New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1892-07-16
ALL THEIR MONEY GONE.
GLOOMY MEETING OF STOCKHOLDERS.
GLopG1,ALAp,MA INVESTORS HEAR A REPORT

A number of the stockholders OF the Georgia Ala
bama Investment and Development Company met yes
terday afternoon In Piror l.. of the Aston HOUSE. 10
hold a conference with G. \. Norton. The receiver "i
the COMPANY who had come from Mllapoo'a' A'a''
and is going TO different cities where the stockholders
live TO tell them that their money Is gone 1t wnS
monrnnl gathering al the beginning. and II ala h"t
become less So for Mr. Notons eNplanatiohs ola not
offer hope 10 the stockholders. except at TIVE pn'' OIL
further investment.
The Georga-Alabama Company was one OF '"e
hest advertised OF the numerous schemes to get Sinai
Investments from many people II succeeded In I'M
loading It's stock abou, 1900 people MI over 'e
country. largely by means of newspaper "'Nc'u''
ments making great promises and using the names vi
prominent people. General Bcnlninin r. b""o' was
president until last January Other officers were i'o'
gan H. Roots ex-member Il Congress from Afah'''''
vice president; c. W. Perhins. cashier OF the MasS'
chusetts National Bank Of Boston. second victpe'i
dent; James ". Hyatt eN Treasurer OF tue '"''V"
States treasurer, and #. f. Major. secretary Nio"S
the directors j. ". Cascldine cashier oi 'ne "er
chants and Miners Bank OF Tapoosa' ihoma> =.
Smith president Of the seventeenth Ward Bank OF
BROOKLYN; George G. scofeld president of the New
York Contract Company, and l.. VI. saniod president
of the Bank Of New Castle, Ky.
The main Office was in " The Globe building h0S
ton and there was branch Office at No. IL N"IlS'''
this CITY The real founder Of the concern according
TO Mr. Norton, was Il. l.. spencer who lives at the
first seen in Tallapoo>a about SIX years ago lie da
not have much money! but he iganzcd the Iallap"oSa
Land Company and began 70 sell lois ara n'hu-
t,n,sng e,,es Then he organized the Piedmont
Glass Company and the Tallapoosa Farnsce company
These he sold out the new company With the lni-
posing list of officers. stock to 'he alo'"' vi
-, 100000 was issued and sl.O00,Oo0 of this was
pooled as treasury Stock aud WAS TO ~ sold to
develop the property This property according to the
advertisements. consisted Of:
Tjrst-Eish, thousand city in the city Of Tsl0roosa
Estimated value organization OF company Octoo'F J.
1890 81 OiS 70j, but largely increased IN amount anu '"o
that time.
second-Twentyfour bundled and hfty.etght acres OF
valuable mineral land. Present value el23''Oo
Thid-TDc issued capital stock Of the Georgia Tennessee;
and Illinois Railroad Company, chartered for the purpose
of building railroad Tallapooa, TIA to Stephenson
Ala 120 miles and contract for building same for It's
bonds that should the nearly e. 600 600 OF The
capital stock the railroads paying per cent dividends
Fourth-The Tsllapoosa Furnace the line OF the
Georgia Pacific Railroad IA the dty u Napon>s the
said furnace being OF ATTY tons capacity Present
value s25O.o0O.
Fifth-The Piedmont Glass works situated in the city
OF Tallapoosa Present value. 500 600
Sixth-The Tallapoo>s Reclining Chair Factory In the
city Of Taapoosa. Present value. $4,000
seventh Sundy intercsbesrlng bonds notes. mortgage
loans, stocks, &c.
The total Income was estimated at 1899 23j o..
1t was advertised that the Treasury stock" the
par value of W. icl $40 share, would bc sold at
SO 80 IL. 1t al sold for about that figure. and
IL appears the of the other stock sold also.
and the projectors Of the scheme left the company
In the hands OF the 1900 buyers The old officers
retired January q. and Mr.. Norton. the receiver.
who had before been secretary. became general man
ager AS secretary. he had, he SAYS. only been
hgurchead, while all The business done In Boston.
and manager. he found lot 0, land and the NAH
uacturng establishments running nj los He could
not pay the debts, and the court asked by small
creditor to appoint receiver. The debts amounted
10 $4,000, the greater part beng notes. The
money assets are $1,000.
Mr.. Norton + now trying to find ont whether to
sell the property or to attempt to reorglnzc the
company. AZ wishes to do tie latter for he suys
the property IS valuable If developed. and TINT the
stockholders would lose almost every thing sale were
forced.
At the meeting Yesterday, speaking OF the way the
stock unloadcd Mr.. Norton said:
In response t. the glowing adve .tlsements that
were put into the papers, request would come in,
say, for ten shares of stock. The Spencer people.
having full control o. the finances would. believe,
though have no proc, OF II, send Two shares
of Treasury stock and MI the Of the order from
their own holdings. In this they got rid OF
every share they held realizing from 50 80 10 TO
SO 80 per share. AT tho present time neither Mr..
SrbOcer his ol,Drs tOld single share
4 committee consisting Of {. E. Nichols, o.
Catskill; ". w. Morris, Of Newark, y. j.; AdolpA
and Young woman who refused 70 give her name
even to The secretary Of the meeting. but promised to
send II 20 Him. was apponted to consider what tlc
stockholders New York weuld do and to con
suit with other committees Of Stockholders The
committee will meet at the house of Dr.. Fem. No.
172 East Onehundred and slsteentist.. Oh Tuesday,
at 10 a.
There was much Dissatisfaction expressed at the
meeting the proposition to put IN more mOne..
The scheme was pronounced a swindlc and many
questions asked that Mr.. Norton could not an
swer. He could not what had become Of the
money already put Ia. and he would not say, how
ever sharp the scheme by which the people I0st
their money might have BEEN that it was not per
fecty legal. Others wanted 10 contest all The labl
tiles, aud IL possible follow the projectors Of the
scheme, on the ground that The stock had been SID
by them fraudulcntly.
One s,Ockholdcr produced letter written by Gen
eral Butler OH March 81, 1881. urging him ~ invest.
and assuring him that The company to pay
large divGclds. Some IF the tOcksedefs severe
on ar Norton himscil. W l.; Wilson, OF No. 800
from Mr. Norton, daod February IL. l532, some time
after he became manager, advising 1r Wilson not 70
voted away the Octobe, dividend with The s,oclhOd
ers' proxies. lie said that he gave his advice In
OF he proxies, The Boston oidce scat ont circular
asking that tho Stockholders rake scrip. PAYABLE IA
land, in place OF the dividend which had bceu de-
ca,cd. Inc circulars asked that proxics BE- sent 70
nnsn ana niu "f for e to vote for t crp
The plea for passing The dividend that money
WITS needed hud houses in JalidpOO.d, but this
not 40 hOnse> we're needed there. aud he
could have told them So ont no choice was offered
representations which the proxies were made he
had nothing to do with.
While everybody al the meeting complained nobody
had any remedy to otter, aud the real situation va
difhruli 70 discover that nothing besides the appoint
neat Of the committee done All the stockholders
bnew that their money gone aud they had 10
face the question OF letting II lost. putting
Ia more money in the hope Of getting IL back
SlrERlL NEW CASES or S.iALLPOr FOUND.
smallpox was discovered IN different parts Of the