The Indianapolis journal., 1893-05-21
BIDS ON REFUNpING BONDS
Indiana Trust Company Alone Willing
to Handle the Four Per Cents.
Il Only Offers 80 Cents on the Dollar for
Them Controller WOollen Holds the
Bid Open Until Monday.

The Indiana Trust Company will prob
ably get tho entire block of the city's re-
funding bonds which wall be issued on July
1 TO take MP the old Sellers farm and series
and B of bonds issued on JrIy l. 1873.
These bonds amount TO sG2l. 600. although
81, 600 of them were taken up q short time
ago when they matured. There were fous
bids in response TO the advertisement Of
Controller Woollen, but the Controller after
a talk with Mayor Sullivan decided that
only the bid of the Indiana Trust Company
conformed with the requirements OF the
advertisement This bid was lot accepted.
however, the Controller asking time 20 con.
sider it until Monday. OF 2 o'clock. The ad.
vertisment proposed refunding bonos bear
ing per cent TO run twenty years
The bids submitted to the Controller at
o'clock Yesterday afternoon are as follows
Indiana Trust Company-s55S.900 for
S62l .0U0 of the bonds, OF 20 cents on the
dollar.
N. W. Harris & Co. of New York-9sls
cents on the dollar for s6O0. 900 OF four aud.
a-nalf-per-cent bonds
Coffin IL stanton. of New York-Par on
four- and half per-cenL. bonds.
seasongood 81 Mayer. of Cincinnati-Pai
Tor tve- percent bonds.
The parties other than the Trust COM
panV, it Will be seen. would not bad on
four per-cents. Harris d CO. would not
bid on the S2l. 900 of bonds because they
doubted the legality of issuing refundin2
bonds when the old bonds which were in.
tended TO be refunded had already been
paid. John r. Ere mel represented ths
Trust company; w. }. Mcdonald. Harris ~
Co.; Hunter Wykes. Colin Il Stanton, an d
julius Rice, SeasoUgoo * Mayer, OF Gin.
cinnati Emil Rassmann. chairman of the
finance committee of the Council. was
present when the bids were opened. Mr..
Woollen stated TO the gentlemen who were
present that he was surprised the bids
were not more favorable TO tie city. Hs
said he was hardly wiling TO accept any OF
them. although be would consult with the
Mayor, and give them sn answer.
At O'clock the Controller returned TO the
office and met the REPRESENTATIVES, of the
four bidders. He then stated that be
ionnd only one bid that csme MP to the
provisions OF the advertisement Four
percent. bonds were specified, YET the
other bidders proposed four-and- half
percent. bonds and hyee. The Controllef
could not accept Ulds on such bonds with
out special ordinance oil the Council He
wanted to hold the bid CT the Trust
Company opeu until Monday. and finally
Jonn L. frenzel agreed TO this. the hour be-
ing set Tor 2 O'Clock. The controller wanted
| TO have another talk with the Mayor. who
he stated would pronably be down TO the
City Hall on Monday morning. Both of toe
officials of the city professed TO be dlsap-
pointed at the bids. Dir. Woollen added
| advertise, the form of the proposition
might be changed. The outside bidders
| insisted that IL WAS almost impossible 70
| float q four percent bond TO any advantage.
| Mr.. Frenzel sized I'D the financial future IN
/ q hopeless way. and asked some OF the vis-
| itorSto give an opinion of the present.
| financial situation. Julius Rice said:
Mir. Frenzel, If you have half q million
Izt IL. x..t1l h., e..
per cent. ana gave Sou government bonds
as collateral Bonds are a drug on the
market. while money is IN big demand. A
short time ago took e7Oo: 600 of Cleveland
my money back. Chicago tried TO sell q
| half million of water works per
cents recently, but couldn't get
a bid; Philadelphia with two
millions, New York with q million and q
| half. Brooklyn with a million of refunding
bonds could get no outside bids and had
| To tall back on their sinking funds"
The controller volunteered che opinion
| that he would rather have ali Indianapolis
bond than one of Chicago.
But You don't own your own water
works." replied one of the visitors, while
| CLicasS has s25; coo: 600 plant and only a
| Se0.000. 900 debt Minneapolis. short time
ago. couldn't get rid of twenty-year four
| and-a- half per-cents-"
/ Mr. Frenzel, with o smile. said these
fnapciers were scoring him. with their re.
Il u
cloudy outlook. Mr.. Woollen thought O
bright day was coming.
Mr. Wykes, of New York. IN discussiD q
the bidding on the Indianapolis refundins
| bonds, said:
| The bids made here are unusually good
| ones, and the fact that none of us want
| yonr four percent. bonds casts no retiec.
| ton on the city's credit. The strIngencY
| of the money market makes bonds an un-
| certain quantity 10 an extent. and other
| cities with as good credit as Indiana polls
| have been unable to do IS we'll. The old
| indianapolis bonds must De refunded July
| l. ana If one of these bids Is not accepted
| the city Is liable 10 meet q close call"
Controller WoOllen stated during the
| meeting when reference was made to the
| probability of close call that he could
raiee 500, 200 In avery short tline In Indian
| apolis IL needed.
| Mr. Rice made the statement that bonds
were such drug on the market Just at
| present that he did not believe the Indian
| apolis five-per-cent. school bonds could be
sold at par. These gentlemen are. of course.
| all interested in the purchase of bonds az
| we'll as In their sale.
Referring TO the remote possibility of q
| default in the payment or the bonds on
! July i. If refundinR bonds are not issued,
| one of the bidders recalled instances in
| which cities had lost their credit He
| claimed the bonds OF Evansville bring no
| more than 80 cents on the aoIiar.
st. Joe. Mo. and Mobile. Ala. had big
| slices taken oil their credit. be added. by
defaults. In the East the laws forbid say-
| ings banks from buying or holding as col
lateral the bonds of cities that have made
Q default In payment at any time.