ago Harry Oliver, jr., John M. Phi
!. lips and VIM, j. Lewis entered CT
partnership for the manufacture {
iron. divers business career up
1867 had embrac, d the performance {
the du les NJ sh 'pping-clerk for Graf
Bennett Il Co and the filling Of clerl
ships under William Thawin in th
employ OF the Pennsylvania Railroa
y company. Phillips was bTiok-layt
in Balwin township, and Lewis was
!, practical iron-woTkeT, They built
miniature mill at the 5outh-side EN-
9 OF Tenth street bridge, In which Oh
- yer kept the books, while Lewis an
On Phillips looked after the practical par
of the work. The outfit consisted
~ two pudding and one heating fu
mace, and the product was
WHEELED AWAY ON BARRowS.
Ie' From this humble beginning hi
~ grown the great firm OF Oliver Bros
~ Phillips, which now employs 40
men. Among the various estsblis
ments may be mentioned two mills q
i Tenth and Fifteenth streets, Soui
side, two on Woods Run In the low
"A part Of Allegheny City and q ste
Il mill and two wire mills on South aid
:. One of their largest ventur
- was the manufacture Of barb
wire. Some eighteen months 81
Harry Oliver visited England 81
N. on his return Imported workmeA al
erected steel mill in which 1t h
bsen impossible for information zee
90 ers 10 gain entrance. The new proc'
Q0 Is said 10 be better one than the WI
~ known (muske) process. The tir
.0o has been uniformly successful aud I
ot profits have aggregated million
0N Three years ago Mr.. Lewis retir
Nv from the firm with "A
FORTUNE or SEVERAL MILLION DC
LARS
The present owners are a. w.
az yer, IT,. Geo. Oliver, Otis Oliver,
BIS NJ. Phillips aud several relations OF I
al original proprietors. II w. DIV
IT,, Ia the best known member OF
firm outside OF the city, by reason
!. his candidacy for United States Sci
ost. tor In 1881, aud his membership In
fartN communication Ha has hf