The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1918-07-23
Fate of Baseball Will
 Be Decided Tomorrow
OUR NEWTOWN NEWS LETTER
Special to The, T. les.)


 Newt0aPn, July 23.---Walter Ruffells of Palestine district, well known farmer, was attacked by a sudden ailment in the hay field, Saturday, where he worked all day. After using some home remedies Intellectually, Dr. W. H. Kiernan of Sandy Hook was called in who found him a very sick patient. Getting no better thS next day Dr. Wight of Bethel was also called in and was present when MT. Ruffells suddenly expired. Internal hemorrhage was pronounced the cause of death. MT. RuEeEs was a resident of this section of Newtown for over 30 years, was highly respected, and raised a family of six children, five daughters and one son, all of whom have grown up. One. daughter, nurse in the Bridgeport hospital, was by the bedside of her father when death came. These together with Mrs. Ruffells survive, and mourn his loss. All the arrangements for the funeral are not completed, as daughter who is high school teacher in Central New York, was on a vaca- tion and could not be readily com municated with.
 Newtown, July 23 - At a special meeting of the executive officers and stockholders of the Farmers Dairy Company Saturday afternoon at town hall, Newtown, the object of Presi- dent J. Arthur Sherwood and the present officials in calling the meeting was achieved. This was for the 1S H,a company. About 50 per cent. of rep- resentatives of the $40,000 invested in this company were present to hear the doings and act on the approval of various acts and recommendations of the reorganized company which assumed the management after the upheaval of last spring following the expose of mismanagement of the company's affairs, by the former pres ident, H. c. Coburn of Brookfield.
 President Coburn, 1t will be re- membered, shortly after this new venture in behalf of the dairymen of western Connecticut was just getting we'll under way, organized a private milk dispensing plant known as the Bridgeport Dairy Company. This concern, it's organizer said, would conflne itself solely to the sale of the pasteurized and prepared milk pro- duct, which, he said, would be pur- chased from the Farmers Dairy Conn pany exclusively. The directors he's itatingly acceded to Coburn's plans, who as president and manager of the Farmers Dairy Company, began thus early to exercise undue control of its | affairs to build up a menacing com petitor. Many irregularities of con- | duct were passed over by the direct | ors because of threats to seek his supply of manufactured milk from other private dairies if the directors | did not agree to his obtaining better terms in the way of service and prices than other compelling milk dispens- l ing plants of Bridgeport which wero also customers of the Farmers Dairy Company. These discriminations soon | aroused ill-will; the number of milk l dispensers who stopped or reduced patronage was soon alarming to the | other officers. Coburn managed to | get line on the routes of the dis l gruntled patrons, and took them into | his rapidly growing concern. The | directorate of the Farmers Diary Company noted the falling off in their business, and the financial affairs worried them not little
 W. c. Johnson of Newtown, who ig known as the first advocate of the plan to help the Fairfield county dairymen resulting in the formation of this company wh ose success means l he f.. the Bridgeport public, was the treas urer from the start. and was alert to the side activities of the president Soon he'd iscovered that there was a bad mixup of the funds of the Farm CTS Dairy Company with those of the Coburn private affair. He called the attention of Coburn to a realization | of the fact that President Coburn of the Farmers Company in the eyes of the law, was a different individual to President Coburn of the Bridgeport milk dispensing company, and re- l quested that a financial discrepancy of about $12.ooo be at once corrected or he would inform the directors and stockholders of the diverting of the funds.
 Coburn, 1t Is said, used the threats of refusing his patronage if he was made any further trouble in the mat | ter of exposure. This bluff did not scare the treasurer as 1t had done hitherto, the directors. He pushed them after and the result was an or der of arrest from Prosecuting Attor- ney Delaney against the president and manager of both milk concerns. By J.I,
 Bridgeport and Brookfleld as in demnity. he succeeded in putting up
 the money for bail which took him
 out of Jail for the time being. Coburn
 was a prosperous farmer in Brook
 field, and a promoter of reputation
 in the county, He Is well connected
 otherwise. Ills friends rallied to his support and soon attorneys represent
 ing the depoSed president and the
 Farmers Company came to an agree ment which was noted and allowed
 by the court, Coburn returned 912,-
 900 to the eompanys assets, not all
 cash, but put in the equipment and good will of his Get-Rioh- Quick Milk Dispehsary as no ineonsiderabie part
 of the bill of settlement, Ceburn soon left Bridgeport joining the navy, go- ing out as first lieutenant, in which branch Of service he had former ex- perience, as we'll as in ssafarfng ser- vice of 16 years.
 This unsatisfactory settlement So 1t si said. has been a decided handicap to the successful work of the reer-
 sanized company officials ever since,
 often resulting in painful pressure
 of the out-ge against the inflow of funds in the treasury. The company is perfectly solvent and doing a rap idly increasing and paying business,