The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1905-04-28
f. G. BICELOW GOES
into BANKRUPTCY
Private Business Methods Lax
and Debts Exceed Three
Millions

MILWAUKEE, Wis, April 27.-The
latest step in the career of Frank q
Blseiow. the former bank president
VINO eetauited In the sum of a million
anu nan OF dollars, is the filing of
petition IN involuntary bankruptcy.
ne revised schedules show a total LA
unity or $S,271,600, of which S1.975 A0a
Is wholly or in part Secured. OF tha
remainder S1.110.00O is a secondary
ii'Dlilty on notes and bills discounted
III which Bigelow figures as indorser
1heSe items are notes of the National
Electric company the Grand Ranids
EDISON company and S. w. Watkins
ana are evidently connected with. the
financing of the National Electric COM
pany. The balance, $780,. OOO renra-
sents unsecured loans, the largest one
being an indebtedness of 500 600 To
the Broadhead estate, of which Riee-
low was executor.
The assets of the banker are esti-
mated at $l,S49.SOo. against which n
/ homestead exemption of $4,000 is Mac
ed The rest of the assets consist
chlehy of stock in various Industrial
ana other enterprises and 1000 acres
OF coal land in Huerfano county. Colo
valued at 100000. The schedule states
lndt ne mas no cash on hand.
Kept No Memoranda
Nearly every bank from which Bige-
low borrowed money eXacted ample
security before the loans were nego-
tlated: The fling of the schedules re-
Vealed that Bigelow, who has been
looked upon as a model of business sa-
gacity, pursued startlingly loose meth
ods IN the transaction of his private
business. He was not positive of the
names of several of his creditors and
mad no memoranda with which to re-
fresh his memory. Evidently he had
no system of keeping a record of his
financial transactions
Under the bankruptcy laws the turn
ing over by Bigelow of $500 900 worth
or property as a revolutionary meas
ure to the bank is null and void the
transfer having been made within four
months of the filing of the petition in
bankruptcy. This, however, will not af-
feet the bank. the directors having
more than made up the entire def
cheney caused by the defalcations of
the president.
Today Judge Andres appointed the
Wisconsin Trust & Security company
| receiver of the bankrupt estate of
/ Frank G. Bigelow. This action was
taken because one of the life insur-
ance policy premiums upon the life of
! Bigelow became due today and had to
/ be paid in order to prevent it from
lapSing.
Owes Still Others
1t is reported that Bgelow is heavily
indebted to several well known Mil
waukeeans whose names do not appear
in the schedules A trustee will be
! appointed by the creditors of the es-
| tate. The step taken by the former
! financier is looked upon by his friends
as the only logical course he could
possibly have pursued under the cir
! cumStances.
| While bankruptcy proceedings star
| tied this community the news did not
/ cause the slightest excitement in bank
J ing circles in Milwaukee, and business
| is being conducted as though no dis
| turbance had ever happened.
John L. Biggs and J. H. Vandyke Jr.,
| directors of the First National bank,
were today elected president and vice
| president, respectively, of the National
Electric company. S. w. Watkins, the
j former president. resigned and Mr.
| Bigelow and others were dropped from
| the directorate of that company.