The Telegraph-courier. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1888-1946, 1914-12-24
John d. Rowland of Racine
Named Trustee For the
United Refrigerator Co.
WILL AUDIT BOOKS or CONCERN
Commercial Creditors Fight in Vain to
Have Three Trustees Appointed and
Racine Men Who Financed Business
Of Company Control Appointment.

r After a half a day of wrangling, late
Tuesday afternoon John d. Rowland of
Racine, who for the past two months
has acted in the capacity of receiver
for the United Refrigerator and Ice
Machine Company of this city, was
named as single trustee to take charge
of the property of the bankrupt com
pany and under the order of the United
States court the property will be sold.
The date for the sale has not been
fixed. In order to give the creditors
better chance to examine the bank
rupt an adjournment of two weeks was
ordered by Referee in Bankruptcy Mil
ton j. Knoblock before whom the hear
ing was held and in that time auditors
will be put to work on the books of the
company in order that the creditors
may learn just what was done with
vast sums of money alleged to have
been borrowed by the company.
The meeting was spirited one and
was featured on account of the strug
9e between the Carpenter crowd =
made up of the former Racine bankers
who had advanced large sums of money
to the Kenosha company, and the repre-
sentatives of the smaller commercial
creditors of the company. The victory
was all with the Racine bankers.
Many of the smaller creditors had de-
maude,I the appointment of three trus-
fees TO handle the sale of the plant in
order to insure the better protection of
their claims, but from the first the
Racine men were favorable to the APP
pointment of but one trustee. Efforts
were made to have the matter of APP
pointing the trustees laid over for an
other fortnight but the referee in
bankruptcy refused to grant such a mo-
ton and he declared that the creditors
OF the company were entitled to as
prompt action in the matter as could
be made possible under the circum-
stances. M. a. Rasmussen of the Chi
cago Credit Company, controlled the
voting strength of creditors to the
amount of $4,000 and he finally voted
with the Racine bankers to have one
trustee named.
The first vote taken showed that
majority of the creditors represented
We're favorable to the naming Of three
men to have charge Of the business of
the bankrupt, but when an examina-
tion was made it was found that the
majority of the creditors voting for the
three trustees did not represent a ma
jority of the claims against the com
pany. When it was decided to have
but one trustee Mr.. Rowland was prac-
tically the unanimous choice Of the Gre
ditors, Several Of the stockholders of
the company from the Kenosha men in
terested attended the meeting, but the
stockholders had no part in the meet
ing Of the creditors.
The chances of the stockholders to
receive anything for their stock will
wholly depend on the amount that can
be realized fro mthe sale of the assets
OF the company. Men who have closely
followed the bankruptcy proceedings
have refused to even make a guess as
to the amount of dividends to be paid
to the creditors. Some of these men
are hopeful that the creditors will re-
ceive practically all of their claims. |
but others feel just as certain that the |
ultimate payments will be far below the
amount Of the claims. No formal order
for the sale of the plant will be made
until after the creditors nave held the
second meeting for the examination of |
the bankrupt company.
Trustee Rowland took full charge of
the assets of the company this morning
and the audit of the books and the in
ventory of the assets will be made I'M |
der his direction. AS receiver he had |
been in close touch with every feature
Of the business of the company and for
this reason it is thought that he will be
able to furnish the additional ,informa- |
ton sought by the creditors within the |
two weeks named by the referee.