Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1909-01-06
THE "sEAHSoLE's" HISTORY.
A Little Inside Information about
Some High Financing.
(James A. Hoyt, in the Greenville
Daily NeMsl


Daily News.)
When this correspondent discov-
cred and published that there had
been a rake-off of SIC per share, par
value 500, in the transaction in
which the Seminole Securities Com
pany purchased 1900 shares Of the
Southern Life Insurance Company
stock, it was thought that big
graft had been uncovered. But 1t
now turns out that while this story
is true, it was only small piece OF
high financing compared to what had
been accomplished previously inside
the Seminole Secureties Company.
To summarize the developments
at yesterdays meeting of the stock
holders, and 10 state the muddled
matter as clearly as possible, the fol.
lowing was brought out:
John Young Darlington, a native
Of Laurens, who has lived in Colum-
bia and Atlanta, and is now in Chat
tanooga, was the genius behind the
Seminole Secureties Company. He
was it's originator and its guiding
star, and he secured the consent of
three prominent citizens of Columbia
to lend the use of their names as
trustees, nominally, but under the
agreement they were trustees, not
of the stockholders, but of the COM
pany, and merely did what the board
Of directors instructed them to do.
This board of directors, was COM
posed originally Of Laurens men.-
friends and some Of them relatives
OF Darlington ya1T N1k2}W
Darlington had been State agent
for the State Mutual Life Insurance
Company Of Rome, Ga, and he form
ed a company called the Carolina
Agency Company, Of which he was
first president and then w. A. Clark.
to take over this State agency to the
Rome company. A number of promi-
nent citizens were put on the board
of directors, and other prominent
citizens were induced to take stock.
1t was good proposition-all of
Garlington's propositions are good
the company getting the renewals on
all policies in the Rome company
written in this State. Just like sit
ting down and having candy handed
to you, it appeared. For this agency
Darlington was paid $4,000 of
stock in the agency company, the
same to be issued to him when the
company should pay twenty per cent
annual dividend. 1t has paid one an
nual dividend of ten per cent, and
the stock has Of course never been
issued to Darlington. But Garling-
ton retired from the agency COM
pany actively, and Mr.. Clark was
elected president.
Darlington then proceeded to Or
ganize in Laurens-not in Columbia
the Seminole Secureties Company,
with a capital stock Of 100000, the
purpose of the company as set forth
being to organize and hold the stock
of casualty company, the like of
"hiSi ehSie "uo hohc III tlio PulI vi
the country-a Southern accident
company which should keep the Sou
thern peoples money at home. When
the company was organized it was
moved to Columbia, and the three
aforesaid prominent citizens were
selected as trustees.
Darlington took 900 in stock
in the secureties company, for which
he paid the $4,000 stock in his
name in the Carolina Agency Com
pany. The small detail that the
stock was not yet issued to him, and
was not in reality his, seems to have
been overlooked in certifying to the
Secretary of State that the necessary
proportion of stock had been sub
scribed and paid for. All of which
oversight may yet resuic in crimi-
nal action If the stockholders de-
mand Is fulfilled.
Then to dispose of the stock, Gar
lington employed expert" sales