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THE ATLANTA GEORGIAN ANT) NEWS.
TO
Points of View
By QUILL.
Receivership Now Promises to
Bring Out Sensational
Revelations.
By B. C. FORBES.
A bitter fight in High Finance, the
worst in years, is about to be wit
nessed.
The financial maneuvers of the
St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad
and the circumstances attending the
throwing of the company into re
ceivership promise to bring piquant
revelations.
The participants will include such
international banking interests as
Kuhn, Loeb & Co., Speyer & Co.,
A W. Sel'gman, Kissel, Kinnioutt
A Co., and German and French bank
ers.
Benjamin F. Yoakum, chairman of
the board of directors, and Benjan.'n
L. Winchell. president of the com-
par.), are to be called i pon by bank
ers to explain certain matters.
Proceedings in court of a sensa
tional nature are looked for.
Two of the bankers interested said
that they had cancelled their usual
trips to Europe. “I am going to stay
right here and fight it out,” said one
of them.
Bad faith of the grossest kind is
alleged on both hides.
There are rumors, too, of a far
more serious nature.
Minute details concerning the tak
ing over of certain properties by the
St. Louis & San Francisco system
will be investigated, it is stated.
Tne decision to elect receivers was
arrived at by Chairman Yoakum,
President Winchell and associates in
St. Louis. Mr. Winchell and a friend
ly second party were named.
The following official statement
given out by Speyer & Co., is ex
tremely ominous:
Messrs. Speyer & Co. stated
that neither their firm nor the
Bankers' Trust Company, trustee
under the 5 per rent general lien
mortgage, were consulted about
"the St. Louis & San Francisco
receivership, nor about the selec-
. tipn of Messrs. Winchell and
West as receivers.
Mr. Yoakum has made this state
ment to me:
The petition for a receivership
;wjM filed at 9 o’clock in the morn-
and there was an adjourn
ment to 2 o’clock, and then to
4 o’clock, so that all parties could
be heard. The court had the
matter before It practically all
day, so there was nothing what
ever irregular in the matter. I
was present, but I understand
Speyer & Co. were represented by
their lawyers.
The incident will bring to a head
the appointment of “friendly” re
ceivers
Talking generally, to appoint as
receivers of any property, men iden
tified with its management and bank
ruptcy is no longer regarded as in
harmony with an enlightened public
opinion nor strictly ethical.
The Interstate Commerce Commis
sion should take up this very serious
and important subject, for if rail- I
roads can be run into bankruptcy by
any set of men with no other conse
quence than that these same men
are allowed, under a court order, to
treat ruined security holders as they !
see fit. surely the Federal body
changed with regulation of our rail
roads should take notice.
Some half a score of “Protective
Committees” have been formed by
as many different sets of Frisco se
curity holders. Each committee is
determined to get all it can out of
the property. It is a sort of rough-
and-tumble fight, each clique trying
to floor the others. No worse mud
dle has arisen in recent years.
The stakes are large—upwards of
$300-,00c.000.
Is there not crying need for some
properly constituted body to handle
so gigantic a problem in the inter
ests of ALL the victims?
Can the purchasers of St. Louis &
San Franoisco securities have faith,
in view pf what has happened, in
eithers Messrs. Yoakum and Winchell
or the multiplicity of bankers who
have been associated with the road?
Can those responsible for such
statements as the St. Louis & San
Francisco put out only a few weeks
ago concerning ample surplus expect
to retain the confidence of those who
were misled with such cost to their
pockets?
Can they marvel if security holders
who feel duped object to a “friendly”
receivership and are indignant with
the ,bankers as well?
Do they imagine the sufferers feel
safe in the bonds of interested par
ties?
Can’t they guess at even if they
do pot fully realize the bitterness
and distruct that have been engen
dered 7
American investors and European
holders of St. Louis & San Francis
co’s quarter of a billion of bonds and
fifty millions of stock have received
a shock that can redound only to the
discredit of American financiers as a
whole.
Europe is aghast at the scandal.
Only last month foreign holders
read an assurance, according to yes
terday's cable dispatches, by Benja
min L. Winchell that “measures had
been taken to meet the payment of
$2,500,000 due on June 1 ”
Speyer & Co. then sold in France
$3,000,000 Frisco bonds on a prospec
tus containing a statement from Vice
President Douglass, dated March 21,
that for the seven months to Febru
ary 1 there was a net surplus of $1,-
195,900.
And now “friendly” receivers are
suddenly appointed, chief of whom is
i i \a/: i ii ~
To Bombiloo the beautiful, that
fair Pacific isle,
Where, as we’ve frequently re
marked, the native garb’s a
smile,
Came a curious crowd of tourists’
who expressed themselves as
shocked
At the way the Bombilooloos gy
rated, hopped and rocked.
Thaf'evening on the steamship
the tourists gave a dance,
And every Bombilooloo paddled
out to get a glance;
The whole thing, reeks.
Reputations of mAn-heretofore oc
cupying high places are at stake.
What is to be done about it?
Every person in this country is af
fected. The light should be let in. no
matter whom it may throw into con-
fosiorr.” * ' 1
But horror struck the natives
and they hastened from the spo
The moment that those tourist;
began the turkey trot.
Xozc harken, and I’ll tell you th
tnrrrnl of this- song—
'. hatever WE may do is rig’ t-
it's the OTHER folia <>,
wrong. —.WiiX i.
LET ME GIVE YOU
$
10
.50
EVERY DAY!
r T , HAT , S what I do, when you join my Gigantic Player-Piano Club. In addition
* to saving each member $334.50 on every Player, my Club Plan allows mem
bers to exchange music. The value of the 12 rolls I give away with each Player
is $10.50. That club members may have all the free music they can play, I have
installed a library of 5,000 rolls. A member may play the first 12 rolls until
tired of that music. Then those 12 rolls may be exchanged for 12 more. Keep this
up daily if you like. Get all the music you want. There is no use having a Player-
Piano without the latest music, so I want every Club member to be happy and con
tented. It cost me a lot of money to install the free library, but I was determined
to make the Weatherholt Player-Piano Club the greatest musical offer ever made
in the South. Study the other Free Club Features and then tell me whether you do
not agree with me that this IS the greatest musical offer ever made in the South.
MY CLUB PLAN SAVES
$650.00
78.00
80.00
4.50
10.50
$823.00
488.50 CLUB PRICE
$334.50 saving
Player-
Piano
Interest
Saved
2-year Conser
vatory Course
Selected
Bench
12 Rolls of
Selected Music
T HESE Player-Pianos are just
the kind I say they are. They
are worth $660.00 each, and are us
ually sold for that price. I have
sold many of them at that figure.
But because of the large number to
be sold to club members, I am able
to offer them at $488.60, on terms
of $10.00 down, and $2.50 a week.
This is what the great purchasing
power of the 400 club members co
operating together accomplishes.
The club price is cheaper than
many dealers can buy players for.
That’s because they won’t sell in
several years what the Weather -
holt Player Piano Club will take in
a few weeks.
Notice to All Owners
of Player-Pianos
During our Player Club Mem
bership Campaign, we will ex
tend—without charge—our ex
change privilege to any one
purchasing 12 rolls of Player
Music from us. This gives the
purchaser free access to our
6,000-roll library.
I WANT every lover of music to
read the club features. Every
one of them tells a story of money
saving. Never before in the musi
cal history of the South has such
an offer been made. The offer
means that I save each club mem
ber $334.50 on every player. I
don’t unload a Player-Piano on
club members with nothing to go
with it. I want every Player-Piano
to go to members complete. You
get one into your home for $10.00,
and it is all ready to turn out music.
There are no extras to pay for.
There is no interest on deferred
payments and every player is
GUARANTEED FOR TEN
YEARS.
Our Club Piano
Regular Price . . $375.00
Club Price $267.50
Terms: $5 Cash, $1.25 Per Week
CONDITIONS: No interest, one year’B
trial and exchange privilege, 15c rebate
on payments made before due, free life
insurance feature, ten-year guarantee.
All of which accompany in writing
the sale of every Club Piano.
Here Are My Club Features
1
2
3
4
Saving of
$161.50
One year’s trial
(exchange privilege)
A ten-year guarantee
with each piano
A Free Life
Insurance Feature
Terms of payment $2.50 per week
(monthly payments may be ar
ranged)
8
9
10
11
A 25c rebate on all weekly pay
ments made before due.
No
Interest
A two-year conservatory course
(regular price $80)
A free music
exchange library
A selected bench to match player
and 12 rolls of music
All accompany in writing the sale
of every Club Player-Piano.
For Out-of-Towo Custornsrs
Fill Out Coupon and Mail
WEATHERHOLT PIANO CO.,
Atlanta, Ga.
Gentlemen: Inclosed please find
$10.00 membership fee (first cash pay
ment), for which ship to my address
your Club Player-Piano at once, includ
ing bench, scarf, 12 rolls of music and
free delivery, with the understanding I
can pay balanoe in $10.00 monthly pay
ments.
Name
Address ..
WEATHERHOLT PIANO CO.
“THE SOUTH’S FOREMOST PIANO HOUSE
ff
72 North Broad Street
m
Weatherholt Building
Atlanta, Georgia