Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1894-10-31
SUIT FOR A MILLION
Alfred Merritt Wants a Fortune
from Rockefeller.
RESULT OF AN IRON COMPLICATION.

Fraud and misrepresentation Charged
Against the King of the Standard Oil
Company and His Private Secretary
Also Refusal to Redeem Promises-A
Very Complex Matter That Will Result in
Other Suits.
DULUTH, Oct. 31.-Alfred Merritt has
brought suit against John d. Rockefeller.
and F. T. Gaters his private secretary, for
ii ,26S, 400, in which amount he claims he was
damaged by their fraudulent representa-
tions in the forming of the Lake Superior
Consolidated Iron mines. Plaintiff claims
that at various times in August 1893, in
New York city, before plaintiff had trans
ferred his interests in various iron mines
and the Mcssaba railroad, the
defendants represented to him that the
Penollee and Gogebic Consolidated mines,
which, with others controlled by Rookie
feller, were to De taken into the Lake Su-
Ier:or Consolidated Iron mines, was a
solvent and prosperous company; also the
Spanish American and the Aurora; that
their stocks We're well worth what Rookie
feller was to receive; that Rockefeller and
Wetmore promised to lcud to Merritt on
his consolidated stock money at 40 cents
on the dollar OF the par value
Claims That They Were Fraudulent.
All of these representations and prom
ises plaintiff claims were fraudulent. De
PENDANTS at the time knew that each of the
companies controlled by Rockefeller owed
large amounts outside of their funded
debt, and that the Penokee company was
at the time insolvent; that instead of
making the value Of the Lake Superior
Consolidated company's stock worth 50
cents on the dollar, as Rockefeller prom
ised it would and as he would publish it
to the world. the stock OF these other
mines caused its value to decrease to SO
per share of 800 When Merritt asked
Rockefeller to keep his promise and to
loan him money at the rate of 40 cents on
| the dollar. and later at .5 cents, Roekefel-
Ter refused, and would give only 10 cents
ON the dollar.
Some of the Interests Involved.
In organizing the Lake Superior Con-
| soldated Mines the defendant, it is
| claimed, got the new company to take the
| following interests owneC, by him: ~, $50
shares Aurora Iron Mining company's
stock; S65 shares Penokee and Gogehic
| Consolidated mines; Il ,826 shares Spanish
American mines in Cuba; 800 collateral
trust notes of $1,000 each of the Spanish
American company, for which the Lake
| Superior company turned over first-m mort
gage bonds exceeding sl.9O0.00p For 81
per cent. interest in the Adams and Lone
Jack mines Rockefeller got consolidated
| first mortgage bonds worth over 81, 100, 900
| Rockefeller represented the interests
l,i,.I, Inf fr..r .,.1 4,
35i, ms follows: Aurora stock, SOB, ,9Ss:
| Pcnokee and Gogebic, s67a, ,s05; trust notes
of same. S25l, ,l23; Spanish American
stocks, so2a22 35S; mortgage bonds of same,
$50 AZ; 1901 shares Minnesota Iron COM
| pany stocks, 1896 493.
Securities That Rockefeller Controlled.
The agreement showed that Rockefeller
also controls the following stocks and Sc
curities of companies which he promised
to try to get into the consolidation: Seven
hundred and twenty eight shares of West
Superior Iron and Steel company of par
| value of s12,S00, and 60 first mortgage
bonds of the same at s6l0,031, bringing his
total interests which he intended to trans
fer up to S4a6i, ,919. Rockefeller claimed
they cost him s., 7l9, 154 and he was to get
consolidated bonds worth s30l9,S60 for
them at 80 cents. Three separate agree.
ments Were entered into before the con
solidation was finally effected.
More suits to Come Yet.
1t is without doubt the most compli
Gated suit that was ever filed in this par,
of the state and shows exactly what the
dealings between Rockefeller and the
Merritts were. But there will be severa
more suits before the n,.ttcr is ended
The capital of the const~ dation was al
first fixed at s3,0)0,O0, but later increased
to $50, ,000,0J0.