Daily Kennebec journal. [microfilm reel] (Augusta, Me.) 1870-1975, 1926-04-22
Will Cease Business
Continued from Page One)

OF the shareholders would be more
fully protected.
Bank Commissioner Smith and
Walter. S. Glidden, the Attorney for
the Association went before Chief
Justice Scott Wilson, in Portland,
and presented the application for Ii
quotation upon which Judge Wilson
made an order of notice returnable
May 10, at $50 p. IN. at Portland,
and issued an order restraining the
Association from transacting any
business until further order of court.
The law authorizes the court to order
the Directors to liquidate the affairs
of the Association and it in antici-
pated that the Board, or some OF
its members. will be appointed to
perform this duty. the object being
to keep the expenses of liquidation
as low as possible.
1t will be recalled that some two
years ago the Bath Loan & Building
Association lost heavily through the
defalcalion of Peter A. Olinto. It's
Treasurer. Indirectly this is one
cause OF the present situation, not
because it seriously affected the fl
nances Of the Association, but be-
cause it unsettled the confidence of
oiin' AC'oCio cIRA ICSultCu Uct<Ny
Withdrawals. The real reason for
the failure Of the Association is TO
be found in the general decline Of
the city in business prosperity dur
Ing the last two years. There have
been steady Withdrawals by share
holders who were leaving town, or
whose loss of work required them to
draw out their funds. Practically no
new stock has been sold for the last
two years. and the condition of the
Association was such that il was un-
able to make new loans The gen.
eral business depression has render
ed ii impossible for many borrowers
to keep up their payments. So that
the Association has been obliged to
fcreclose upon a considerable number
OF mortgages, and with the present
market for real estate is unable to
q considerable loss.
The directors have struggled
against these serious conditions. hop
ing to carry the Association through
to better times, because they realized
how important it was to the COM
munity, and that its failure would
only increase the general depression
and result in a hardship to its stock
holders, both borrowers and in
vestors. On April 1st it was found
that for the first time since its or
ganiZat ton the Association had not
earned it's regular semi-annual diyi-
dend, and this fact added to the
closing of the Bath Iron Works and
the absence of any prospects of any
new business or industries in the
city, satisfied the Directors that it
was their duty to liquidate the AS
ISOLATION. They feel that an attempt
to carry it along might only result
in further loss and would be most
unfair to its shareholders.
The Association is by no means
badly insolvent, and in spite of the
depreciation in real estate values 1t
is confidently hoped that 1t will pay
at least 900 to the shareholders, and
possibly one hundred cents on dol
lar. This would certainly be true
if there was any improvement in
local conditions. 1t should be under
stood that the real estate will not
be dumped onto the market in Il
lump. and tina: the court will allow
the lquidating agents to take rea-
sonable time to dispose of all assets
at fair prices.
1t should be understood that in
liquidating all loan and business as
sociations. outstanding mortgages
become immediately due. but every
effort will be made to give borrow
ers reasonable time to take care OF
their mortgages. and all mortgage
loans will be reduced as liquidating
dividends are declared from time to
time