The Baraboo news. [volume] (Baraboo, Wis.) 1884-1911, 1908-07-01
BARABO0 LIGHTING
CASE IN COURT
INTERESTING LOCAL HISTORYIN-
VOLVED IN THE SUIT NOW
PENDING
CAUSES WHICH LED TO FAILURE
The Matter viii Probably Soon be De-
cided So That the Trouble Will be
Cleared Away
(From Thursdays Dany.)

1
Evidence was taken in Baraboo yes
terday in the Baraboo lighting case.
Emerson Ella of Madison is the referee
and Attorneys Williams and Oakley of
Chicago, besides local lawyers, were al
so present.
The history of the Baraboo Lighting
company, together with the manipu-
lations of its stocks and bonds which
have preceded the litigation and which
are in part responsible for it, is of con-
siderable interest to local people. 1t is
another illustration of the failure of a
scheme by reason of the promoters un-
dertaking to carry through business
much larger than their capital would
warrant.
The Baraboo Lighting company is a
corporation organized under the laws
of Wisconsin and during the first few
years of its existence $50 of the stock
was owned by VIM. H. Hopkins, siuce
deceased, and the property was not
bonded or mortgaged in any way. .Dul-
ing the years that Mr.. Hopkins lived,
the plant was operated by him with
B. H. Strong as superintendent. At
that time, the old gas plant was IN
existence and the company manu-
featured gas from naptha. Subsequent
inventions proved this to be an expen-
sive way of producing gas and the
plant became antiquated and at the
time of Mr.. Hopkins death about five
years ago, the machinery in the cleo
trio light plant needed repairs and it
became necessary to install new ma.
chinery to replace some that had been
installed in the plant in the first in
stance. The estate of VIM. HI. Hop
kins was administered in the county
court for Sauk county and the execu-
tor was ordered to sell the stock of
VIM. III. Hopkins in the Baraboo
| Lighting company, which was $50 of
the whole amount of the stock and the
executor sold the stock for $42, 500 to
J. HI. Brown and George Mayer, Of
Chicago, Illinois. Brown and Mayer
at that time owned several gas and
electric light plants and the Baraboo
Lighting company was placed under
the management of the same people
who controlled the gas and electric
light plants at Madison, Indiana; Sey-
mour, Indiana; Zenia, Ohio; Nebraska
City, Saltwater, Minnesota, and Som
erset. AS each of these plants were
purchased, they were placed under the
control of "hOlding company" called
Thew Western Gas &Investment Compa-
ny, which was organized under the laws
of the state of South Dakota. The
stock of The Western Gas & Invest
ment Company was owned almost en-
tirely by Brown and Mayer. These
persons likewise acquired the stock Of
the underlying companies as they
were purchased. When the under
lying company was purchased, it was
Immediately bonded for such sum as
the purchasers thought sufficient to
pay for the plant and to make such
needed Improvements as they deemed
necessary. Nearly all of the plants
purchased by Brown and Mayer, were
in need of repairs more or less extern
sive in their character and the scheme
was to acquire these plants and make
the repairs so as to get them upon a
paying basis and it was then thought
that the plants would pay off the
amount of the bonded Indebtedness.
When the Baraboo Lighting Compa-
lny's stock was purchased, the plant
was bonded for 100000 and the bonds
were sold for 5000, to bond brokers
in Chicago. The cash thus received
from the sale of the bonds, was used to
pay the purchase price of the plant and
to install the new gas plant in the
city of Baraboo and to replace worn
out machinery and make
such other repairs and Improvements
as were necessary to the successful
operation of the plant. The head office
of the Western Gas & Investment
Company was in the Tribune Building
in the city of Chicago and the moneys
from each of the underlying COM
panies was sent direct to the Chicago
office and all of the expenses of the
new construction, repairs, operations,
sales, labor &C., incurred by the
underlying companies, was paid direct
from the Chicago office. The manage