The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1902-10-29

I
/ suit, which was begun yesterday before
! Judge Kelly, promises to become the
most sensational case of the year. The
| first round in the legal battle was won
| by the plaintiff, when the court refused
a dismissal on the pleadings, and de-
cided that it would go into the merits
| of the action.
The action is brought by Charles K.
| Sharood, as trustee, in the bankruptcy
| Of Jasper B. Tarbox and Charles H
Schliek, individually and as partners
| in the firm of Tarbox, Schliek Co,
against w. B. and w. G. Jordan, the
| W. B. & w. G. Jordan company, a cSr-
porat1on; Hiram r. Lyon, and the
| Union Shoe. and Leather company. It's
| object is to obtain an accounting of
! profits alleged to be due to Mr.. Tarbox
as a secret member of the Jordans'
| firm, and derived in part from an I'M
LIBERALIZATION of the assets of the bank
rupt firm at the time the Jordans pur-
| chased.
| When Tarbox, Schliek & Co. failed,
| IN 1900, John Lind, governor of the
| state OF Minnesota, was waging war on
| contract labor in the state institutions.
| TarboX, Schliek & Co. had a. contract
with the state for the operation of the
| saltwater plant, and could not, be
| ousted till it expired. Acting on the
! governors lead, however, the state
! board refused to consent to the as
| signrnent of the contract to the Jor-
| dams. Hence, it is asserted, they kept
a string on Mr.. Tarbox in order to use
his contract at the prison. e~,s-,sz--s----
The days proceedings opened with
a motion by c. A. Severance, of eoun-
sci for the Jordans, for judgment for
| his clients on the pleadings. The at
| torney declared that the complaint
drawn by Barton & Samuelson, attor-
neys for the trustee, failed to show a
cause for action, and that while it de-
! scribed the alleged contract Of part
nership as Illegal and fraud on the
creditors Of the bankrupts, it was at
| the same time demanding the enforce
ment of the said illegal contract.
Thc motion of the defendants was
denied by Judge Kelly.
This action said the court, to fe1-
low property legally belonging. to the
plaintiff as trustee in the hands of the
defendants, Jordan wherever lit may
be, and to obtain an accounting for the
| proceeds of that. property if it has been
converted. The courts are inclined to
favor all such proceedings when hon
estly brought in the interest of cred
itors, and to look aSkance on motions
Of the character of that made by
counsel, which raise questions that
could have been brought up by demqr-
rer."
Story OF the Deal.
CAS- soon as we found we could not
meet our bills, in, April" said Mr. Tar
box, Il consulted President Auerbacl1,
of the Union bank, to which we owed
$4,000, and of which, w. B. Jordan
was stakeholder This was close to
May l. Mr.. Auerbach brought in Mr..
Jordan, whom 1 had known slightly be-
fore, and who said he wanted to help
me- He asked about the business, the
sales and Mr.. Schliek's interest, and
he declared that if the assets could be
bought from the creditors at a low
figure, he would go in with me and
give me a half interest. Iaccepted his
proposition, and we talked the matter
over at some length. Afterwards went
down to the store with me, and at his
suggestion his brother, w. G. Jordan,
and L. NJ. Clark, brother of Kenneth
Clark, president of the Merchants Ma
tional bank, another of our creditors,
| made an invoice of our stock at the
store and at the Saltwater factory
! 81 had nothing to do with this in
ventory except as related to the ma
chinery in the factory. was fully ac-
quainted with the value of the plant,
=
time [ started the factory, in 1894,
down to the date of our failure. Hence
I put value on the equipment at Still
water"
What was the Saltwater plant
worth?" asked Attorney Barton.
Valued at Is Per Cent.
'eWeH, it cost at least 10000 and it's
/ value in May, 1900, would depend on
TTrolZ n
! the machinery might not have fetched
| more than $4,000, but for the opera
ton of the factory there it was worth
| all we paid for it. 1t could not have
| been replaced for $4,000"
And what valuation did you put on
! this machinery"
81 fixed the value at 100000" re-
piled the witness, frankly. MY reason
! for valuing it SO low was that I was
| interested in buying the assets of our
firm from the creditors as cheaply as
1 possible. / had been promised and eX-
/ pected a partnership interest in the
new concern"
1 The witness then went back to his
first meeting with w. G. Jordan. The
elder brother had told him that w. G.
| Jordan had $4,000 to invest in bust
| ness, that he had come to ST. Paul to
| look at wholesale drug stock, but did
/ not care to buy it, if he could get
something better.
Il said I should be glad to have the
young man come with me- the less
continued, land the two Jordal,. and
I held a number of conversations re-
! garding the partnership. The plan we
! then discussed was for w. G. Jordan
! alone to join me in the new firm. I told
/ him [ was used to the outside work
meaning the factory, and hoped he
would take charge of the Office and
/ financial business. He said he could
do either. During our talks, it was
suggested that Foley Bros. would take
| an interest in the new firm. The
Foleys, however, wanted to organize a
large corporation, and offered to take
| whatever stock we would let them
| have. But we-that is the JordanS and
| I-preferred a copartnerShip.
Partnership Was Easier. 49,
''My principal reason for opposing a
! stock company was because if we
| formed corporation I1Would probably
| be elected it's president and that would
| attract very unfavorable attention
| from our creditors. I accordingly gave
the Jordans notice that I would stay
] by them. The invoice I have told
| about was made, and the Jordans of
| fered $124,000 for the assets of the
firm both at Saltwater and in the store
| at, st. Paul. All this was before the
! first meeting of the creditors, on May
80" :
Mr. Tarbox's account Of the meet
ing of the creditors followed. The
witness had been present ait the morn
i,,cr fyor hi a11 a