Omaha daily bee., 1907-05-05
SUIT TO BREAK A TRUST"
Chicago Oonosrn Alleges Corn Products
Company is Unfairly Managed.
CHARGE STOCKHOLDERS WITH CONSPIRACY
Corn Products Refining Company said
60 Have Secured Control of
other Trade Secrets
and Factories.

CHICAGO, May A-The Chicago Real
Estate Loan and Trust company today fled
a bill OF complaint in the county court ask
ing for a decree requiring a reorganization
Of the Corn Products company under the
direction of the court and that receiver
be appointed for the plants OF the company
in this state
The court is also asked to enJoin the Corn
Products company, the Corn Products Re-
filming company and the Glucose Sugar Re
flning company and the officers OF those
companies from selling or converting to
the Corn Products Refining company any
property now in the name OF the Glucose
Sugar Refining company. After refterating
the history of the formation of the Corn
Products company It is set forth IN the
bill that 81 per cent of the stock Of the
Corn Products company is held in the name
OF E. T. Bedford and his associates whom
the bill declares are commonly known as
the Standard Oil people"
Prior TO January /, 1906. II Is averred In
the bill that c. II. Ratthiessen, Norman
d. Ream, william wheaton. Joy Morton.
]. B. Greenhut, c. L. Glass. r. A. Mat
thessen, W. ]. Calhoun, w T. German, T.
b. Wagner. H. c. Herget, T. P. Kingsford
and T. c. Sherwood. as officers and direc-
tors OF the Corn Products company. com
bined with the STANDARD Oil people," who
were officers and directors of the New York
Glucose company, to defraud the complain
ing company of its stock.
Conspiracy IL Charged.
1.-THE methods Of conspiracy" It is said
in the bill, Included the formation of a
corporation known as the Corn Products
Refining company. owned by c. H Mat
thiessen, Norman d. Ream and others,
whose names. with the exception of e. T.
Bedford have not been learned As part
of the conspiracy c. II. Matthiessen and
his co-directors gave e. T. Bedford and
his associates control of the Corn Products
company, with all its trade secrets and
factories"
1t is asserted that the stockholders of
the Corn Products company were discour-
aged as much as possible by such reports
as would induce them to sell out or trans
fer their stock.
The bill further declares: From the
beginning the company has been subjected
to attacks by the Standard OIL company.
One method was the construction Of a
factory for the New York Glucose COM
pany by Bedford and his associates. This
method failed and it was then attempted
to buy the stock of the Corn Products
company by deprecisting the stock value
by sales of large quantities OF stock on
different exchanges in immense amounts
and buying it in again at a lower figure.
The $5O,OOO.OOO of common stock was cut
down by false sales to one-tenth of its
supposed value while $4,000, 600 of preferred
stock was deprecated to one-quarter Of its
par value. Some days nearly the full
amount Of the entire stock issue was sold.
although the sales were false and fraudu-
| lent"
Monopoly Alleged.
Other steps in the alleged conspiracy are
declared in the bill to have been the pur-
chase of the Wagner factory in Lake
| county, Illinois, and the st. Louis factory
at st. Louis The bill then declares 1.-THE
conspirators are now planning to cause
all of the properties and business of the
Corn Products company to be transferred
to the Corn Products Refining company
and to permanently destroy the value of
stock held by the complainants. The mar
ket for glucose, starch and by-products has
been allowed to fall as far as possible into
the hands of the factories owned by Mat
thiessen, Bedford and others and an abso-
Lutte monopoly has been created. The new
company is fixing prices to suit itself and
the public must pay whatever Bedford and
his Standard Oil friends demand"
1t is further declared that the payment
of quarterly dividends have ceased and
that the stock has been fraudulently taken
from all exchanges.
In conclusion the bill declares that the
Corn Products Refining company is a trust,
operating in opposition to the laws of I'LL
nois, and the court is asked to take action
in the premises. The complaining company
is engaged in the business of buying and
selling real estate and of advancing loans
to prospective builders. Its main offices are
in Monmouth, Ill. George F. Harding, IT,,
is it's president.