The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1910-05-29
TELEPHONE TRUST
FACING TROUBLE
John Howard's Gigantic Corpora
ton Dragged Into the
Courts.
RECEIVER is ASKED
Blow Threatened for Famous
Glassworker Who Became
Millionaire.
RECEIVER is AskED D
Blow Threatened for Famous
Special to The Tlmes-pispateh

Especial to The Tlmes-Dispatchl
New York, May 2s.-John Howard'a
telephone trust" is in peril. In obe-
dicnce to an order by Judge Rellstab
in the United States Circuit Court, his
S50,00O.00O Continental Telephone an.
Telegraph Company must snow cause
at Trenton on Tuesday why an injunc-
tion should not Issue against 1t and q
receiver be appointed.
Howard Is president of the Cont.
mental Company, and apparently is IL.
sole officer, since Poor's Manual OF In
dustrials, just published. states that
no directors have been appointed, ana
that he is the only official whose name
has been submitted. Ho has had a
meteoric rise in the field OF finance.
Until a few years ago Howard was a
laborer in a glass factory Then he
became successiHely a politician, u
lawyer. u prosecuting attorney. and
later telephone and street railway
magnate. Beginning his business ca
rcer without a dollar of capital. he was
recently rated as being worth more
than $l,0oo.000, and few months ago
began the construction of a 100000
residence in Wheeling, W. Va.
Brewer Aids Him.
Howard's successful career as fl
nancier is said to date from the time
when a wealthy brewer OF that city
retained him as his attorney. The
brewer had largo interest In a street
railway and purchased another for
sl,25o.0O0.
That the purchase was an advan-
a
by the issue Of S2,5OO,O0O of bonds on
the property. Eioward subsequently
became president of the road, and
thereafter became dominant factor
in the real mof finance as seen in
Wheeling, W. Va.
The brewer, moreover, advanced the
original $50. 900 which started the first
| independent telephone company In
| West Virginia, now known as the Ma
tional Telephone Company OF West
Virginia. with a capital of 100000.
Mr.. Howard is president, and Is be-
lieved to be the controlling owner.
The Bell people admit that Howard's s
operations caused them cold shivers,
for Howard had the happy knack of
getting millionaires and men with
capital to become interested In his
colossal plan of establishing a great
transcontinental telephone corporation.
Frank Gould, among other rich men.
Is said to have been greatly impressed
with Howard's plan and. while In no
sense antagonistic to the Bell system.
/ to have promised financial aid to the
extent OF some hundreds of thousands.
IL not a million dollars
Through the medium OF tho Conti-
mental Telephone and Telegraph Com
pany Howard absorbed the American
Union Telephone Company. which Is
capitalized at 25,0o0.OOo. and the Con-
solidated Telegraph Company, OF Penn
sylvania, which has a monopoly of the
telephone business through the anthra.
cite belt, and is capitalized at $4,000
900. These three corporations, of two
| Of which Howard is president, have
$7e.ooo,ooO capital
"Tclcphone King"
Howard soon gained the title OF
"the new telephone king" In October.
1909, he had the Continental Telephone
and Telegraph Company incorporated
In New Jersey. This company. It was
Union Telephone Company, OF Harris
burg, Pa; the Independent Telephone
| Company, of Albany. N. Y; the Inter-
state Telephone and Telegraph Conn
pany, of New Jersey. and the Roches-
| ter Telephone Company.
| The company planned an independ,
! ent line from Buffalo to Poughkeepsie
and lines traversing New Jersey and
| Pennsylvanta and reaching to Wash
ington, &
A national long distance company
was to be formed. which would be IN
close atnllation with Independent COM
panies. enabling them to reach all the
large cities between the Atlantic coast
and the Rocky Mountains, The capital
Continued on Ehird PaKel -