The San Francisco call., 1897-02-07
RICH MEN CHARGED
WITH BIG FRAUD.
James Eva and H. J. Bari
ing Accused of Acts
of Conspiracy.
Secret Negotiations Alleged in
the Sale of Alaska Salmon
Canneries.
The Amount of the Swag Stated to
Be $I64,ooo for Two Eminent
FirancierS.

A sensational lawsuit, duplicating a
. mum ber of prominent business men ana
capitalists, was Instituted in the Superior
Court yesterday.
The complaint was filed by Attorneys
Page, McCutcheon and Eells on behalf OF
the plaintiffs, Bartlett Doe, w. J. Gray,
Thomas Pollard, Tallanr Banking Com
pany, w. S. Thompson, b. ID. Madison.
Martin Madison, NJ. J. Madison and
James Madison, against the defendants,
James Eva. Ii. J. Barring, Alaska I'm
provement Company, Alaska Packers
. Association. ". B. Bradford, J. Pentecost,
s. ]. Eva and William Cliff, and alleges
fraud and conspiracy, demands an &C.
counting, asks for the appointment of a
recelver and prays that mandate be
issued by the Superior Court forbidding
the defendants from pursuing their plans
fer carving out the scheme in which
they are alleged to have been engaged;
The complaint sets forth that the is
sued capital stock OF the Alaska Improve
ment Company is divided into 25,0Oo
shares OF the par value of $40 each, OF
which shares the plaintiffs herein own
,625 shares Except that the TaIlant
Banking Company is Pledge of 2450
shares owned by James Madison); that
the defendants, James Eva and Darling,
together with Gift and a son of James
Eva, own 12,700 shares of the stock that
with The aid of Gilt and Eva's son James
Eva and Barring have been able to con-
troll and have controlled and do now CON-
troll the board of directors of the COM
pany, and elect four out of the seven m en-
e. befs of the board of directors; that James
Evals and for long time has been the
president OF the corporation, and that
Bariing is the superintendent; that the
Alaska improvement Company, until the
sale thereof, was the owner of fisheries,
canneries, vessels, lands and other valu-
able property at Karluk, on Kadiak
Island, Alaska, and at Bristol Bay,
ALASKA.
. The beginning OF the alleged conspiracy
is then brought out in the statement that
.ata meeting of the board of fdirectors ofthe
Alaska Improvement Comp pany in San
Francisco on the 23d OF last December,
= James Eva and Barring were at their own
request appointed a comm ittee to nego-
tate sale of all the property OF the
Alaska Improvement Company TO the
Alaska Packers Association on the best
terms 20 be obtained.
. On the 29th OF Decem Der Secretary Pen
tecest was added to the com mittee, and
the committee was empowered TO arrange
sale and report the same to the directors
{ L
J. OF laSt month the com N lttee, com posed of
James Eva, Barring and Pentecost, re-
perted that they had negotiated for the
sale to the Alaska Packers Association all
Of the property of the Alaska Improve
mept Company Except bills receivable,
money ana canned salmon on handy for
. ,Sl36, 600, the Packers Association agree
ing to pay $31, ,000 additional for materials
and provisions at the Canneries.
- Relying on the report OF the committee
and the personal assurances of James
Eva, Barring and Pentecost, the board of
directors OF the Alaska Improvement
Company authorized the signing of the
= Contract for the sale and transfer of the
property.
Then came the surprise, for the COM
plaint ayers that the report OF Jemes Eva
and Barring was untrue and fabricated
and that the agreement was not genuine
but. was made for the purpose OF I'M posing
on the board of directors OF the Alaska
I'm Improvement Company; that the Alaska
Packing Association was, in fact, willing
to pay and actually agreed to pay the
committee $500, 900 for the property in
stead of $1360 600, as was falsely reported
by the committee.
In the meantime the sale had been COM
pleted and deeds tor the property were ex-
ecuted and delivered to the purchaser the
sum OF S52, $50 in cash having been paid
ON account TO the improvement COM pany.
In addition to the payment TO the i'm
proYement company 1t is asserted that
623 shares of the Packers Association,
worth $64 500, have been issued to w. B.
Bradford as trustee for James Eva and H.
j.. Barling. or one of them.
According to the view of plaintiffs it is
the intention OF James Eva and ]. II. Bar
ling 10 take and appropriate TO their own
use IN fraud of the rights of the Alaska
Improvement Company the sum of $164,
GOO, including the stock Of the Packers
Association before mentioned.
At the last election of the Alaska I'M
proyement Company, james Eva, S. J.
Eva, William Gift, James Pentecost w.
J. Gray, Thomas Pollard and NJ. J. Madi-
son were chosen as directors, Gray, Pol
lard and Madison being the nominees of
James Eva, who was elected President.
The $52. $50 received for the canneries wes
distributed as dividends. and James Eva
and Barring took their ratahle proportion,
and unless restrained by the court will re-
celYe like proportion OF future payments
for the properly in addition to S164000
that they are 10 obtain by reason of their
false report in regard 10 the purchase
price.
No demand has been made on the board
of directors of the Alaska Improvement
Company for reparation, it is explained.
because 1t would be useless to do so, IS
James Eva controls the board.
The court is asked 10 declare the
stock in Bradford possession to be held by
Company and to restrain the payment
of further dividends until the full sum of
$500, 600 is secured from the purchaser. In
The meantime it is demanded that re-
ceiver shall be appointed and that the
Packers Association shall pay the pur-
chase price to the receiver and not to
James Eva and Barring.