Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1890-10-22
R. G. PETERS FAILS.
Lumber Circles Shaken by n Seriout
Financial Cash.


MANIsTEE, Mich, Oct. 16.-A faiz1Te
that may shake the foundations of sew
eral large commercial institutions and
seriously involve number of wealthy
men of Michigan and Wisconsin &C.
cured here to-day. At noon papers in
assignment were fled in the circuit
court by the r. G. Peters Saltand Lum-
Der Company, one of the wealthlest and
best-known concerns in Michigan. A.
N. Henry, of Detroit, is named as as.
signee, and he will at once take charge
of the company s business and endeavo1
to straighten out matters with as little
delay as possible. It is impossible to
give figures at this writing, but the as
sets and liabilities will run up into the
millions.
It has been known for some time that
the company, of which r. G. Peters, OF
this city, is at the head, was in serious
financial difficulties. The company has
been pinched for money, and has bor-
rowed vast sums on it's paper. One OF
the heaviest endorsers is James Knee.
land, of Milwaukee. A large amount OF
the paper bearing the double endorse
ment of Mr. Peters and Mr.. Kneeland
is held by Milwaukee banks-the exact
amount of which cannot be stated
All the creditors have been
in hopes, however, that the firm would
be able to pull through, but yesterday
crash could not be averted. Dispatches
from Milwaukee brought the intelli-
gence that the banks in that city had
thrown out the Peters paper, and this
convinced Mr.. Peters that the only
course left was to assign.
1t is said that the failure involves Mr..
Peters personally in large sum. He
has endeavored to hold up the company
by his own almost unlimited credit, and
thereby has placed himself in a
bad position. He is interested
also in the firms of Buffers
Peters & Co., of Ludington, and
Lemon & Peters, of Grand Rapids, be-
sides other large concerns in which his
interests are less extensive. 1t is said
to-day that the failure of the r. G.
Peters Company will not affect either OF
the other firms named.
Mr. Peters is one of the wealthiest
men in Michigan. His fortune is vari-
ously estimated at from 3,0O0,0 900 to S..
100000. His lumber and salt interests
dozen other manufacturing concerns.
He is also interested in the Port Arthur
silver mines. In the South he owns
thousands of acres of pine lands. Mr..
Peters is president of the Manistee Ma
tional Bank, of which Louis Sands is
vice-president and George M. Burr
cashier, and which has 100000 capital
and SOC, 500 surplus. The probable eff
feet Of the crash on this concern is not
known.
Mr.. Peters is a man who has done
much for charity, and his wife is the
founder of library, and has assisted
other public institutions by liberal gifts.
Mrs. Peters is at Milwaukee at present,
the guest of Mrs. Isaac Ellsworth.
Late this afternoon the assets are
placed at 100000, while the liabilities
are estimated at half that sum.
The failure to-day is the heaviest that
Manistee has experienced except, per-
haps, the Engelmann crash of three
years ago. AS was the case in the En-
gelmann failure, the assets of the Peters
concern consist largely of pine
lands, and people having in
mind the unparalleled shrinkage
in values of the Engelmann assets fear
that the assignee will not be able to
pay anywhere near the full amount of
the indebtedness.
The WISCONSIN correspondent made
an effort this afternoon to learn the
names of the Milwaukee creditors, but
was unsuccessful. Mr.. Peters states
that James Kneeland is his heaviest
Wisconsin endorser, and that his name
is on paper of the face value of
one numeral and five ciphers, but he
cannot give the figures at this writing.
Nearly all the Kneeland paper is held
by Milwaukee parties, but small part
of it being placed outside Of that city.
Bickford, Knox & Co. are the Chica-
go connection of the Peters firm, but
whether the Chicago concern is in
volved to great extent is not known.
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