Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-08-27
NoIfson Noos
Stockholders
IN ard FIGHT
Would Gust Avery
From Control Of
Moii Order Firm
By Donald B. HodIey
Finoneial Edito, ef The ssar

The prize will be around $500
million in cash and Government
securities, which Mr.. Wolfson
charges Mr.. Avery has "hoarded'
in the company treasury to the
detriment of the stockholders.
The heavy emphasis at yester-
days deliberately staged press
conference in the Biltmore Hotel
was directed at the small stock
holders, who will be wooed by
Mr.. Wolfson on a Nation wide
tour. There will be strong hints
Of big dividends to come.
Mr.. Wolfson announced that
a Wolfson Montgomery Ward
Stockholders Committee has es-
tablished permanent headquar-
tiers in the Biltmore, and he urged
all Montgomery Ward stockhold-
ers to study the Wolfson program
for rehabilitation of the company
and get in touch with him there.
The Wolfson Avery battle,
which probably will become one
of the classics of financial his
tory. will create quite a stir IN
Washington and other cities,
where small investors acquainted
with Wolfson methods have gone
into Montgomery Ward recently
The Washington following
started with Capital Transit and
it's liberal dividends. It trailed
Mr.. Wolfson's footsteps on into
Merritt Chapman & Scott Corp,
New York Shipbuilding, Nesco
Corp. Devoe & Reynolds and now
Montgomery Ward. The great
bulk Of this type of buying has
been in odd lots, less than 100
shares, q class of holdings Mr..
Wolfson intends to court.
With all facilities for publicity
at his fingertips, Mr.. Wolfson
yesterday charged that Mont
gomery Ward had suffered both
in sales and earnings as a result
OF SOPHISTICATED policies or the
company under MI. Avery,s
leadership.
Girds for Proxy Fight.
He declined to discuss Mr..
livery personally or his long his
tory of battles to keep the upper
hand at Montgomery Ward. but
he left no doubt that he re-
garded Mr.. Avery as the. chief
opponent of his groups plans
and that a long and bitter fight
for proxies was in prospect.
He charged that, under the
Avery management, the company
has lost sales steadily until they
now are below 5000 million a
year, while those of its chief
competitor have gained steadily
and now exceed So billion an
nually. "
He charged that the Avery
management has boarded around
$500 million in idle capital, pros
ducing little return for the hene-
fit Of stockholders in q period
of the country's greatest growth
and expansion and of the great
est boom in mercantile, sales in
history.
Keeps Shares Secret.
MIR. Wolfson declined TO say
how many of the company's 6.7
million shares his group now
owns, because he said this might
indicate some of the strategy
that must be used to gain
control.
The company's annual meeting
will not come until next April,
but Mr.. WolfSon said that if any
legal means can be found to
force a special meeting and an
earlier showdown, it will be used
He said his group now has
the largest holdings in the COM
pany and that two investment
funds administered by Lord, ABB
bott & Co. own 10000 shares,
the second largest block. The
third largest block Of 25,00O
shares, he said, Is held by Massa-
chusetts Investment Trust.
Representatives of these two
other blocks have been conferred
with in VERY satisfactory" meet
ings, he said. Any announce
ment Of their positions In the
coming contest win have to come
from them, he added.
Guesses as to the holdings OF
Mr.. Wolfson and his associates
start at 100000 and range as
high as Is million shares, but
even the latter high figure is q
long way from the 3.4 million
shares the Wolfson group viii
have to command to win control
Program Outlined.
The Wolfson program fol
Montgomery Ward was outlined
as follows:
!. Put idle capital to work Il
develop and improve the busi.
ness for the stockholders.
2. Give Montgomery Ward thu
caliber and number Of compe.
tent executives it needs.
5. Insist that Montgomery
Ward management execute ar
about face, recapture its losl
trade and get back into step witt
the march toward greater pros
perity.
4. Restore Montgomery Ware
to its rightful competitive pc.
sition and increase its earning,
by rejuvenated merchandising
and promotion programs.
S. Eliminate the self serving
interests Of stock option PLAN
promulgated BY executives ane
which give them an advantag,
over stockholders.