Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1904-02-12
NO. 80
The End Of Whitaker Wright.

The End OF Whitaker Wright.
The conviction and tragic death O.
hitaker Wright. the notorious BrItisI
promoter. end an unusually interest
.ns chapter in modern high finance"
Tie London aud Globe company. which
WAS the principal vehicle of wright's
Swindling operations. was the logical
conclusion OF the Inflated notions OF
corporation possibilities that have iu
recent years filled the public mind. not
iu England alone. but in this country
aS well. Wright launched his 5000.
go London and Globe corporation aud
made IL 20 Ly filling the directorate
with peers and other eminent person.
ages. headed 10y the late Marquis OF
DulTerin. who died in ruin and disgrace
Wright himself acquired "a $50 shares,
but when the windup came he had only
2.JU0. high premiums having been qnot-
ed In the meanwhile 1t was the old
story of false prospectuses and fraudu.
lent balance sheets. As might have
been expected. the crash came in time,
with direful financial results. On the
day ii was announced thirty-two mem.
bers of the Stock Exchange. including
twenty firms. went TO the wall. Inves-
tigaton brought out the fact that over
S1Il.r10.000 of the assets were ficti.
tious. II appears that Wright never
had any working capital much in ex-
cess Of S2,000.000. He paid dividends
from the money Of investors. So skill.
fully did he manipulate affairs that his
corporations paid out it is said. S25,-
Uoo000 in dividends in four years.
Meanwhile there were practically no
earnings.
To one not versed in the intricacies
of high finance it is difficult to define
the difference between the methods EN-.
ployed by Wright and those which pre-.
vail in the exploitation of some big
American corporations. The United
States Shipbuilding company. for in.
STANCE, seems very much like the Lon.
don and Globe company. What Wright
was convicted of is much the same sort
of thing that certain men high in Amer
lean finance are accused Of and OF
which they must speedily purge them
selves TO escape the comparison which
now forces itself upon every observing
mind.
In the conviction OF Wright and his
sentence TO seven years penal servi-
tude. from which. however he escaped
by self destruction, Is illustrated the
rigor of the British law and its en-
strong contrast to the criminal law as
administered in this country in similar
cases. The comparison is not compli.
mentary to our forms OF Jurisprudence.
The English companies act. under
which Wright was prosecuted Is very
strict as regards false statements in
the matter of floating securities, max
ing them a penal offense. In this re.
gard we could learn much from Brit.
lsh Jurisprudence. As an eminent New
York corporation lawyer says, "lf the
rules of law that were applied to
Wright were to be enforced here, there
would be far greater safety for invest
ors, but some men prominent in this
community would feel very uncomfort-
able
1t is safe to assume that for time
in England men of Wright's propensi-
ties and talents will shrink from en-
gaging in operations like those which,
after furnishing some respected names
and heaping losses on multitude Of
persons. brought Wright to grief In this
country there are not a few exponents
of speculative finance who should SOL
emnly reflect that If they were under
the jurisdiction of English courts there
might be dolorous days ahead for them.