Atlanta Georgian. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1912-1939, June 02, 1913, Image 5

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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