The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-08-12
REACHED TOO FAR.
Why a Big Lumber Firm
Has Assigned.
SUGAR PINE SPECULATIONS.
Starbird & G0IdstOne Yielded to q
Tempting Bait-The Business
to Be Closed Up.
SUGAR PINE SPECULATIONS

The well-known lumber firm of Starbird
q Goldstone. doing business on the corner
OF Market and Spear streets, have made an
assignment for the benefit of their credl-
tors Their liabilities are stated at S11O, 900
ana their assets nominally at $4,000.
"A lew years ago the firm was one of the
pest names in the lumber trade, but has
Deen running down hill for several years.
both partners are said to be exceptionally
honest men.
Albion w. Starbird, the senior partner,
stated yesterday that he had been in bust
ness twenty-one years. and that the firm
had always until lately done con serva-
i've business. Last fall he was up in
Eidorado County. where the firm owned
some timber-land, and encountered agents
OF an Eastern syndicate. who were en-
deavorIng to secure a large amount of land,
including some rich sugar-pine land. in
that section. Under their representations
ne had offered them some II 600 acres, the
SAFE or which would have cleared him
SlOOOO0. The syndicate'S draft for the
amount was actually in this city, when
the financial stringency East caused the
sale to fall through He still had hopes of
concentrating the deal.
MS collapse, together with the difficulty
OF collecting here, was the cause Of the
assignment. He did not think any other
umber-house would be seriously affected.
and believed all the creditors would event
ually be paid in full.
The nrm assigned 10 E. J. Holt, of the
Simpson Lumber Company, which is said
10 be the largest creditor, with claim of
S3S,OOO.
MIR. Holt said yesterday that so far the
exact position OF the firm had not been
ascertalned. but the outlook did not seem
very encouraging. There were about
thirty creditors, the largest being the
Simpson Lumber Company, the Bank of
California, and the Pacific Pine Lumber
Company. The claims IF the remainder
we're III no case more than 5000 or $4,000
each.
meeting of the creditors had been held
that morning. and he had been appointed
trustee. 1t had been agreed to gradually
close up the business. the creditors desir-
ing to realize the amount of their claims,
or as large proportion as possible, as
quickly as possible. At the same time
much OF the assets consisted of property
upon which 1t W ould be i'm posi- BILE to rea lie
at once IN the present stringency. Moth
ing would fetch IFS value just now but a
S2O gold piece, and it was not proposed to
sacrifice in order to realize.
Among the assets were 81. 600 or So. 900
worth Ut mber. two sngar-pine mills and
the land contributing 10 them The value
Of these was very hard to assess and de-
pended on fluctuating demand. There
was large number of book debts, also of
unknown value.
Briefly. Mr.. Holt attributed the failure
to the firm reaching out 100 far in sugar
pine. They had always been conservative
until they recently attempted to control
the sugar pine output, and bit off more
than they could chew. He did not think
the failure would bring down any other
houses in the trade. as it was doing a
largely independent business.