St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1890-09-05
Losses Sustained in Foreign
Option Deals Break a Com
mission Firm.
Sawyer, Wallace & Co. Assign
for the Benefit Of Cred
itors.
The Firms Liabilities Will Ag-
gregate Millions, With Nom
inal Assets.
A Cool Million Dropped in the
Pork Deal Last Janu-
ary.

NEW Y DIRK, Sept. 4. - Samuel a.
Sawyer, David l.. Wallace and Thomas
Miller, constituting the firm of Sawyer,
Wallace & Co., cotton, coffee and pro-
vision merchants. of No. Is Broadway,
have assigned for the benefit of credit
ors to Marshall Ayres, without prefer
ences. The assignment was surprise
on all the exchanges and on Wall street.
The cause is the losses the firm have
sustained in their foreign option busi-
ness. The first intimation of any
trouble was just before the closing hour
of the exchanges when number of the
firms contracts were closed out. Short
ly before the closing of the county
clerks Office a general assignment with
out any preferences, to Marshall Ayres
was filed. At 1:30 the cotton exchange
called upon the firm for the settlement
of their differences. The messengers
were kept waiting until few minutes
before o'clock when they were told no
settlement would be made. Later in the
afternoon the firm made the following
statement:
1t is with inexpressible sorrow that we are
forced TO close our thirty-seven years busl-
ness career by general assignment for the
benefit of our creditors. Our resources have
been completely exhausted by losses in our
foreign option business (wheat and provi-
sions chiefly conducted through London.
Owing to the number and variety Of these
foreign accounts we cannot state the amount
OF our liabilities or assets, but when we can
do so a meeting of our creditors will be
called. If they so desire. Meantime we have
turned over to our assignee. Marshall Ayres,
of the city of New York, all our assets, both
partnership and individual, without prefer
ence of creditors.
SAWYER, WALLACE & Co.
The house was established in 1858 by
Samuel A. Sawyer, who came to this
city from Tennessee. The business
gradually increased until it had as
sumed mammoth proportions, its rami-
fications extending to all portions of the
globe. The firm dealt extensively in
cotton, tobacco, coffee, produce and
provisions and were prominent factors
in all the large schemes aud deals in
such commodities. In 1888 a tobacco
syndicate unloaded on them an immense
amount of low grades which they held
for some time before they were able to
dispose of it. 1t was supposed that they
had been making money, though at
times they have lost flom their syndi-
cate dealings. Some seven years ago
they established branch house at
Louisville, KY, which has since been
managed by H. Q. Grinter and Robert
Wallace. The firm had branch houses
In the following cities: London, Liver
pool, Glasgow, Antwerp, Amsterdam,
Hamburg. .Marseilles, Madrid. Paris, Ber-
lin, Prague, Vienna, Baden, Pesth, Triest.
Leghorn, Barcelona. Lisbon. Mannheim
and Havre. The failure will undoubt-
edly reach into the millions, though at
present 1t is impossible to make any ap-
proximate estate. Houses On Wall
street say the cause of the failure was
the result of the efforts made by the
firm to squelch competition in the COM
mission business by doing their commits
sion business with European specula-
tors without margin and at small
commission. In the pork deal last JAN
uary the firm is said to have sustained
losses of s1,OO0,OO0 on this account. The
claims for these losses against European
spectators are among the nominal as
sets. 1t is estimated that the sum total
of nominal assets will reach S1.750.000,
among which are included the 81 10000
lost in the pork deal. In 1882 the firm
made an attempt to corner corn in the
New York market, but made failure
of 1t. The firm have undoubtedly i'm
mense holdings of merchandise in the
various products in which they dealt,
but in an export and import way. 1t
will, however, take time to realize on
these holdings, and the general opinion
is that the assignment was made to
limit the loss on speculative options.