The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1897-06-12
IN THE HANDS OF 4 RECEIVER.

Hard Times and Over Competition the
Cause.
The New Haven Chair company yes
terday morning made application to the
superior court for a receiver to admin
lister the affairs of the firm. The APP
plicants are Messrs. Edwin f. Mer-
sick, George A. Alling, Edwin Kelsey,
T. A. futile, George II. Townsend,
George e. Damn, and Nathan A. futile
and Mary e. English, the latter two
executors on the estate of the late
James G. English. The applicants are
among the largest stockholders of the
company, excepting Mr. Townsend, who
is a stakeholder for a small amount.
The largest stockholder is President
Isaac N. Damn.
The applicants control 2,207 shares of
the concerns stock, with par value
of S55,175, more than half of the total
capitalization. Alling, Webb & More
house appeared for the company in the
court.
The complaint sets UP that the la
bilities of the company are $4,000. OF
this amount the Yale bank holds $4,000
Isaac N. Damn, president of the COM
pany, was appointed as first receiver,
and Edwin F. Mersick, president and
treasurer of the English & Mersick Co.,
was selected as second receiver. Their
bonds were fixed at $50, 900.
The appraisers will be appointed next
Monday.
The company was first organized in
IL ~
with capital stock of $4,000 Isaac
N. Damn was president and e. F. Mer-
sick secretary and treasurer. In 1881
the capital stock was doubled and the
present name was adopted.
The firm began to manufacture BIZ
cycles in 1895, with an increased stock
of $4,000.
The change was not successful and
the hard times and sharp western COM
petition cut down the profits so that
the factory was run at a loss.
The wheels made by the firm are Of
a high grade and the factory had a
of $4,000. The present secretary and
treasurer is Mr.. Kelsey.
At a meeting Of the directors on
Thursday it was voted to go into a re-
ceivership.
A prominent member of the firm was
seen last evening and he said regard
ing the company's history: when the
company first organized and for years
thereafter it was very prosperous, but
with it, as with many other manufac-
turing concerns, as soon as its pros
perity was seen, numerous other firms
started manufacturing the same line of
goods. AS a result Of this competition
the market became overstocked with
the line of goods which the company
were putting out and prices fell accord
ingly, cutting down the profits, and as
a consequence the dividends of the
company.
Realizing that the harvest season of
prosperity in the folding chair bust
ness had passed, the company entered
different field of chair making, with
fair results; then later on seeing that
there was large and increasing field
open in the bicycle trade, the company
turned to the manufacture of wheels
and sought to regain it's old time pros
perity in that field
1.-THE wheels of the company had a
large sale the first year and sometimes
the factory with it's force, averaging
busy day and night to supply the de-
mand.
1.-THE company has also placed many
of its second years make upon the mar
ket, but hard times, difficulty of prompt
collections and the inevitable over COM
petition again made the business un-
profitable.
"The company found the competition
in the bicycle trade especially sharp
and the money due on it's sales slow
in coming in and so the company
deemed 1t wise to apply for receiver
"The shareholders have strong hopes
that the company will be able to pass
safely its difficulties
The same gentleman further remark-
ed that this was but another instance
of the way in which a factory in many
cases rises and falls. In this, many
manufacturing concerns are like EN-
pires, they have their periods of pros
perity and power; then to both comes
also the ebb and fall. Several former
prosperous New Haven concerns
which are now but barely keeping theil
plants running at all at profit were
cited by the gentleman in illustration
of his statement
The management Of the company has
shown commendabIe zeal and enter
prise in all its undertakings and ha
contributed materially to the prosperit,
of the city. This year the company hal
put greatly improved wheel upon tn
market, which is undoubtedly one o
the best wheels made. 1t is though
that the present difficulty may be tide(
over and the concern resume business
but that is matter to be decided upol
later.
Guiseppi Fuda, the italian who wa
found guilty of the murder of his wifi
in Bridgeport, Thursday, was not sen