Imperial Valley press., 1928-02-04
SEIBERLING GIVES SPLENDID
EXAMPLE OF REAL COURAGE

One of the greatest dramas in
American finance came to its close
Saturday afternoon in the chambers
of the Cleveland Trust Co. Clcve>
land, when F. A. Soldering, found
er of Goodyear, liquidated his debts
in cash.
Spread out on a table, around
which were grouped representatives
of Ohio's greatest banks, nationally
known attorneys and financial lead
crs, were piles of money which to.
tailed more than five and one-thirC
million dollars.
AS the piles dwindled, a short
square built, commanding figure in
the center of the group-Frank Sic
berling-was writing off one of the
largest debts ever assumed by =
single individual and adding anotn-
er chapter to the generation s
greatest business romance.
1t is long story.
Six years ago, when the Goodyear
Tire and Rubber Co., was about to
smash on the rocks of business de-
preston, Seiberling was caught in
the undcrtow and dragged into an
abyss of seemingly certain ruin.
Through the intervention of
friends and money powers who fore
saw in the possible bankruptcy of
Goodyear s leader situation which
ho
fortunes of thousands of others, he
was refinanced.
The refinancing, effected through
holding corporation for every dol
lar 5 worth of his real estate and
securities, gave Soldering his
chance to come back. That corpo-
ration, the Prudential Securities
Co., was wiped out of existence Sat
urday.
In its place is reared self-sus-
tanning corporation headed by Sci
berling and Edgar B. Davis, Luling,
Texas.
Watched Fortune Melt Away
Seven years ago, Seiberling,
whose fortune had been regarded as
amounting to more than $4,000
600. sat in his offices at the Goo..
year plant and watched his holdings
melt away like snow in a summe,
sun. Three months later it had
gone.
He was 81 years old-and
broke "Broke' as few men
I,1-o o,-o, Ioon e., ;oc+ooJ &c on
immense fortune he had a load OF
debts which ran halfway into the
eighth figure.
Those who erected the Pruden-
tial Company walls around him
sent him into a financial exile as
complete as any Napoleon's Elb9
But he came back-to fight the
battle over again. From the ashes
of his fortune he gathered funds
and friends with which to build the
Soldering Rubber Goa worthy
successor to the first of his grea,
industrial brain children.
A supreme gambler, he risked n
fortune on the scales of chance, ali
to rebuild the name so nearly shat
tered.
And in the meantime, the Good
year company, of which he was
principal stockholder, had passed
into the control of Dillon, Read &
Co.. New York banking house, and
under the guidance of the eastern
financiers was on its way to re-
sumption of the industry's leader
ship.
Friends who had followed Seiber-
ling rallied to his battle-standards
some Is months ago, when at 81
he was drafted as the leader or
Goodyear S common stockholders III
the fight to unseat banker contro'.
How that fight was waged and
won needs no retclling now. But
last spring the common stockhold-
ers who had waited six weary years
for dividends were back at the
helm of Goodyear.
Soldering now is in his 69th year
"A millionaire again.
The Napoleon OF rubber has come
back.
Saturday night he was youth
again-20 years younger in appear
ance than he was eight months ago
while he was leading the stoc:-
holders in their battle with Wall
Street.
"I'm facing Happy New
Year" lie said. "For the first time
in seven years I am free"
The 10000 shares of Goodyear
Tire aad Rubber Co. stock which
Seiberling held remains in ono