Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1917-10-11
PTERRES.DUPONT
WINS POWDER SUIT
Management Claims 312,o44
Votes Out of 473,132 as
Count Begins
MEANS $45,OoO,OOO PROFIT
Protests Filed by Plaintiffs, VINO
Say They Will Appeal to
Courts
Bv a star Correspondent

WIlMlNTION, Del't CNN'
The official count of the vote cast py
the stockholders Of the f. l. du Poht ue
Nemours Company at the special meeting
held yesterday to determine the disposition
of some 100000 900 in cash and powder
company securities began at $3.50 O'clock
this morning in the companys board room
before Daniel o. Hastings, appointed spe-
clal master by Federal Judge Thompson.
The defendants in the famous du Pont
securities case who comprise the present
management Of the company, contend that
of a total of 478.132 shares Of stock entitled
to be voted 3l2,S44 were voted for their
side OF this number 30O,0lS shares, the
greater part Of them being cast by proxy
were voted i'm a single block by II. NJ Barks-
dale, chairman of the voting conlhlt'ee
formed by the defendants.
The plaintiffs. through attorneys headed
by William A. Glasgow, Jr, Of philadelphia
openly dispute this claim and argue that
none of the stock held by the defendants
none held by employees. and none OF the
bonus stock should be counted in the hnal
tally. How much these three classes OF
stock total is not known.
INVOLVES S45,OOO,OOO PROFIT
If the official count sustains the defend
ants the seventeen men who organized the
securities
bought the holdings Of r. Coleman du Pont
for personal profit will be allowed to split
among themselves the dividends and earn
ings totalng about S45,0OO,0OO on an IN
Vestment of S15,OOO,OOO.
The du Pont Securities Company was
headed by Pierre S. du Pont president, who
also is president Of the f. l. du Pont de
Nemours Company John J. Raskob treas
urer, and John p. Taffey. general counsel
The plaintiffs, Alfred l. du Pont, Ernest
du Pont and Francis T. du Pont have con-
tended that these profits should be returned
to the company and distributed pro rata
among all stockholders. such action, It has
been held, would add 500 to the value OF
each outstanding share.
just why the stockholders should vote
away 500 on each share they hold, which
in some cases would be close to Sl,OOO,OOO
clear profit, was explained today by Joseph
Gilfllan, former Sheriff Of Philadelphia and
an attorney on the side of the defendants.
The present management, Mr.. Glftllan
pointed out, is composed entirely Of the de-
PENDANTS. SO successful has been their con-
troll that last year dividends totaling 100
per cent were paid and the stock has been
put on permanent.1S per cent basis.
NQUESTION OF SELF-PROTECTION
To vote against these men, he said, al.
| though it would mean a big present financial
profit to the stockholders, would also be an
expression Of lack of confidence in and dis
approval Of the present management. The
result probably would be such a decline in
powder company securities that the stock
holders would lose more than they would
gain by cutting the $4,000, 900 melon"
| The ac<)n Of the stockholders in uphold
| ing the present management and permitting
| the seventeen defendants. to split the
| melon is, therefore, a simple matter of
| dollars and cents, according to Mr. Gilflan,
and not feeling of loyalty to the defen-
dants.
The tactics adopted by the attorneys for
| the plaintiffs when the count began to-
| day made it evident that it will be more
| than n week before the count can be fin
| ished, and that even then because Of the
| numerous technical objections being filed,
! II will be weeks, if not months, more
| before the court can pass upon all of these
| and announce The returns.
Mr.. Glasgow and his associates are offer
| ing objections to the ballots cast by the
| defendants supporters upon every concelv-
able technical ground. In several instances
| he declared that the handwriting Of the
! signatures on the proxies did not correspond
| to the handwriting on the top line where
| the date was signed. He also made pro-
| tests against each block of stock voted by
| the employees Of the company.
| In several instances it developed this
morning that the same proxies were voted
on both sides. Special Master Hastings re.
| fused to make any ruling in these cases
| but had the objections written into the
| record and the decision will have to be
made by Judge Thompson.
The plaintiffs have refused to reveal the
amount of stock voted yesterday. The de-
PENDANTS, however. when the ballotinl
| closed at o'clock, issued the followinl
statement to show how large a proportion