The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1898-02-04
HHLLb, HELLO, HELLO !!
The Popular Expression Re-
versed in the Case Of the
Hudson Telephone
Company.
RECEIVERsHIP PRAYED FOR
Large Amount Of Stock Said TO Be
Missing - Statements by
Lawyer and officers.
RECEIVERSHIP PRAYED FOR

counselor Ezra K. Seguine today FLED
bill in Chancery praying for the appoint
ment of a receiver for the Hudson Tele-
phone Company simultaneously a suit
was begun in the United States Circuit
Court for an accounting in the matter of
certain patents. Mr.. Seguine alleges that
S2O00G0 worth of stock was issued and sold
for which there is not one cent in the
treasury. He wants the issue of the
stock set aside on the ground that it is
fraudulent. He represents over 100
clients, many of whom are subscribers to
the service.
Henry Richards, a dealer in poles, one
of the clients, wants to recover mate
rial purchased by the company for the
erection of its lines.
George Maxwell, an investor a second
client, wants to recover damages for in
Engagements of certain patents for which
he alleges w. 1. Atkinson received $780,
900 in stock.
Richard D. Kelly and C. w. Hughes,
former employees, want to recover the
value of promissory notes they drew to
accommodate the officers of the company
for the payment of pressing debts against
the company.
Thomas Hill, heavy holder of stock,
through Lawyer Seguine, applied for
receiver for the company
The company was organized in the
spring of 1895 in opposition to the Bell
Telephone Company and its capital stock
was 100000 The officers chosen were:-
Louis H. Simpson of New York, Presi-
dent and General Manager; James Rus
sell, Vice President; George H. Atkinson,
Treasurer. Vice President Russell was a
director and w. j. Atkinson, H. H. At
kinson and F. B. Hubbell We're the other
directors. w. j. Atkinson owned the
patents under which the company was
organized.
AT an election on Monday George H.
Atkinson withdrew as General Manager,
and Charles B. Thurston was made Pres
iden, Cornelius j. Cronin Treasurer, and
Marcus Higginbotham, Secretary.
Lawyer Seguine stated today that he
was prepared to prove that the men who
promoted the Hudson Telephone Company
wer behind the New York and New Jer-
sey Telegraph and Telephone Construc-
ton Company, and that they alleged that
it cost $134, 900 to build the lines, when
recent appraisement of the companys
property places the valuation at $60,G0O.
He stated that the bonds were purchased
by his clients under a misstatement of
facts, and that instead of the money OBJ
ta1ned from the pOnOS gong INTO the
treasury of the company, it went into the
private pockets of those in the scheme.
A syndicate of wealthy citizens. among
them officers of the company, then sub
scribed a loan, of $4,000 or $4,000 with
which to redeem some of the debts of
the construction company Bonds in the
amount of SIS 900 were required by the
syndicate to secure this loan.
IF that loan is not returned by a GER
tain date in this month those bonds will
become the property of the syndicate and
company will pass into control of the
pool
IF 1 succeed under the petition of
stockholders in avoiding stock and bonds
claimed to have been issued in fraud it
will defeat the syndicate and save the
plant for the stockholders said Lawyer
Seguine.
George H Atkinson. when seen today
at the office of the New York and New
struction Company, denied that the
switchboard in use belonged to Maxwell.
He said the company was solvent, denied
that he was connected with the New York
and New Jersey Telegraph and Telephone
|Construction Company, but would not talk
about how the 5000 600 worth of bonds
were sold. This whole affair."" he said.
sis SIMPLY ridiculous. This man Maxwell
has no claim against me or the Hudson
Telephone Company. We are not using
any of his patents.
1.-THE company is perfectly solvent, but
some of the stockholders are entirely un-
reasonable in their expectations
81 am not now, nor have 1 ever been,
in any way connected with the New York
and New Jersey Telegraph and Telephone
Construction Company"