New-York tribune., 1909-04-14
ENNIS & STOPPANI FAIL
RECEITER FOR BROKERS.
Consolidated House Suspends after
Creditors Petition Court.

The suspension Of Ennis & stoppani, said to be
the largest concern the Consolidated Stock Ex-
change, announced the floor of that in
stitution yesterday after the firm had made
assignment for the benefit of its creditors to Tread
well Cleveland. of Cleveland & Cleveland No. q
William street. This action followed the fling OF
an involuntary petition in bankruptcy against the
firm by three creditors and the appointment OF
receiver by Judge Holt.
The liabilities estimated TO be at least a.5o
600 and the assets between 10000 and $4,000. not
including the sixty-two-year lease which the firm
holds on the building No. 81 New street where
its main Offices The failure Of the firm
said 10 be due to its having been the wrong
side Of the wheat market in Chicago and the stock
market here.
Although the involuntary petition in bankruptcy
was filed at o'clock. announcement OF the
suspension Of the firm made the floor
OF the Consolidated Stock Exchange until shortly
after II o'clock. and the firm continued transact
business on the exchange usual until just be
fore the announcement was made. 1t said
that the obligations Of the concern on the Con-
soIdated Exchange amounted to only few hun
dred dollars. and the failure apparently had no
great effect there.
The of the suspension came somewhat as
a surprise 70 the financial district although ru-
mors have been current for days that the
firm was IN difficulties As soon as the report OF
the failure had time circulate through the city.
customers began 10 pour into the Offices. which
take up the entire third floor OF the New street
building Many or these customers came from the
lower East Side and a number OF them could hard
~ speak English They crowded into the custom
ers' room. which was soon packed with excited
men demanding to know how the firm had gone
under in the face of bull market AMI what the
chances were OF their getting their money back.
Many OF them insisted upon seeing either Mr..
Stoppani or his partner. Mr.. Ennis. but the
former was at Hot Springs. Ark and the latter did
not go TO the offices yesterday, their wish
gratihed.
The Involuntary petition fled in the United
States District Court by House. Gressman & Vor-
haus counsel for the petitioning creditors who
had been at work the papers the greater part
OF the night Their haste was due to the fact that
word had been received from Chicago on Monday
night that the firm unable TO meet It's Chicago
Board OF Trade contracts and was making prepa-
rations for assignment. The petitioning creditors
are Charles Sincere. with a claim of $500 Fred
erick J. Ringley. with claim OF 1896. and Ethel
B. Newton with a claim OF $50. The specific act
OF bankruptcy charged against the firm is that IL
made preferred payments to several Chicago Board
OF Trade houses while insolvent among these paw
ments being 800 10 Bartlett Patton & Co, on April
2 and S1.0tD 10 Logan & Bryan on March E The
petitioning creditors also asserted that property
valued at 5000 had been transferred Illegally
Judge Holt. on the petition OF Mr.. Sincere ap-
pointed Lindsay Russell, OF Mclaughlin. Russell,
Coe & Sprague, OF No. 165 Broadway, receiver for
the firm under bond of 10000. The bankr,lptcv
proceedings have preference over a voluntary as
signment which Is in itself of bankruptcy
and why the firm made a general assignment TO Mr.
Cleveland after a receiver had been already ap-
pointed by the federal court was not apparent ss
the latter would supersede him in any event AS
the assignee had been named however ha
went to the Office Of Ennis & Stoppani and took
charge. and when Mr.. Russell the receiver arrived
the former at first refused to give him possession
He finally yielded however. and late in the after
noon a representative Of the law firm OF Hsys
Hershhe2 & Wolf counsel for the receiver, was
placed in charge
Mr. Russell said that there was little in the Wav
of that he had been able 10 discover as vet
TO- which he regarded valuable although tbera
is said TO be $500 in back due the owner !
About everything of value in the main office of the
concern. he said had been put up collateral for
bank loans Mr.. Russell said also that the firm |
had two thousand accounts its books that it /
had about hundred and thirty-fve EMPLOYEES /
and that it's expenses were about $1.0p dav He /
added that he had engaged Sufrern & Son expert /
accountants, of No l65 Broadway. to examine the /
books. This is the firm that examined the books Of
A. o. Brown & co. and Otto Heinze & Co Of which |
concern. by the way Mr.. Russell is also the re-
ceiver.
The present co-partnership OF Ennis & Stoppan,
was formed May 26 1894. and was composed Of .
Charles F. Stoppant and Thomas A Ennis both
of whom members Of the Consolidated Stock
Exchange. The firm mywas also a member of the Chi /
cago Board of Trade. 1t had about twenty branch /
Offices scattered throughout this country and Can
ada including in this city one in BROOKLYN
and others in Chicago Boston, Milwaukee New
burg, MddletoWn, Hartford. Paterson Passaic
Montreal, Halifax and Toronto The Arm was not /
only the laEgest concern the Consolidated Stock
Exchange, where il employed about thirty brokers
on the floor, in addition to its MEMBERSHIPS but |
was OF the largest brokerage concerns in the |
1t catered TO the most popular kind of
margin business. In this connection IL may he re-
membered that when the firm brought suit against
the late Maurice Untermyer a few years ago over
some stock deal. Mr.. Untermyer stated in his afh-
davit that his refusal to put up more margin when
called upon to do because there had been /
no transactions by the firm in the stocks in ques- /
ton any exchange
Paterson. y. j.. April IS (SpeciaD-By the failure
of Ennis Stoppani Paterson spectators may
lose in the neghborhood of $4,000
Passaic. n J.. April Is (SpeciaD.-Manager Ben /
nett OF the Ennis & Stoppani branch here said he
had stopped taking orders temporarily Many op- |
orators in stocks in this city concerned.
Boston, April l3.-Enns &. Stoppani have main |
tanned a branch at No. 80 Congress street this |
city for nine years and also have branches in eight
or ten other New England cities including Brock
ton. The firm has membership in the Boston |
Stock Exchange The local office was well filed
with customers to-day, and they expressed con-
idsra Ia a the of fb5