The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-01-04
MILLIONS IN IT.
Receiver Asked for a Gil
gantic Western Land
and Improvement
Corporation.
WEEKS STOLE 100000
Company Owns Property Worth
Seventeen Millions in the
City of Superior.
WEEKS STOLE 100000

Chancellor McGil this morning in Chan
Gerry Chambers heard argument on the
return of the rule to show cause why a
receiver should not be granted for the
Land and River Improvement Company,
a New Jersey corporation formed for the
purpose of purchasing lands, buildings
and docks, leasing, renting and disposing
of the same, to construct wharves and
docks. maintain and operate works to
supply water. gas. steam power, electric
light, telegraphs and telephones" In a
word a gigantic corporation owning prop
erty involving seventeen millions of dol
lars in the City of Superior. State of
Wisconsin, and practically formed to
build up that place..
Mr.. W. D.. Edwards and Mr.. James P.
Northup represented Dumont Clarke and
Samuel E.. Kilner, the orators. These
gentlemen are the administrator of and
trustees under the will of Frederick
Billings, late of Woodstock, VT, and
they are stockholders in the company for
which a receiver was asked.
In the court room were a number of in
f%iuential Western capitalists. among
whom was Mr.. Kellogg. of Davis. and
Kellogg. Of st. Paul, Minnesota
The bill sets out that the company was
Incorporated under New Jersey laws on
April 20, 1898, by George S. Baxter, Ed
ward G.. Buchanan and Charles S. Lin
coin. The capital stock fixed by the cor
poration was $500, 600 Of the par value 500
per share. The amount of stock was in
creased to $4,000 and thereafter to
| s1,50o, coo, of which about 81, 100, 900 had
been issued.
Frederick Billings IT owns $50
shares of the stock, for which Mr.. Bill
lings paid s65, OC0 in cash. In addition
the estate owns 315 shares of stock for
which the orators paid sS1,5Co. These
orators in their bill say thai on January
1, 1890, the corporation executed a mort
gage to the Atlantic Trust Company of
New York for. s1,5Oo,oO0 of $1,000 bonds,
bearing interest at 6 per cent. and falling
due 1910. The mortgage covered real
estate of the ompany in the City of
Superior, Douglass county. Wisconsin.
IN February, 1885, another mortgage
was executed to the Knickerboeker
Trust Company of New York for S1,00O,-
900 at 6 per cent, falling due 1918. The
orators say that the taxes due on the
mortgages o. for 1913 Hssspa and 1891 are in 'H a
large Fart unpaid to the City of Supe-
rior: These including Interest and pen
oANASS y pAOplOVoy eato ol tlAC
first of this month there was due for
1872 unpaid taxes for $500 Q making a
City Of Superior are -ainou
In addition. to the two mortgages re-
ferred to, the orators say that there
company in the City of Superior at high
rates of interest, aggregat ng 5000, 600, a
considerable portion of which are part
due.
Continuing, the bill says that demand
and short time loans owing by the COM
note Of $4,000 and collateral to the ex-
tent of $1,000. In all the orators say
that the "entire indebtedness of the cor
poration, including taxes due to Janu-
airy 1, 1896. exceeds the sum eff SO, 450, 00o,
and there are either and large %c,ontin-
The assets to meet this enormous
debt, the orators declare, consist of al
per- ragst cent. Of Which hsd IS uTtrae aeaul and ID
unproductive.
Lawyer W. J. Curtis of New York. with
and A. Jaretzki for this big company.
had a voluminous answer. Counsel said
that i the e. real Sa o5 estate f. T Of the company was
early part, of 1893. After all its indebt-
ed edn eao d had been bee paid, it would have So
The company owns two palatial hotels in
the City of Superior, the block of build
ings known as. the New York Block. a sec
ond known as the New jersey Block, and
a third, the Minnesota Block. an opera
house, mills. factories, 2.400 acres of I'M
dollars. Counsel told the Chancellor
and there was no reason why the properly
should be sold off to meet a floating in
debtedness of $4,000 which amount, he
Counsel. doomed up the new city and de-
eisIes q the villa VIZ arg a. w %9ns '9 WestlS
ing. the orators. whom he charged with
trying to harass and embarrass the COM
1t cropped out during the reading of
the many afidavits that it was this cor
poration which Francis H. Weeks robbed.
He is now suffering imprisonment III
Sing Sing. 1t also transpired that the
note of SIS, 900 held by the orators was paid
last night by the counsel for the com
Lawyer %Lindabury, for the defendant
corporation. referred in his argument to
was President and treasurer and after
had diverted about 1926, 900 of the COM
of a steel company in West Superior. in
WI 1,sh ne s Was aaa in de Weeks Ks; h 19sd
making his defalcations about $500, 900.
This discovery. followed by the financial
panic Of 1922. felt severely in the North
but the company had met all its indebt-
edness. If the Cour of Chancery ad-
Judges the company 1nSQJVent, its credit
will be held, and the City of Superior
will receive "a ~nancia shock, the mag
nitude of which can scarcely be appre-
ciated.
ut is hard when daylight is breaking
and the depression is now disappearing"
pleaded the lawyer in opposing the ap-
pointrment, that this concern shall be
made bankrupt by men who are not hon
est. in their statements. or motives. !
the matter, and hope your Honor will
not interfere"
Counsel closed by saying that the cor
poration IS honestly managed, It is SOL
vent and can easily meet its obligations.
Mr.. w. d. Edward asked that tests-
mony should be taken to ascertain the
amount of sales of property made by
be allowed to inspect the books and call
witnesses at q hearing one week hence
Mr.. Edwards said that the reason tina.
the CITY of SUPERIOR was suffering for
want of money to build. roads and other
municipal improvements was benause
the corporation had not paid its taxes
for three years.
"IJ1 allow you to examine the officers
Of the company" said the Chancellor
after Mr.. Edwards plea to take testi-
mony. and then Mfr. Edwards at once
called Mr.. Van Orden. president of thu
National Bank of North America and
president of the whose testi-
company. its debts, assets ard SO forth
are substantially a REHABILITATION 0.
the. bill. After the secretary of the c7m-
pany. Mr.. w. p. Stephenson had beer
examined, the case closed and the Chan
cellor took. the papers. His decision
will probably be made on Monday.
49,