Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-05-04
BOUNDED BY STANDARD OIL
Shares Depressed to 0ne-Tenth Their
Value -
THE BILL ALLEGES CONSPIRACY
Declares an Absolute Monopoly Has
Been Created and Involves the
Sherman Antitrust Law.

CHICAGO. H., May 4-The Chicago
Real Estate Loan and Trust Company
today filed a bill in the circuit court
asking 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-
filming Company and the officers OF those
companies from selling or conveying to the
Corn Products Refining Company any prop
erty now in the name of the Glucose Sugar
Refining Company.
After reciting the history of the forma-
tion of the Corn Products Company 1t 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 who the bill declares are com
monty known as the Standard Oil people"
Story of the Conspiracy.
Prior to January l. 1905. 1t Is averred in
the bill, C. II. Matthlessen, Norman B.
Ream, William W. Heaton, Joy Morton. ].
B. Greenhut, c. L. Glass, E. A. Matthiessen.
W. ]. Calhoun, w. T. German, T.B. Wagner.
H. c. Herget T. p. Kingsford and F. C.
Sherwood. as officers and directors of the
Corn Products Company, combined with the
STANDARD Oil people who were officers
and directors of the New York Glucose
Company to defraud the complaining COM
pany of it's stock.
THE methods of the 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
thessen, Norman B. Ream and others,
whose names, with the exception of b. 7.
Bedford, have not been learned. AS part of
the conspiracy, C. HI. Matthiessen and his
codirectors. gave B. T. Bedford and his as
sociates control of the Corn Products Com
pany. with all its trade secrets and fac
tories.
1T is asserted that the stockholders of
the Corn Products Company were discour-
aged much as possible by such reports,
as would induce them to sell out or transfer
their stock ,-. ....,..r
Fraudulent Stock Sales.
The bill further declares from the
beginning the company has been sub
jected to attacks by the Standard Oil
Company. One method was the con-
struction of a factory for the New York
Glucose Company by Bedford and his
associates InlS m6tnOQ 1dlieQ, ana IL
was then attempted to buy the stock of
the Corn Products Company by depre-
ciating the stock value by sales Of large
quantities of stock on different ex-
changes in immense amounts, and buying
1t in again at lower figure. The $780,
100000 of common stock was cut down
by false sales to one-tenth of its sup
posed value, while $3O,000.00 of pre-
ferred 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 fraudulent"
SIS an Absolute Monopoly"
Other steps in the alleged conspiracy are
declared in the bill to have been the pur-
chase of the Wagner factory in Lake coun-
ty. Illinois, and the st. Louis factory at St.
Louis Mo. 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 per
manently destroy the value of the stock
held by us. The market for glucose, starch
and by-products has been allowed to fall as
far as possible into the hands of the fac
tories owned by Matthiessen. Bedford and
others. and an absolute monopoly has been
created. The new company is fixing prices
to suit itself, and the public must pay what
ever Bedford and his Standard Oh friends
demand"
II Is further declared that the payment of
quarterly dividends have ceased and that
the stock has been fraudulentlys taken from
all exchanges
In conclusion the bill declares that the
Corn Products Refining Company Is a trust
nois. and the court is asked to take action
In the premises