Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1912-08-22
RESULT OF PRIVATE PLANS
Not All of Purchase Price Paid Into
the Court.
COMMITTEE HANDLES THE DEAL
Bondholders Represented in Trans
action by Their Own Men.
BELL COMPANY PAYS TWICE
Bids Million for Plant, but Adds
100000 I'm Private Transac-
tion with Bondh holders
Committee.

Some of the bondholders of the in
are receiving in the neighborhood of 20
cents on the dollar In the winding up OF
the company's affairs and others are re-
ceiving about IS cents on the dollar Tais
| is due to tie fact that the Neb. aska Tel
ephone company paid 100000 moro for the
plant than the sum bid at the receivers
sale July !.
The extra 100000 is being distributed
pro rata amCng the group of bondhold-
ers who before the sale organized what is
! known as a bondholders' committee. To
| this committee, II is said by those who
are on the ins de, the Nebra ka Telephone
company made the promise 1t would pas
| 81, 900 for the Independent plant, but
II would buy II as cheap as 1t could be
bought at the receivers sale. The prop
erty was purchased for slOoo,0oo at the
auction. The extra 100000 went to the
bondholders' committee.
BondhOIders' Unite.
When tne Independent Telephone COM
pany was found to be financially weak
number of the bondhoders got together
TO see what could be done. Among them
were Frank Woods Of Lincoln, president
of the Independent system there; Frank
b. johnson, Iysle I. Abbott and Edison
Rich. They invited all the bondholders
| to deposit their bonds with bondhold-
ers' committee. which they proposed to
organize. Many of the bondholders did
not do this because they did not know
what the plan was. Many feared II
meant they would be asked to inve more
money to bolster up the Independent
company to continue operations. Many
deposited their bon s until the committee
had In all about sl,eOaoOO worth OF bonds.
/ When Others refused to come tie commit
| tee authorized the Title Insurance and
Trust ompany, as trustee. to institute
foreclosure proceedings, which was done
| The Independent Telephone company
made no defense. II simply confessed
tho insolvency and a decree OF foreclos'
ure was issued.
The extra 100000 which is being dis
trIbuted among the members of the
bondholders' committee, did not so
through the hands Of the court, but is
being paid to the committeeman, who
were the movers in getting the fore
closure suit started
banks I~ying the Checks.
The $l000,00e was deposited in the Ne
braska Nat ona bank In Omaha, where
II has been checked out as bonds have
been presented.
1T Is simply commercial transaction
with u.s." said H. W., Yates. jr., vice
president Of the bank. Further than
that we have nothing to do with It"
The business of distributing money to
the members OF the bondholders' COM
mlttee is done at the Merchants National
bank. Fred Hamilton. cashier OF the
bank, said yesterday that the bank has
nothing to do with It, except that money
has been deposited there and bonds are
being paid from the bank. When re-
minded that the million was supposed to
be deposited at the Nebraska Natural
bank, Mr.. Hamilton simply said rhat
funds had been deposited with the Mer-
chants bank for the payment of Inde-
pendent Telephone bonds. Asked how
much was deposited in the Me Giants, re
said:
"Oh. don't know how much. ! can't
tell that without looking 1t all up" He
said he did not know who were the bond
holders outside Of the bondholders COM
mlttee
Amount Not Named.
Luther Drake, president of the Mer-
chants National bank, when asked about
the deposit made there for bondhoiders,
said:
You know a bank hesitates to say
anything about it's deposi.ors or its de-
posits. 1t wouldn't be IN good form for
us to give out the amount"
Frank II. Woods, chairman of the bond
holders committee. lives in Lincoln.
Frank p. Johnson, another prominent
member of the committee, w1el asked
about its franchise and the purpose Of its
organization, said:
Abbott Is the only man that can talk
on that matter. / can't tel YOU"
Edison Rich. another prominent mem
Der, is out of the city. Lysle Abbott, It
Continued on Second Page.)