Los Angeles herald., 1907-05-05
BIG CONSPIRACY
COMES TO LIGHT
MILLIONS OF DOLLARS LOST
IN CHICAGO DEAL
To Reap a Harvest, schemin9 Stock
holders in Corn Products Company
Are Alleged to Have Planned
Concerns Failure
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
CHICAGO. May 4-The Chicago Real
Estate Loan and Trust company tooay
filed a bill of complaint in the county
court asking for decree requiring llie
reorganization of the Corn Frouucts
company under the court ana tndt d
receiver be furnished for the plants VI
the company in this state.
The court is also asked TO enJoll
the Corn Products company, the Corn
Products Refining company anu liS
Glucose Sugar Refining company anu
the officers of these companies from
selling or conveying to the Corn FRO
ducts Refining company any property
now in the name of the Glucose gu
gar Refining company.
After reciting the history OF the
formation of the Corn Products COM
pany, it is set forth in the bill that
81 per cent of the stock OF the Corn
Products company is held IN the nalle name
of E. T. Bedford and his associates,
whom the bill declares are commonly
known as the Standard Oil people"
Prior to January l, 1906, 1t is aVerred
in the bill that c. H. Mathiessen, Nor
man d. Ream, William Wheaton, JOY
Morton, j. B. Greenhut, G. L. Class
w. j. Calhoun, w. I. German, I. b.
Wagner, T. B. Heiger, II. B. Kings
ford and f. c. Sherwood as officers
and directors of the Corn Products
company. combined with the Standard
Oil people, who were officers and dl-
rectors of the Glucose company, to de-
fraud the complaining company or 1ts
stock.
"The methods of the conspiracy"
it is said in the bill, include the for
nation of corporation known as
the Corn Products Refining company,
owned by C. H. MathieSSen, Norman
D. Ream and others whose names have
not been learned. AS part of the con-
spiracy c. H. Mathiessen and his CO.
directors gave Bedford and his asso-
ciates control of the Corn Products
company with all it's trade secrets and
factories"
Bold Scheme Worked
1t is said that the stockholders of
the Corn Products company were dis
couraged as much as possible by such
reports as would induce them to sell
out or transfer their stock.
The bill further declares that from
the beginning the company had been
subjected to attacks by the Standard
Oil company. One method was the
construction of a factory for the New
York Glucose company, Bedford ana
his associates. This method failed and
it was then attempted to buy the
stock of the Corn Products company
by depreciating 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 $4,000, 900 of common stock was
cut down by false sales to one-tenth
of its supposed value, while the $780,
100000 of preferred stock was de-
preciated to one-quarter of its par
value. Some days nearly the full
amount of the entire stock issues were
sold, although the sales were false and
fraudulent.
Plan Another Conspiracy
Other steps in the alleged conspi-
racy are declared to have been the
purchase of the Wagner factory in
Lake county, ILL.,, and the st. Louis
factory. The bill then declares "the
conspirators are now planning to
cause all Of the property and business
of the Corn Products company to be
transferred to the Corn Products Re-
fining company, and tc permanently
destroy the value of stock held by the
complainants.
"The market for glucose and starch
has been allowed to fall as far as pos
sible into the hands of the factories
owned by Bedford and others, and an
absolute 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 pay
ment of quarterly dividends has
ceased and that the stock has been
fraudulently taken from all ex-
changes.
In conclusion the bill declares that
the Corn Products Refining company
is trust, operating in opposition to
the laws of Illinois and the court is
To fDlE nAsAy Al,
The application will not be heard
for week or ten days. as it is neces-
sary for the complainants to give five
days notice of the application for an
injunction and the appointment of
receiver unless there is urgent neces-
sity for immediate action