The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1904-01-28
VERDICT, SUICIDE.
Continued from First Page.)

the names of many men high in Great
Britain, was the London and Globe
Finance corporation.
This company was formed Wright
said, to control and operate minor COM
panies. all of which he said had been
paying enormous dividends. He began
his promotions in a small way, first
with one or two mining enterprises,
capitalized at a few hundred thousand
dollars. Many of them were all they
purported to be and made fortunes for
those who invested in than.
His projects grew with his ambitions,
and finally he conceived the London
and Globe Finance corporation. Lord
Dufferin was made chairman of the
board Of directors. and other directors,
besides Wright, were Lieut.. Gen. the
Hon. Somerset ]. Gough-Calthorpe,
colonel-in-chief of the Fifth Dragon
guards; Lord Edward William Pelham
Clinton. mastar of the queens house
hold; Lord Loeb. and Sir William Rob-
inSOn.
The names of these persons were con-
splcuous in the prospectus of the corDo-
ration and served as bait for investors.
Their confidence in Wright was abSo-
lutte and into his hands they placed
everything.
Forty-one different enterprises were
taken into the London and Globe by
the now well known process of giving
the owners two shares in the new con-
Germ for each share they held in the
old and frequently a cash bonus beside.
The capitalization OF the subsidiary
companies was enormous, the total
being about $110,000000.
Two reasons for the wreck are given.
One is Wright's and the other the one
generally accepted in the financial
world.
Wright claimed that all shareholders
had taken out profits in excess of their
investments when the crash came, and
that it was precipitated by treachery,
one mine he was depending upon to
pay 100000 a month proving a poor
experts, who betrayed him.
The other version is that the London
and Gloe took up the Baker steel and
Waterloo underground with a capital
of 81, 925, 000 It was not a good invest
ment. London investors could not get
close enough to it to see it. It was
paraded as valuable, like all other as
sets. 1t was doubted, and thus the 9TH
ers were, and inquiries followed.
Lord Dufferin, the president, tried to
explain and realized he knew nothing
of affairs. Every line of inquiry led
back to Wright.
A receiver was asked for and then
IA brokerage firms in London went to
less and the shares a drug on the mar
ket. Wright, after pleading for
chance to set things to order again,
was charged by stockholders with
fraud.
Lord Dufferin died shortly after a
ruined man and then parliament was
called upon to do something. Parlia-
lnent and the law courts were in con-
f1ict and all sorts of rumors of royal
influence were circulated. 1t was known
that King Edward, while prince of
Wales, had been a guest on board
Wright's yacht. That was made to do
great service in the rumors. 1t was
even said Wright had loaned or given
the Prince of Wales and others large
sums of money! s-ie
Then Wright fed to the United
States, where he was known in all the
financial centers. When he landed he
was arrested, and eventually was taken
back to England for trial.
It is said in justification of Wright
that for a while some of his companies
did yield enormous sums to the inves-
tors and that disasters came from over
capitalization and from absorbing into
the big concern many that were worth