The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-03-16

ever,s at times they were zyery= interest
/ ing and the fair sized crowd in. the court
room paid close attention.
Attorney Rich claimed that his clients.
| the parties known as the reorganization
Committed had labored for some time to
! complete tile arrangements by which they
were able TO make the Offers which they
did make to Trustee Coffin to buy the
property and plants of the bankrupt COM
pany and assume its debts and liabilities
He stated that two banks of Baltimore
were supporting the offer to buy and that
the offer would have to be accepted by
April 10 in order to protect many women
and minor children stockholders who had
purchased stock through these banks Mr.
Rich did not-enter into any detailed argu-
ment of the case. merely making a state
ment of some of the details of the offer
and how II was made.
Attorneys "A. d. and f. G. Smith, who
were recently placed in charge of the
Hcadley interests. presented long argu-
ments in support of the formal petition
which they filed Friday asking that 90
days extension be granted before ap-
proving or rejecting the offer made by
the reorganization committees so that
they could secure better evidence to prove
their contention that the proposed sale
to the reorganization committee was not
ers and that the company was worth
something near S7,0O0.O0O. instead of the
$i,5Oo,000 valuation placed upon the prop
erty and plants of the bankrupt concern
by the three appraisers in their recent
report. to Referee in Bankruptcy Edmund
II. Dyrer. They claimed that the men
known as the reorganization committee
did not represent many of the stock
holders and that the proposed sale of
thP n fba,,o tVOtl11 pvPIiIda 10
Hoadley interests from either regaining
the money they had put into the stock
they now hold or from participating in
the affairs of the company. They asked
that the court take no action either in
rejecting or confirming the plan of sale
made by the reorganization committee and
approved by Mr. Coffin until they could
secure more evidence in support of these
claims and asked 60 days in which to
do it.
Bradley's Charges
Mr.. Bradley. attorney for Mr.. Coffin.
then began his argument in support of
the plan of sale as recommended by Trus-
tee Coffin, and made by the reorganiza
tion committee. He charged that to
large extent the company had been
thrown into bankruptcy through the mis-
management of its affairs by Mr. Hoad-
ley. That when he came to Birmingham
ne came III q private car over the flJOulS-
vile and Nashville and charged the ex-
pense of the trip up TO the expense fund
OF the company. That he made tremen-
dous hotel bills in many cities and charged
them to the company, and that one or two
Of them were stil unpaid.
He alleged, as Mr.. Coffin had stated
in his report to Referee Dryer on the
plan of sale, that many efforts had been
made by the trustee to find a buyer for
the property, and that they had been
unsuccessful, that if the property was
sold at public auction it would not bring
near what the reorganization committee
had offered for it, and that the reor-
ganzation committee had offered to as
sumo all mortgages and sinking fund to
pay every unsecured creditor in full and
to pay the cost of administration and
take over the property, and therefore the
plan of sale was the best that could be
secured and should be accepted
The reorganization committe of the
bankrupt company is composed of Joshua
lowering, r. Lancaster Williams, John
Shelton Williams, Henning Jenkins, j.
William Middendorf and w. A. Perkins
of Washington. 1t is claimed that the
committee has in it's possession 1,100, 900
shares Of the preferred stock of the bank
rupt out of 100000 shares, and also con-
trolls q very substantial majority of the
common stock. At the time of the offer
the committee gave Mr.. Coffin check for
S25,00O as a token of good faith in the
transaction.