The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1888-05-17
FAILURE IN FRISCO.

The Great Commission House Of william
r. Coleman Co. Assigns, with Liabil-
itiOs Of %, 600, 900 - Cause Of the Col.
lapse.
San FRANCISCO, May &-The assignment
Of the old established commission house Of
William 7. Coleman q Co yesterday caused
q big sensation among merchants. A cir
cular issued by the firm declares that press
Ing demands for money forced them TO sus-
pend in order to save the creditors, and that
the liabilities of g. ,0O0. 600 are covered by
assets Of 100000 One Of the causes Of
the failure is given as an investment
of Il, 10000 in borax works which they had
negotiated to sell, but the sale of which
was spoiled by the proposal to put borax on
the free list. The assignment was made to
L. L. Baker, of Baker & Hamilton, agri-
cultural implement makers, and Louis
Sloss, president Of the Alaska Commercial
Company. The flrm declare they can
pay 100 cents on the dollar il
they are given q little time. The causes Of
the failure will De deeper than given in this
circular. During the last FIVE years the
firm has branched out and tried to control
the trade in dried fruits. nuts. salmon and
borax. Coleman retired from active
management several years ago and
GHo UuolueSS Hdu Deeu Us TTdEh
johnson, young man of Ferdinand
Wards stripe, who INDUCED in large spec
ulation. He had SO much success that he
believed his luck could not turn. but last
year he lost heavily in fruit and salmon.
Experts place his losses in the big salmon
corner that he engineered at sa0O,O0O The
borax speculation would have been a good
one II the firm had larger capital, but every
thing put in was dead money and when
they tried to realize they failed. The finish
ishing blow was given to the firm by the
Nevada Bank, which held a call loan for a
large amount, and in pursuance Of the re-
cent policy, demanded immediate settle
ment. The demand was met, and the as
signment took place. OF Coleman's personal
integrity no one has any doubt, but his
friends say he has been to blame in allow
ing others to manage the speculative bust
ness under credit given by his name. Cole
man would never accept a public office
from the Democratic party to which he be-
longed, and the only position he ever held
was leader Of the yigilantes that hanged
the murderer Of Editor King and
cleared this city of ruffians and ballot
box suffers in the early days. Last year
Dana, Of the New York Sun, proposed Cole
man as q candidate for the Presidency,
and devoted many articles To the subject.
Coleman is still in the prime Of life and is
a large man Of fine presence. He has given
up his costly residence, but his wife has q
large fortune in her own right.
The banks mentioned as creditors are the
Bank of California, the Bank Of British Co
lumbia, the Nevada Bank and the Bank of
British North America. The firm is in
debted TO the Bank of California to the
amount Of Sl9O,OOO, Of which Sl3OOOO is
secured. 1t is estimated that the firm
owes the Bank of British Columbia
slOO, 900. the Nevada Bank SeaO.OoO and the
Bank of British North America SlOo.OO0 It
is said that of the whole amount of Cole
man & Co.'S Indebtedness one-half is in
this State and the other half in the East,
the greater part of the latter being held by
New England banks
The founding of the firm of William r.
Coleman dates back to lS49. Since that
time the house has taken the foremost
place in the business interests Of the
coast. 1t has agencies in Astoria, Ore,
New York, Chicago and London. 1t
also acts as the agent for large
number of manufacturing and producing
establishments, and for the principal sal
mon canneries of the Pacific coast The
shipping department is the agent for sew
eral lines Of clippers to and from Australia,
China and other ports. The business of the
firm is said to amount to Sl4,0O0,0o0.