The San Francisco call., 1896-12-31
Board Of Trade Appoints Com
mittee of Merchants to
Investigate.
ASSETS ESTIMATED AT $4,000
Failure Ascribed to Dull Times, Com.
petition and Slow Collections.
List of Chief Creditors.

Levin Bros, retail grocers, have failed.
The failure was announced yesterday, and
created quite STIR in commercial circles.
The liabilities of the firm, according to
the list presented to creditors yesterday
afternoon at the Board of Trade meeting.
amount to $139, 900. The assets of the firm
were placed at $11O 600. Creditors who
have had experience in realizing on assets
saw that $500 may be realized. The
failure is ascribed to dull times, difficulty
in making collections and the dishonesty
of clerks.
Levin Bros. had five stores-two in San
Francisco. TWO in Oakland and one in
Berkeley. The main store is at 1924 and
1896 Market street.
The meeting of creditors, called to order
at the Board of Trade rooms at 2 O'clock
yesterday, was one of the largest and
stormiest ever held in San Francisco. A
mem mber of leading house on Front street
described the scene as mob OF creditors.
He said: II never saw such long list OF
creditors. It was something amusing as
well as startling. I thought when l saw
the list that the firm owed every concern
in California. from the Sonoma Pickle
Factory to the Imperial Cocktail Com
pany."
Jacob Levy of II. Levy & Co. was nomi-
mated for chairman. He was chosen with
out DELAY. a welI-known merchant who
was present said: "It was evidently pre-
concerted plan that Jake Levy should pre-
side, for he had the committee names al
ready prepared. The programme was
smoothly carried out.
Isacore Levin made the statements for
the firm in trouble. He described the
difficulty of making collections, saying
that was the chief cause of the failure. He
also remarked that the dishonesty of
clerks was another cause. Hard times, he
said, also tended to embarrass them.
Replying to questions as to the amount
OF business which the firm had transacted.
Mr.. Levy said that the main store and the
branches did business OF $3.50, 900 year.
He made the announcement that the firm
had paid $4,000 to creditors between No
vem Der % and December 26 of this year.
Some questions were asked about the
lack of coin in the safe yesterday morning
when E. Martin & Co.'s attachment for
$500 was placed on the store. The attorney
Tor Levin Bros, Mr.. Napthaly, could not
give F. W. Van Sickien the information
desired. Finally Isadore Levin was asked
about the coin, and he said that hearin G
of the attachment he had put the coin in
II. Levy & Co. s safe. Some of the cred
itors were surprised that Jacob Levy, the
presiding officer of the meeting, who must
have known of the coin deposit, did not
promptly give the desired information.
After a cross fire, the questions lasting
for an hour or more, the creditors resolved
10 place their interests in the hands of
the following committee, which was ap-
pointed by the chairman Of the meeting
H. Levy & Co., c. E. Whitney & Co,
Anglo-California Bank, Getz Bros. & Co..
Haas Bros, DaIlemand & Co. and Samuel
Bros. & Co.
A proposition was made to the debtors
to transfer their assets to a committee OF
three for the benefit of all the creditors.
the committee to make complete inves-
tigation and submit a report showing
what the debtors can do toward paying
their debts. It was acknowledged that
The debtors could not make statement
at present as many accounts had to be ex-
amined.
The principal creditors to Levin Bros.