Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1911-11-10

recent conferences the de.ei.u-nts
have met the criticism by proposal tc
buy up half of the outstanding bonds,
and cancel them, at price in excess
of their present value, thus insuring
willing surrender of them by pres
emit holders and for the other half, Sc
curities of the new companies would
be offered on a basis of exchange
which would insure acceptance of the
offer.
.Since the plan was fled" says
Judge Lacombe, 1.-The market reports
have given quotations of such bonds
of the new company if and when
While such reports are possibly not
competent evidence in the trial of
cause, they seem to indicate that if
the present plan be approved, a very
brief period will suffice for the dis
appearance of substantially all the old
bonds and the elimination from the
company of the money or the securi
ties required to make them good
at maturity. Thus the menace OF
holding an enormous amount OF mon
ey additional to what is legitimately
used in the business of the American
Tobacco company will disappear
Owners Must Cooperate.
Regarding other plans of dissolution
Judge Lacombe points out that since
the circuit court has no authority to
enforce any plan for reimbursement
without the cooperation of the own
ers of the property it would be a
sheer waste of time therefore to re-
consider any plan radically different
from the one now before us; if We
find this plan would not create the
condition defined in the opinion of the
supreme court, or II such modifica-
tons as we may require as condi-
ton to giving our approval are not
accepted by the defendants, we must
obey the mandate of the court, or seize
the property and sell it at public auc-
ton"
Regarding the restriction suggested
by Attorney General Wickersham,
that no corporation in the combination
shall during a period Of five years &C
quire any stock in any of the other
corporations, Judge Lacombe says:
with change Of phraseology which
will make this applicable to all of
the fourteen companies this request is
approved. A similar request is found
among those submitted by other OBJ
jectors with an additional clause, for
bidding anyone of these fourteen COM
panies from making loans or other
wise extending credit to any of the
others. This suggestion is a proper
one and may be embodied in the at
torney generals request
Referring to the proposed restric-
ton, enjoining the 20 individual de-
PENDANTS from increasing their stock
| holdings in the re-created corporations
within five years, which the attorney
general said during the argument he
| would be willing to reduce to three
| years, Judge Lacombe says this
change seems desirable. because it
would result in more rapid distribution
of present holdings
| judge Lacombe says that the court
| has no power to direct that the stock
| of the United Cigar Stores company
be sold and distributed to parties otn-
err than the 20 individual defendants
er others of the common stockholders
adding that nowhere is there author
ity for the proposition that the court
may seize property of private persons,
who may have offended against the
statute and sell it under conditions
which would preclude the owner from
| bidding at the sale.