Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1897-08-06
THE F. & M. E. BUILDING


Sold TO n syndicate for S2O,OOO---the
Reason for aud the Conditions of the
sale and the Claim of the Opposition.
About 100 stockholders in the Farmers
Il Mechanics Exchange met in Grange
hall at 80 o'clock Saturday afternoon to
act upon proposition by a syndicate, COM
posed of members of the exchange, to buy
the building which their store occupies and
thus ease the burden Of the store and al
low it to do business, If possible, at profit.
As is well known the financial condition
OF the exchange last year did not allow it
to pay a dividend or the interest on its
stock. Since then the directors have been
trying to devise some plan by which they
could infuse new life into the concern and
put it upon its old-time paying basis Sew
eral schemes we're suggested but none of
them proved successful and it was finally
decided ny some of the heavier stockhod-
ers that the most feasible way to help the
store out of its difficulty was to form a
syndicatr and buy the building and rent it
TO the store.
The following resolution was adopted,
after some vigorous discussion, by vote
of II to :: 1--WE, the undersigned, hereby
severally agree to and with each other to
purchase of the Farmers & Mechanics
Exchange, corporation duly established
by law, its real estate consisting of the lot
of land and brick block thereon, situate
and being on the north side of Elliot street,
in the village of Brattleboro, VT, at the
price Of S2j, 600, provided the sum of $4,000
shall be hereto subscribed for that purpose,
said $4,000 here subscribed to be paid to
said Farmers Il Mechanics Exchange by
surrendering to said corporation for can
collation. certificates of its capital stock
now held by US, the subscribers, to the
amount aforesaid. The balance of said
purchase price, to wit, SIG, 600, to be paid
and satisfied to said Farmers 4 Mechan-
| les Exchange by assuming the payment Of
the mortgage for that amount now owing
by said corporation and relieving it from
all further liability thereon. And provid
ed further that the aforesaid Farmers IL
Mechanics Exchange do rent for term
of not less than five years two-thirds Of the
present store on the west side of the Farm
ers' " Mechanics building, so called, and
two-thirds OF the basement under the
same, at a rental price to be agreed upon
| by the directors of said corporation and
the owners of said building. And it is
| further agreed by us, the subscribers. that
in the event a greater sum than $4,000, as
represented by the shares of said capital
stock, shall be subscribed for the purpose
aforesaid then our subscriptions hereto
shall be severally reduced pro rata so that
in the end the total amount thereof shall
| equal the sum of $4,000 only"
Cashier w. II. Bracket, OF the Peoples
| National bank, was elected agent TO make
| the transfer, which, it is expected, will be
! completed in about two weeks. The di-
| rectors and manager then announced that
! they had decided TO discontinue after that
! day the five per cent discount on trade
! The meeting was adjourned at 3. 80 o'clock
! The signing of the resolution then began
! and the amount subscribed is now consider
! ably more than $1,000.
The new company will meet at Grange
! hall at 80 o'clock tomorrow night TO
| complete its organization, select a name
and draw up an application for charter.
The opposition, whose case it is but fair
to state, were mainly opposed to the deal
| because of the clause in the agreement
binding the store to obligation TO rent the
! building for five years They claim that
| the present quotation of shares Is worth
less than 40 per cent of their par value, so
that the assets of the store are not over
| 10000 above liabilities: the store has run
behind over $1,000 in the past six months
and unless the business improves very
materially it cannot continue long in
business, and it would be some what in
convenient for them TO pay rent with the
store closed They also say that as the
stock is worth only 10 per cent the new
! company's $1,000 of stock represents less
! than half that amount in money, and they
! are getting the building for less than 500
| 600, besides relieving themselves of the
| stores obligations except what is borne by
| the one or two shares which the members
of the syndicate leave in the store.
The east bent of the store, about - by so
feet, will be partitioned off within a few
weeks and offered for rental The new com
pany will probably rent the rest of the store
| 10 the Farmers n Mechanics Exchange and
furnish heat for $500 year.