The sun., 1907-08-15
RECEIVERS FOR POPE MFG. co.
Al JTOMOBILE MAKERS COULD Not
RAISE NEEDED MONEY.
IIabtiItiea Oti,er Than tO stockholders
Abont s7.0OO. .OOO-CODcemy Notes
FIosted Mostly I'm the west Tho ne.
cei,er u to Keep the Business Going.


After trying every way to raise enough
money TO carry IL through a condition
temporary. the Pope Manufacturing Com
pany Of Hartford, Conn, succumbed yes
terday 10 the stringency Of the money
market and the effects Of the strike which
and passed into the hands Of receivers.
This company. which is one Of the largest
manufacturers Of automobiles and b 'NNes
in the country. was built up 10y Col. Aioert
A. Pope, who was pionesr in the bicycle
business and made a great success of 1t
until his American Bicycle Company, which
was organized at the height OF the bicycle
craze in 1899 by the consolidation Of forty
Ave small companies, was driven TO the
wall in 1902 by rhs collapse Of the demand
for bicycles The Pope Manufacturing
Company, which took over the business
early In 1903, has turned most Of its attention
to automobiles and has been making money
We have every reason 10 believe"
Albert Rathbone, counsel for the receivers.
said yesterday. that the assets are worth
many times the amount OF the liabilities,
IL the company continues as a going con-
Germ, as We believe it will"
Petitions for a receivership were pre-
sentsd simultaneously on Tuesday i'm four
States. New Jersey, Connecticut. New
York and Maryland, and resulted in the
appointment Of Albert l.. Pope as receiver
ia these four States In New Jersey he
acts with Egbert J. Tamblyn, an attorney
of Newark. Albert l.. Pope 10 a son Of Col.
Pope and has had the active management
Of the company since The partial retire.
ment Of his father.
The balance sheet Of the company on
June 20 shows current liabilities OF 81 .929 .3S8
and current assets of Apo. .ls7. The latter
item includes 81 1891 due from the Pope
Motor Car Company. subsidiary. which
also goes into the hands OF receivers. OF
this amount 81. 900 900 represents a dividend
declared by the motor car company but
afterward rescinded.
The petition states that the business of
the company has been a very large one
and that the company has heretofore had
a borrowing capacity of 81 sO0. 600 year.
The present stringency of the money market
has reduced this to 81. 10000. As a result
the company was unable to obtain re-
newals on the full amount Of its loans and
it's resources we're decreased by more than
$500, 900.
In addition director pointed out yes
terday that the Use OF a similar amount
was lost by the six months strike in Toledo
which ended early this year. The capacity
Of the plant. which produces the Pope
Toledo machines. is 400 cars a year. The
strike delayed work so that about 300 orders
we're cancelled The cars are sold for about
81 900 apiece
The outstanding capital stock Of the
company is $1,000 700 of common stock,
q, 500, ,e7e Of first preferred and o., ,825, 100
Of second preferred. Total liabilities are
S2s, ,67s, ,2s0 This includes a deficit. repre-
sentins impairment of the capital Of s345, ,s7a.
This makes liabilities other than 20 stock
holders about s2.OO0.0OO.
Assets are stated as follows: Cost OF
properties, including ,6lS OF good
will, 81. .22S, ,0o8 cash in bank and on hand.
sol .04l; miscellaneous investments, S79, 253;
deferred charges to operations. S2i3. 100;
deferred instalments receivable. S234, 78l;
Investments in subsidiary companies. Pope
Motor Car Company. s7si. .33i; Federal Manu-
featuring Company. s5oS. .ese; Columbia Steel
Company. $500. 900; Pope Manufacturing Of
California. sll2.774; raw materials, supplies.
and finished products on hand, 81, ,72s. .SOT;
accounts receivable. s54s, ,725: accounts due
from Pope Motor Car Company, 81. .7s3.iI2
New York banks and bankers are credit
ors Of the company TO a very small extent,
10 a tad had haa Il
here for some time that the company was
in difficulties and most Of its borrowing was
done further west. where its notes for
amounts ranging from $4,000 TO SIS 900 are
widely distributed.
There has been no market here for the
companys stock for some time The only
sales on the curb for several months were
$50 shares of the common stock on Monday
at 81 and 200 shares Of second preferred on
April I at $50.
The company owns. including tho two
owned by the Pope Motor Car Company.
eight plants, namely. at Hartford, West
field, Mass; Hagsrstown. Toledo, Indian
apolis and Chicago. Normally It employs
1900 men, and 1t manufactures Pope
Toledo, Pope-Hsrtford and Pope Waverley
automobiles and Cleveland and Crescent
bicycles
Col. Albert A. Pope went into the busi-
meas Of making bicycles about ten years
after the close Of the OWL war. In 1877
the Pope Manufacturing Company was
formed. The business grew rapidly and
at the top Of the bicycle boom In 1890 the
American Bicycle Company was organised.
with a capacity Of 1,oCo0 900 bicycles yearly.
For year or two the company did we'll
aud standard OIL capitalists bought a oon-
trolling interest. Then they looked over
the company's sssets and sold out in u
hurry. The demand for machines fell
and the company went bankrupt.
Then the new Pope Manufacturing Conn
pany was organised and the old company
was bought for 90. 100000 cash and $500. 900
OF receivers certificates.
The president is Albert A. Pope and
the New York directors are William A.
Read. Colgate Hoyt. r. s. Smithers and
George r. Crane.
HA1TyoRD. Conn. Aug. A.-AIbsrt L.
Pope gave out to-day the following state-
ment:
We made o voluntary assignment to-
n L. ~ A A.