Evening star., 1947-03-18


down payment of $4,000, 900, for
its business. Mr.. Durant was unable
to swing this and let the merger
scheme lapse.
But that same year, out of Buick
profits, he bought the Oldsmobile,
Cadillac and Nothway, consolidated
them with Buick and launched the
General Motors Corp. with capital
of $12,50o. 900.
Branded "Durant's folly" the
company two years later had sales
of more than $34, 4,000, 900 and a net
profit of $1,000, ,763. 1t then was
manufacturing Buick, Cadillac, FL
more. Oakland, Cartercar, Rainier,
Welch, Welch-Detroit, Rapid, Re-
lance and Randolph cars and &C
cessories.
But that same year, 1910. Mr..
Durant sank $1,000, ,000 in the Heany
Lamp Co.'S, hoping to control the
incandescent bulb trade. Court de-
cisions nullifed some of the con-
Germs patents and the whole. thing
collapsed. This failure. plus the
sharp recession" of that year.
alarmed bankers who had advanced
huge sums to General Motors. They
refused further credits. General
Motors shares slumped from 500
to $24 and the only way Mr.. Durant
could obtain working capital was
by turning his interests over to a
voting trust of bankers,
Forty Per Cent Control"
He went on a vacation" formed
the Chevrolet Motor Co. and In Is
months its balance sheets showed
assets OF SOC, 100000. In 1915, backed
by John ]. Raskoh and the Du Points,
he bought General Motors stock at
a range of from $24 to 1854 share,
walked in on meeting of the bank
ers, laid a sheaf Of proxies on the
table and announced:
Gentlemen. control this COM
pany."
It was afterward said he did not
have actual control, but only 40
per cent Of the stock, but the bluff
worked and Durant held the nine
points of possession until the post
war panic of 1920 sent the stock
tumbling from $400 to $12 d share.
The process was resisted by Durant
and he threw 100000 into the
falling market. Then bankers
voting trust again took control and
forced his resignation.
Four months later he startled
Wall Street with Durant Motors,
Inc, capitalized at $5,000,000. The
company got orders for $31 100000
worth of cars in less than year.
The next nine years saw the
steady rise of the countrys greatest
tide of prosperity. Mr.. Durant rode
the crest of that wave. In one
six-month period he was reported
to have profited by $20,000,000
through dealings which sent Cen
eral Motors stock to $191 share.
On April 6, 1927, he announced
formation of Consolidated Motors
to produce Durant and Star cars
and backed by pledge of his en-
tire personal fortune. Reports then
current placed that fortune at $780,
100000.
On January 10, 1929, still on the
crest, he announced his withdrawal
from active direction of Durant
Motors, Inc, and said he intended
to reimburse "every single original
stockholder" of it and of every
other company with which his name
was connected, for any losses they
might have suffered.
Last Grand Gesture.
That was his last grand gesture.
In October the stock market bubble
exploded. In the following years
suits piled UP against him, chiefly by
brokers who claimed unpaid COM
missions. His bankruptcy petition
in 1896 was filed, he explained, to
balk the efforts of certain creditors
to gain preferential positions.
When he announced his retire.
ment from Durant Motors, he ex-
planned that new interests demand
ed all his energy. He said that in II
months of 1928 he had invested Tor
banks, trust companies and indivi-
duals total of 81 ,015, ,000, 900 in en-
terprises which were "35 times
larger in the aggregate than Durant
Motors"
Mr.. Durant at this time was en-
gagged in a battle against restric-
tions on security credits imposed by
the Federal Reserve Board late in
1928. He maintained that this ac-
ton was outside the legal powers Of
the board, that 1t was hampering
the continuation of prosperity and
opening the door to disaster. For
this he was denounced on the floor
of the Senate by several Senators,
including Senator Couzens of Michi-
gan who 81 years before had asked
5000, 900 as the price for turning
the Ford car over to Durant's
projected General Motors. Mr.. Du-
rant replied, from Paris, that "sar-
castle and inaccurate statements"
in the Senate would not halt the
fight against the credit restrictions.
In April, 1929, he journeyed, un-
announced and unlimited, to the
White House. He managed $3.50
pm. talk with President Hoover and
warned him that unless the Reserve
Board quit trying to limit brokers
loans, a crash would eventuate.
The board, however, went on its
way. Mr.. Durant and his associates
began to nquidate. Their detection
left the market without strong sup
port. The structure sagged and,
late in October. crashed. One of