The New York herald., 1921-03-26
GUGGENHEIMS ASK
SHELTERS PROBE
Hit Back at Those Seeking
Control by Inviting w. Ill.
Taft to Examine Company.
MISMANAGEMENT DENIED
Policy of Present Administra-
tion Outlined in Statement
to Holders.
MISMANAGEMENT DENIED

Inc NVc 6ugSennelTn DrOtnefS, VINO
have been charged by certain stock
holders of the American Smelling and
Refining Company with operating that
corporation for their own rather than
the stockholders interests. hit back yes
\ terday at the men who are attempting
to wrest control of the corporation from
them by inviting William Howard Taft
to conduct an investigation Of the cor
poration's affairs. past and present.
They offer to defray the expenses OF
the investigation.
| At the same time. in a letter to the
company's stockholders, issued follow
ing a meeting OF Its directors yester-
| day. a general denial is entered by
Isaac, Daniel Murry, S. r. and Simon
Guggenheim that, in their connections
with the corporation, they were over
! paid for their services: that they dis
regarded the rights Of stockholders in
order to serve their own interests or
| that they have sought to perpetuate
their hold on the management Of the
corporation to it's detriment. That de-
nial, into which the Guggenheims go
in minute detail in answer to every
charge made against them, was mailed
yesterday afternoon TO the company's
stockholders.
In addition. a statement signed by Si-
mon Guggenheim president OF the corr
poration E. l.. Newhouse +. II. Brown
ell and William Loeb, Jr., holders Of
the proxies requested by the present
management was sent to the stock
holders. In it the policy of the pres
ent management, should 1t be returned
to office by virtue of election through
c,,ff1 nP Sc
pletely outlined.
That statement, after outlining the man
ner in which members of the board have
been chosen, says I'VE expect, however.
to nominate and place upon the board a
substantial number of new directors.
representatives of important financial
institutions which are large stoclxhold-
erS. including trust companies. bankers
and insurance companies. There will
thus be q representation of the largest
stockholders and some of the most i'm
portant financial institutions of New
York city,
First indications of internal strife in
the affairs of the American Smelling
and Refining Company, probably the
largest producer and handler of copper
metal in the United States. occurred
more than a month ago, when Karl
Eilers, formerly a vice-president of the
company, made formal charges of mis-
management of the corporations affairs
by the Guggenheims and called on its
stockholders to send him their proxies
with the object Of unseating them from
control At the same time the Guggen-
helm interests called on stockholders for
proxies and merry battle has followed
Second Committee Forms.
To add another dash of spice to the
battle a second committee of stockhold-
ers was formed on Thursday. 1t was
composed of Henry Evans, chairman
Clarence Fl. Kelsey. Henry X. Pomroy,
Willis d. Wood and Henry Wilton and
| announced that IL intended to ask the
| corporations present management perth
nent questions about how its dividends
had been paid and how its inventories
had been valued.
Because of the Importance Of the
American Smelling and Refining Com
pany In the copper world and the promi-
nence Of the Guggenheims and their CO.
horts and the men ranged on the other
side the struggle for control of the big
corporation, the net current assets of
which are approximately S55, 900, 900, Is
being watched in the financial district
with a great deal of interest. The COM
pany has borne the Guggenheim stamp
ties. II was its plan and its money
which gathered up several small pro-
ducing and refining companies and
welded them into a gigantic corporation
which soon made a name for itself ir
the copper and financial world and now
stands in the forefront OF that industry.
Going into the details of the charges
which have been made against them the
Ave Guggenheim brothers answer every
one of them in detail. The first charge
answered is that the Guggenheim bro
theirs have received excessive salaries
from the corporation. Their answer Is
that outside, Of Simon Guggenheim. the
corporations president. who receives
$4,000 per year. no member of the Gug-
genheim family now receives any salary
from the corporation or has received one
since January, 1919. The second charge
made by certain stockholders Is that the
Guggenheims have managed the corpor-
alton in disregard of the interests of its
| stockholders. They answer this. first, by
saying that they own no tin properties
which the corporation had examined
with the view OF purchasing them and
which. il was charged. they wanted for
themselves second. that the corpora
tion was not forced by the Guggen-
helms to acquire a half interest of the
option on a one-uuaTter interest i'm the
Premier Gold Mining Company; third,
that the promotions OF mining companies
by the Guggenheims were problematical
enterprises requiring a large capital,
with heavy risks Of loss. in which dis
tinctly speculative ventures IL would not
have been wise to risk the corporations
capital.