, 1923-01-02

the Lewistown Refining company
gained control OF tho plant.
According 10 tho November 30 re.
port, tho meeting was informed the
assets Of tho company were $4,000
behind the liabilities, of which
amount of liabilities about $4,000
had been paid TO the Lewistown Re-
timing company for crude oil. Accord
ing TO the figures the Billings and
other small holders of preferred stock
paid in S147. 900 and nov have as.
sets amounting to only S25 900.
Another inter OF interest to the
stockholders assembled at the meet
.fng was the condition declared found
existent in the treasury when It wa
disclosed that 41,730 shares of com
mon stock had been sold or given
away and no money paid into the.
treasury to indicate any such trans.
action.
on October l, the balance sheets
showed a deficit Of SS44O4 according
10 the report OF tho accountant and
II November 80, taere was n still
larger deficit of Ss9, 900, It was also
divulged that none OF the original
promoters were preferred stock in
v~estors but owned only common
stock. After May Is the direction Of
the company was changed and a new
board OF directors was elected. This
hoard, according to all information in
the possession of the committee, It
was reported. is the controller Of the
Lewistowu Refining company as well
and by u deflation in preferred stock
with common as a premium, these In
~terests were able 10 gain control OF
the Montana Refining company with
4 comparatively small investment as
compared with hat OF the other pre-
'e--ed stockholders controlling the
minority of stock.
IT was therefore, presumed on the
part of the committee that If the
same interests controlled each rein.
cry and that tho Lcwistown refinery
was on a paying basis, the controlling
interests were causing h most OF
the business Of eastern Montana to be
thrown to the Lewistown refinery for
an unknown reason, for It was shown
n the committees report hat the
Montana company had transferred to
the Lewistown refinery some Of the
contracts which should iSave come
here and that the local refinery If
now shut down for lack Of crude oil
after having. turned over its con-
tracts for the refining of crude oil TO
the Lewistown refinery.
In the report for the month Of June
the company's assets amounted TO
about SAC, 900 and when the liabilities
were s]ubtracted for that period the
company was left SIS 900 gross re
turns. After all the small bills for
transportation and the overhead eS-
pense was taken from this, the COM
pany was left with a net profit of
about $4,000.
Then in the company's report for
August l, the company had made onlr.
s3,9S.51 thus showing that n com
pany had lost about $4,000 in the ten
weeks since the last report.
It was discovered that the Montana
refining company had contracts with
the "56" wells which would bring the
crude oil to Billings until such time
that the Miles City refinery could be
completed. However the Miles City
refinery ia now completed and It has
| been found that most OF the "56"
crude is going to Lewistown, the
committee presuming on the face of
the transaction that the Montana Re-
timing company authorities had turn
ed over their 7'561 contracts to Lewis.
town.
After It had been voted by the as
semhled holders to assess each pro
rerred stockholders SO per share for
an investigation, some Of those ut the
meeting paid in tho money there.