Worcester morning daily spy., 1898-02-04
CRADLES STORY.
CONTINUED From First Page,

the bank funds, has been engaged in |
floating the stocks, bonds and mort
cages of his western enterprises among
investors In the east, not less than 49, |
100000 has been realized. Immediately |
associated with Mr.. Cradle has been w.
X. Kurtz, formerly of Kansas City and |
Omaha and now of New York.
''The principal investors in the spec
ulations Of the two men are located in /
Philadelphia, New Jersey, Connecticut, !
Massachusetts and New York. Connec-
ticut furnished the longest list, although /
the amounts are smaller than in Phila-
delphia and New York. In that state a |
specially vigorous effort was made to /
interest small holders to invest. A large
number of school teachers and ministers
invested"
He had attracted attention to the pos
sibilities of improving the country !
through which the railroad line passed, /
by irrigation, and two irrigation compa-
MES were formed. 1t is said that both |
his big irrigation schemes are good ones, |
and If they had been properly managed |
they would have made good returns. /
There was stone in the vicinity of Edge |
mont, and he conceived the idea that the
town should be the great manufacturing |
point of the country for grindstones. |
He forthwith organized the Edgemont
Stone Company, with capital of $250,O00, !
and spent a large sum for the building
of the plant to make grindstones. The
town needed buildings, He organized a
building syndicate, got large amount
Of eastern capital into 1t, and began put
ting up buildings right and left, along
the business streets of that place. Most
of the buildings were rented, and it is
claimed that this part of the scheme for
making a metropolis Of Edgemont is not
a bad one, if it, too, had been properly
managed. The buildings are there. and
if the title has not been alienated by
mortgages the owners Of the stock in
the syndicate ought to be able to realize
something for the money which they put
into it.
with enough business for 10 men to
look after properly, Mr.. Cradle did not
have enough to do, for ne started the
construction of a smelteC at Edgemont,
which he believed was to be the be-
ginning of one of the greatest smelling
plants in the west. The SInelter is not
| yet completed, but 1t represents an out
| lay of at least 100000 In 1896 Mr.
| Cradle brought into existence the Union
Hill Mining Company. For a number
| OF years he had been accommodating
mining claims in the Black Hills dis
trict When Mr.. Cradle had some so of
| these claims, he thought it was time to
float company, and by getting east
| ern capital interested he might be able
| to do something with the property,
which had tied up a good deal of his
ready money Accordingly, he gave
several excursions out to the Black
Hills, from Chicago and Omaha, about
| two years ago, and the claims were
carefully examined by eastern capital
lists.
The financial operations leading to the
| formation of the Union Hill Mining
| Company were somewhat peculiar. 1t
1 a. oya1 Cf
| this Mr.. Cradle received 900 in
payment for the so claims which he
| decided over to the company. The re-
naming 100000 worth Of stock was
| held in the treasury, and was to be
| sold and the proceeds devoted to the
operations Of the mines. Mr.. Cradle
went out to sell his stock. He gave
| away a fair percentage Of it to get peo-
pie interested in the company, and sold
about 100000 worth at prices ranging
from so cents on the dollar down. After
he had got this far along he brought
| into being another company, which ne
| called the Edgemont and Union Hill
/ Smelling Company, which was given
capital stock of $4,000 900. Then grad
ually the property Of the first company
was transferred to the new corporation,
and it's capital stock increased to
Sc 900, 00O OF this amount Mr.. Cradle
took 81, 500, 900 and $1,200,000 was left in
the treasury. The original plan was
continued, by which the treasury stock
was to be sold and the proceeds devoted
to the development of the property.
BY this time many people of prom
inence in the east had been brought
! to a point where they were not only
/ interested in the company, but permit
ted the use of their names on the list
of officers and directors. Mr. Cradle
was enabled to go forth with the for
nidable list of capitalists, who vouched
for the prospectus Of a mining scheme.
1 The officers were as follows: President,
Robert E. Pattisoh, president Security
and Trust Company, Philadelphia; vice
president, Gen. w. c. Tracy, ex-secre-
/ tary of the navy, New York: treasurer,
| Thomas Bradley, Philadelphia, director
Security Trust Company; secretary,
George A. Fletcher, Philadelphia mer-
chant and director Union Trust Com
pany.
| While Cradle was out selling stock,
work was being pushed on the Black
Hills claim, and everything seemed to
be booming; as a further inducement to
get people to put their money into the
stock of the company, the following let
ter was given out:
New York, Jan. S, 1897
To the Stockholders and Board of Di-
| rectors of the Edgemont and Union
| Hill Smelling Company:
! Gentlemen-This Is to certify that L
have entered into an agreement with
Francis c. Cradle for the erection at
Edgemont, South Dakota, Of a smelter
fully equipped with modern appliances
the same to be erected, complete and
ready for operation within four months
of this date, payment for same having
been fully provided for without fur
Their charge against your COMPANY.
Yours truly,
John f. Searles.
Mr.. Searles position as the executive
head of the sugar trust added great
weight to the standing of the company.
It was at this time that the prominent
| citizens who had lent their names so
freely to float the enterprise, began TO
realize the position in which they would
be placed in the event of its collapse
At meeting of the Philadelphia capt.
talists, who, like Cashier Quinlan, had
been led to endorse a bad thing, it was
decided to take heroic measures GrableI
was turned out Of the management of
the company, and ceased to have any
thing to do with it's affairs. The sale of
stock was stopped, so far as the Phila-
delphia people could prevent it. AM
executive committee of five members
was chosen to look after affairs, and w
K. Kurtz was deposed as secretary. To-
prevent the appointment of a receiver
and wiping out of the interests of the
| thousand or more stockholders, it was
determined to float a bond issue for
100000, and the proposition was
brought before the annual meeting of
the stockholders, in Jersey City, on Jan.
r.
Up to last Saturday, only $780, 900 had
been subscribed, but it is believed that
the bond subscription will be success
full, and the property saved to the
| stockholders, in which case considera-