The age-herald., 1898-07-01
changed for the Elyton cOmpany's per


 cents.
 ..Out of 2.oOO shares of stock of the Ely ton Land company there was one share holder owning five shares of the par value of $500, who protested against the reorgan- ization and instituted a suit, seeking to set it aside and have a receiver appointed to wind up the affairs of the Elyton Land company. While this suit was insignificant as to the amount involved, the bare pos sibility of decision adverse to the con- pany was sufficient to hamper and mate riallly cripple it in it's operations for more than two years.
 A Series of Panics
 ''The panic of 1893, which came on and put a sudden stop to investments in all lines of developments in manufacturing and ln- dustrial enterprises, continued its effects long afterwards and the result to this company was that there was no demand for it's property and no prospects of it's be- ing able to realize anything from it's assets for several years to come About this time it became necessary for the company to create a floating debt in order to meet the interest charges.
 "At about this time conditions began to improve to some extent and the company began to feel the effects of returning pros perity, the country was brought to the verge of another panic by the violent agt- tation of financial questions and this had the effect of again stopping all in dustrial
  alyzing the company in it's operations. Fol lowing this came another short period of material improvement in conditions fol- lowed shortly in its turn by a small pox epidemic, then yellow fever epidemic and its more disastrous ally, the shot gun quar- antine. Then came the two suits filed by the dividend trust bondholders In January last which threw a cloud upon the com panys titles and further injured its credit materially. Upon the heels of so many -I- 41A adxF ment of the city of Birmingham to it's man fest destiny, especially affecting the Ely ton company, there came rumors and later /. the reality of war.
 "All these things are, of course, matters of common knowledge and they are men toned only to emphasize the fact that the company has, in the face of conditions which might long since have been deemed sufficient to discourage the stoutest hearts, made an heroic effort to maintain its credit and to preserve the interest of its cred itors.
 "The directors, who were the principal shareholders of the company as well as the owners of a large amount of it's bonds, were determined to make, and have made, every effort possible to meet it's obligations as they matured and, in carrying out this determination, have from time to time during the past four years financed the company with their own private means in
 
 interest and other charges. They believed that if the company were tided over these temporary endorsements conditions would certainly improve sufficiently with In few years to enable it to pay its float ing debt and begin materially to reduce its bonded debt.
 Notwithstanding all the deterring obsta- cles mentioned, the directors were willing and intended to continue to carry the com- pany for whatever amount should be re- quired, but in the face of the problematical outcome of the suits filed in January last by holders of the unexchanged dividend trust bonds, 1t became apparent that the appointment of receiver would be essen- tial to the proper preservation and dispo- sition of the property of the company and it has been reluctantly forced to yield to the inevitable.
 MT. F. M. Billing, of Montgomery, has been appointed received, and his well known capacity as financier and his large interest in making the property yield the largest possible returns, are the assur- ances upon which I feel that the bond holders may, with confidence, rely to see . the great and valuable property of the Ely ton company so managed not only all of Its creditors will be paid in full, but it's stock holders will be left with handsome