The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1891-07-18
COMPLAINT OFyTHE EDISONS
How They We're Induced to Build the
Rapid-Transit Line to Broad Ripple.
Charges of Deception Freely Made, and the
Company Backing the Enterprise Styleda
kiting Concern Notes from the Courts.

the indianapolis and Broad Ripple Rapid
transit Company. William Bosom, Robert
T.. Light, William Henderson. the latter
individually and as trustee. asking for
damages for failure to comply with con-
tract and for the appointment of q receiver
to take charge of the defendant company's
property. The complaint states that on
April q. 1891, by the procurement and
through the representations of William
Bosom and Robert G. Light the Edison
company was induced to enter into con-
tract for the building and equipment of a
street railway line for the Indianapolis and
Broad Ripple Rapid-transit Company. The
consideration was to be Sl91. $780, payable as
follows: Eighty eight thousand dollars in
cash during the construction, az the Edi-
son company should demand. and the bai-
ance OF S103.9 500 IN two notes, one for S22,
600, payable In thirty days after the COM
pletion of the line, and the other for $751;
800, pay able four months after such conf
pletion. The petition further states that
by the terms of the original contract It
WAS mutually understood and agreed that
the title and ownership of the property
called for and furnished under the terms
of the contract should remain in the Edi-
son company until the full and final pay
ment therefor was made by the purchaser
according to the conditions above named.
The contract was about to be recorded by
the Edison Company In order to preserve
the lien thereby secured, when Messrs.
bosom and Light refused to acknowledge 1t
or agree that 1t should be recorded, and Of
fered, If the complainant would not re-
quire il. to deposit the whole Issue of the
bonds of the indianapolis and Broad Rip
pie Company and all the capital stock of
that company except ten shares and GER
tair cash donations lila the hands of Will
lam Henderson, trustee. With this under
standing the complainant entered into an
agreement with the Broad Ripple company
that the latter should employ William Hem
dersOn to sell its bonds for Sl20O0O of
which amount 100000 was to be paid
to the Edison people. The Broad
Ripple Company was to assign all it's cash
donation TO Henderson, to be collected by
him and applied on the amount due to the
Edison company. All the stock, except
ten shares. was to be placed in Henderson's
hands to he held by him as security for the
com plainants.
THOUGHT 1T BONA Eide.
The bill further states that in accord ance
with the contract. the Edison company
proceeded to start the work by entering
into several sub-c0ntracts. believing that
the Broad Ripple company was bona fide
organization, which had, with others, sub
scribed largely in cash to the capital stock
of that company, was ready to meet
it's current obligations, and that a
market had been found for S15O.0OO OF the
bonds which 1t had issued. and secured by
faith, shipped to Indianapolis about $40. 600
of railroad iron and construction material,
some of which was distributed along the
line of the road. and. through its sub-con-
tractors. Hanway IL Lancaster. proceeded
to do large amount of grading, filling and
other work upon that portion between the
corporation line and Broad Ripple. and to
enter into contracts for the purchase of
ties. rails, poles, cars, steam plant and
other necessary equipments. When they
had furnished about $4,000 worth of mate
rial aud labor under their contract the
Edison people became satisfied that the
Broad Ripple company and Bosom and
Light were without means of meeting their
Obligations under their contract other than
such as they hoped to derive from the sale
of S15O.000 first mortgage bonds in trustee
Hen0erson's hands. They further ascer-
tanned that all the defendants pretenses as
To having sold the bonds were without
foundation; that there was no definite
prospect of such a sale. ThereupOn the
plaintiff notified the Broad Ripple COM
pany that il demanded the sum of coo on
account of expenditures incurred up to that
time. namely. June 2. 1871. under the con-
tract of April u, and would not proceed
with the work until such payment was
made. The Broad Ripple company, Bosom
aud Light, refused TO make the payment
demanded or to pay anything on the con-
tract. therefore the complainant was COM
PEELED to suspend work and has been pre-
vented from carrying out It's contract as it
fully intended. and Is willing and able to
do; that because OF the insolvency and de-
fault of the defendants other than William
Henderson it has been forced Co cancel its
contract with Hanway Il Lancaster. and
has been sued for $4,000 by that firm for
breach of contract.
1t is further set forth that by this action
of the defendants the Edison company has
been deprived of it's just and reasonable
profits upon the contract, which would
have amounted to at least $4,000. 1t also
charges that the bonds, stock and dona-
tions are atil i'm Henderson's hands as
trustee. and that he has failed to sell any
of the bonds or stocks. or to realize on the
donations q portion or all of which, by
reason of the default and bad faith of the
Broad Ripple company and Bosom and
Light, are lost tn the complainant. The bill
states further that Henderson has brought
suit in the Marion Superior Court against
the Edison company, charging that he has
lost q commission OF $4,000 by the latters
action which prevented him from selling
the bonds. In relation tn this suit the
plaintirf asserts that it never heard of any
contract between the Broad Ripple com
pany and Henderson for the payment to
him OF q comm ssiOn on the sales of bonds
and was In no way party to any such ar
W
legation to Henderson to sell the bonds aud
that les only relation to him was that he
was it's trustee to pay over to it 500, 600 from
the proceeds of the bond sale. This suit, the
plaintiff alleges. Is great sur prise. and that
the action shows Henderson to beunfit to
hold the bonds as trustee; thai hilc il looked
upon him as a stakeholder of the bonds it
was willing he should act as trustee, but
that claiming. as he does, an interest of
Sc. 900 in the proceeds of the bond SALE his
retention of the bonds, stocks and dona-
tiOns is highly improper. Complainant
will apply for the removal of Henderson's
suit from the Marion Superior Court to the
federal court.
FRAUDULENTLY ORGANIZED.
The Edison people further charge in their
bill that Bosom and Light "fraudulently
organized the Indianapolis and Broad Rip
pie Rapid-transit Company; that 1t is lit
orally and emphatically what is known in
business circles as kiting operation; that,
with a pretended capital of $3.50, 600, they
have caused $4,000 of that capital stock
TO be issued to themselves without paying
any thing for It. and distributed ten shares
all there remained-to the so-called board
of directors of the fraudulent organization
without these directors having paid any
thing bona tide therefor. the transfer being
made to meet the requirements of the Indi-
ana laws. The remaining S2i9, 900 of capital
stock now in the hands of William Hender-
son. trustee. represents nothing but the
speculative Imagination of William Bosom
and Robert T.. Light: that the S15OC00 of
bonds and the mortgage securing them
now in the hands of William Henderson.
trustee. were. in fact. placed upon the
naked and unimproved franchises and
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