The Portland daily press., 1892-08-13
STORY OF FORT PAYNE.
New England Millions Gone Never
10 Return.
W. P. RICE AND HIS REMARKABLE
CAREER AS A FINANCIER.

City Ends in Total Loss to Stakeholder.
STORY of the Craze that Possessed
Men-Thousands and Thousands OF
Maine Money Went Into Fort Payne
Enterprises.
The announcement made in the PRESS
last Wednesday morning that W. R.
Sheldon had been appointed receiver OF
the Fort Payne Coal and Iron Company
marks crisis in that memorable and
gigantic financial enterprise.
1t is probably not far from the truth to
say that upwards of two million dollars
in clean cash have been taken out of New
England by that ill-starred enterprise.
President W. P. Rice says that this APP
poiitment of a receiver means total loss
to the 1850 stockholders of all the money
they have put in; and Mr.. Rice's state
ment is probably accurate.
The story of this Fort Payne enter
prise reads like chapter in romance.
The central figure is Wendell P. Rice,
whose meteoric financial career so daz-
zled New England that she parted with
millions of her hard earned dollars at his
suggestion.
Rice was originally Maine man, son
of former warden of the Maine State
Prison. He had successful connection
with the management of the State prison
of Vermont, and thus obtained a large
acquaintance throughout New England.
He went to Kansas City in the boom
days and made at once some very profit
able real estate ventures. With the
money thus obtained, and with more
money that New ENGLAND friends were
willing to trust to his care, he organized
the Union Investment Company of Kan
sas City, and also about twenty National
Banks in the State of Kansas, of all of
which he was President. The Union In
vestment Company dealt in Kansas City
real estate, and, while the boom times
were on, divided some large dividends
among Rice's New England friends who
had backed the enterprise.
Large Dividends
always delight investors; and the man
under whose management they are OBJ
tanned is persona grdtG with capitalists
the world over. MI. Rice's reputation
as financier of capacity for the success
full management Of great enterprises was
established with'a certain class of New
England investors.
Mr.. Rice was not, however, the origin
al protector of the Fort Payne enterprise.
Sametjgie previous to 1889 DR.. J. M.
ford, of Kansas City, "discovered'' the
small town of Fort Payne, Alabama,
with its 500 people, and certain iron ore
and coal in near proximity. Dr. Ford
was sboomer'' who was reputed to
have made much money in the booms of
Kansas. He associated with himself G..
o. Godfrey, of St. Louis, also a success
full stormy petrol of the financial turmoil
of Kansas. These men organized the
Fort Payne Land and improvement Com
pany, and were the chief capitalists of
the company. They acquired $4,000
acres of land in and about Fort Payne,
the whole costing them, it is said, $780,
: 600 or 100000. They mined a little coal
and iron, but not much.
Wendell P. Rice comes upon the scene
about 1889, as an acquaintance and asso-
ciate of Ford and Godfrey. He organ
lies the Fort Payne Coal and Iron Com
pany, with capital stock of five million
dollars. This new company is to buy
the 80, 900 acres of the Fort Payne Land
and Improvement Company, and develop
a great iron industry. There were fifty
thousand shares of the Coal and iron
Company's stock at a par value of 500
per share. But it was advertised that
the shares would be sold TO investors at
1926 each. Forty thousand shares were
to be sold, leaving ten thousand shares
in the treasury.
So ho1 1oo
phenomenal; and his name was a tower
of strength to the new company. When
the subscription books were opened in
New England there was what might ap-
propriately be called rush of investors.
The rush was greatest in Vermont; but
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode
Island and Maine were not far behind in
the order named. The stock was con-
siderably over subscribed for. Out of
the forty thousand shares at $25 each
Mr.. Rice's company realized a cool mil
lion dollars in New England cash. How
much of this was
Maine Money
is not definitely known to many; but it
would undoubtedly require six figures to
express it.
Mr.. Rice had associated with himself
as officers of the company some excel
lent men like Col. ]. W. Spaulding of
Portland, Governor Goodell of New
Hampshire, and Ex-Governor Conner of
Maine. They had not had experience in
managing coal or iron industries, it is
true; but they had been successful in
their several walks of life and stood and
still stand deservedly high in the estima-
ton of the people of New England
Their names gave people confidence that
the affairs of the Fort Payne company
would be managed in good faith; and
there seems to be no reason to doubt that
those gentlemen used all the influence
they could WELD in favor of such man.
agement Colonel Spaulding became
president of the company.
When the million dollars had been
realized from the sale of the forty thous-
and shares of stock in New England, the
first thing done was the purchase of the
81. 900 acres at Fort Payne of the Land
and improvement Company for the sum
of $750,OOO. AS the Land and Improve
merit Company is not supposed to have
paid over 100000 at most for the prop
erty, it will be seen that Messrs. Ford
and Godfrey must have pocketed snug