The Big Stone Gap post. [volume] (Big Stone Gap, Wise County, Va.) 1892-1928, 1911-12-06
Empire Case
Argued Before Judge Skcen,
All This Place, Last
Wednesday.

Trust Company, of New York.
trustees, VS.. Empire Coal Land
Corporation was heard before
Judge Skeen, of the Wise cir.
cult court, in vacation. on last
Wednesday, i'll the law library
of Irvine & Morrison, at this
place
The case is of unusual inter
est to the people Of this section
and to the state at large. by
reason of the i75O,OO0 bond is
sue of the Empire Coal Land
Corporation, which bonds are
held by the banks Of this sec
ton and by individuals. and for
the security of which mort.
gage was given to the Mercau-
tile Trust Company on Septem-
Der ., 1907, on the holdings of
the corporation.
The Empire Coal Land Cor
poration was organized and
chartered under the laws of the
state of Virginia in August.
1907, by John A. Esser and as
sociutes, with John A. Esser. of
Dorchester, presidents George
II. hsser, vice-president, and
X b. Alsoyer, Of Big Stone
Cap, secretary aud treasurer.
Tine corporation owns aboutl5.-
900 acres of land i'm Tazewell
county, near Richlands. The
coal mines and coking plants
are connected with the Norfolk
& Western Railway at Rich
lands by branch limo about
sig miles long
The corporation became #
nancially embarrassed during
the panic of 1907, and since
that time it has been unable TO
raise sufficient funds to carry
ont the development then under
way.
On the first of March, loll,
the corporation made default in
the payment of coupons on it's
first mortgage gold bonds.
On April a. 1911, suit was i'm
stituted 10y the Mercantile Trust
Company, of New York, trus.
tees, 10 foreclose the mortgage.
Tue bin prayed only for the
right to take possession OF the
mortgaged property and for the
appointment of receivers.
On April 10 Judge Skeen ap.
pointed A X Morrison, of the
firm of Irvine and Morrison,
of this place, and II Hard
away, we'll known coal
operator of St. Paul, as re-
ceivers for the corporation, and
they qualified as such and took
over tine property of the cor
poration and have administered
it's affairs since their appoint
ment.
On March 3, 1911. commit
tee, consisting of Gen. h. A
Ayers, Hon, h. Il. Irvine and
Hon. @. b. Slemp, all of this
place, was appointed by the
bond-hOlders of the corporation
for the purpose of re-organizing
and financing the property,
with the hope that all unse
cured creditors might be paid
Off and the corporation saved
from bankruptcy
On June 18th, before the ar
engagements of the committee
for the reorganization of the
corporation could be matured
the unsecured creditors filed
petition in the district court for
the western district Of Virginia,
praying that the corporation
was adJudged bankrupt, and
the first meeting OF creditors
was set for August 25th, and r..
5 Graham, of TaZewell, Va,
was appointed trustee in bank
ruptcy.
This first meeting of credit
ors, which was held at Norton,
on the 25tn of August, was at
tended by prominent attorneys
from Bluefield, TaZewell, Bris-
tol, Roanoke and Big Stone
Gap, representing the unsecur-
ed creditors, representing the
trust company, the receivers
and the bond-holders. At this
meeting an order was made by
the referee in bankruptcy, G..
IL Penn, of Roanoke, directing
the receivers of the state court
to deliver all the assets of the
corporation to the trustee in