Los Angeles herald., 1909-12-22
PALMER SUFFERS
BY MANIPULATION
HENSHAW FACTION BEARS
MARKET
PROPERTIES REMAIN IN PRIME
CONDITION
Cause of Drop of Fifty Points Lies in
Effort to Frighten Timid Hold
ers in Disposing of Stock
at Loss

The action of the stock of the Palmer
Oil company on the san Francisco and
Los Angeles stock exchanges during
the last few weeks has been puzzling
to those not acquainted with the cause
of movement involving the apparent
sale of a great many thousand shares
of stock, says the Oil Industry. Ac-
cording to statements made by the Of
ficials of the company and by the
Brown Walzer-Simmon company, the
fiscal agents who originally financed
the Palmer OIL company, there has
been no unfavorable developments re-
Gently on the property but on the con-
trary, under the management of Super
intendent Fether the conditions on the
property have very much improved, and
It is expected that the company's Stem
del we'll No. / will shortly be produc-
ing, it being pointed out that the pros
perity of the company up TO the present
time has been due to the tremendous
flow of oil from one well only. While
the flow from this phenomenal well has
naturally declined after many months
of activity, the production has steadied
down to about 1400 barrels day, which,
at present contract price, provides suf-
ficient income to pay the regular
monthly dividend of l cent share.
The principal cause of the decline IN
price from $1.25 to rs cents a share In
the last month seems to be due to
manipulation on the part We are IN
formed, of the so-called Henshaw fac
tion, which failed to gain control Nof the
company at the annual election held
about two months ago. This faction
after losing in the count of proxies,
tried to gain control through legal pro-
ceedings, but failed in this also.
Later Mr. Henshaw is said to have
sold his personal holdings consisting
of 275000 shares, to the controlling in
terests in the company at about $l.l21s
a share, and this stock was turned over
to the Brown Walker Simmons COM
pany to be sold at SIPS, which advance
provided for a reasonable commission
and expenses. AS soon as the attempt
was made to market this stock the
Henshaw interests are said to have In
stituted a manipulative move on the
California Stock and Oil exchange and
by means of the sale of only few
thousand shares in 100-share lots, de-
pressed the price to below par and
finally to the low point of 70 cents, at
which point determined support APP
peared, the controlling interest taking
all Offering, which mounted into many
thousands of shares at this stage. AT
the time of writing the market price
has reacted to about par, and the raid
seems to be checked.
The motive actuating the supposed
action of the Henshaw interests in
bearing the market is thought to be 10
frighten the timid holders of the stock
into disposing of their holdings at
prices far below their actual worth,
which stock would be picked up by
Henshaw and his associates at prices
below the figure at which he sold his
own stock, thereby not only making a
profit on the transaction but gaining
stock control of the company In such
stock as was thrown over. Thus far
this object, If it is the real one, has
failed because it is believed that most
of the stock that has been sold to this
date is that thrown on the market with
the design of breaking the price.