The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

MARCH 14 f claimed Colonel. Drew |took the Suggests Editors Decide. § that the Government should Mr. Macaulay challenged the s impose conditions upon the stock-- Aitorney--General to rest the case holders. s wdilh lhel financial editors of Can-- ada--to leave it to them to pro-- f No Action for Long Time. nounce on the wisdom or unsound-- "I said no condition should be ness of the government's course of imposed at all," said the Conserva-- action. _ "By and large," said he, tive Leader. "these gentlemen are unbiased and * "In other words," retorted Mr. non--political in their views and Conant, "do nothing at all." writings. Put it up to them, and He pointed out there had been no| | you'll find there won't be 10 per action toward reorganization for a cent of them will back up and en-- long time and made a scathing dorse the action of the government reference to the failure to reach a in this connection." settlement in the courts while a Some one, said Mr. Macaulay, had corps of lawyers collected fees. to speak up "for the little fellow" Mr. Conant declared it was un-- in a time like this. The issuing desirable to leave the situation un-- houses as usual, he said, had all settled any longer, and that Col. | scuttled away from them and were Drew would be the first to criti-- not standing by their guns. Mr. cize if further delay were permit-- Symington of Royal Securities, who ted. The assets represented con-- was "cheek by jowl" with Mr siderable wealth to the province, Heenan these days, was not saying and "we are determined that the |anything for the little fellow, he company be placed in a position to said. Nor were Wood, Gundy & operate in a proper way." Company, who a couple of months "The junior security holders are ago were connected with a bond-- deprived of no rights by the Or-- holders' defense company. He der--in--Council that has been pass-- wouldn't apologize to any one, he ed," he continued. "But they have said, for airing his opinions in the a very distinct privilege extended House on behalf of the junior se-- to them, the right to place them-- curity holder. Fair play had to ob-- selves in the position of debeature tain somehow, somewhere. holders if they so desire." | _ Mr. Roebuck charged that Mr. The people who placed the $'%»,-- |Conant, in his reference to lawyers 000,000 in capital stock had put las "crows gathered around the car-- their money into an investment, | Cass,." in the attempt to reach a set-- while the junior security holders Itlnmrn!. had voiced an '"insult to| mudt "bhought & speculation," he ~--------«------ claimed. the profession to which we both| profit of nearly $13,000,000 since the "The Government has taken belong." company went into liquidation in nothing but a fair and open stand "I was only quoting one of your | 1934, and one calculated to take the: legal brothers," retorted the Attor-- "And another important thing," company out of receivership, for if ney--General. said Mr. Roebuck, "is the preserva-- it were allowed to go on it would The Toronto member declared not|tion of this province's good name as go on for 100 years to the utter dis-- one lawyer's bill had been paid for | a» investing centre. . grace and detriment of this prov--| services on that occasion until after "Before the statement was made, ince." it had been passed by the taxing why did not the Minister of Land§ Mr. Macaulay charged that the. Officer. He revealed to the House|and Forests call in the representa-- government was "loading the dice" _ that in the action he represented & |tives of the various committees--he in favor of the bondholders. In _ &roup of common shareholders. knows their names--and see if 1937, said he, the government had He expressed hope, too, that the|some solution could not be reached? provided through legislation that solution of the prohl.eyn would no'f. Why should the department place any _ reorganization _ settlement _ b¢ "reduced to a political football."|jtself at the disposal of any one of through the courts should be sub> . The Attorney--General, he continued,|the conflicting interests involved ?" Ject afterward to the government's |"{Clls us that the province appre--| He claimed if the property was endorsation. 'That attitude was ac--| | Clates the sanctity of contracts," But| put up for sale, that the bondhold-- _cepted by "the street," he said, as: | ho believed that the equity held by|ers would put up a reserve bid of ample assurance of fair play for the |the junior stockholders could not|about $70,000,000, knowing that it + , preferred and common sharehold-- | be ignored any more than that rep--|could not be met, and would then \ ers, It was all right for the gov.| |resented in the block of $50,000,000| sell the properties piece--meal. ernment, he said, to claim in its pre--: | bonds. Mr. Hepburn declared there was _ pared statement of last Friday that "Did that apply to your Hydro|nothing to prevent the interected the assets of the company today |legislation?" asked Mr. Hepburn. |parties reachir . an agreement weren't worth anything, but two "Not after you got through with |under the Government's action. | years ago--he wanted to point out |it." snapped back the member, add--| "What chance have the junior | to the House--the stock sold to the |ing that while there were severa) | security holders with this club held public at $80 a share. judgments brought down following |over their heads?" replied Mr. Roe-- "The Attorney--General talks glib-- the contracts' repudnat.lon bil_l. the | buck. ly," he said, "about watered stock. |issues never went to final trial. Mr. Hepburn declared the speaker Why, six months ago that stock He declared it was absolutely im-- | was putting a wrong interpretation sold for $30." possible for the common sharehqld- on it. There was not, he said, any Why, he asked, had the govern-- |ers to "dig up sixty or sixty--nine|attempt to "put anything over any ment picked this year to "squeeze |millions" to purchase the interests|one." It was planned simply to out" the junior shareholders when |of the bondholders, as was suggest«|give the company one and one--half the company assets were of the |ed. years to reorganize. least value? In 1937 the government | Be Careful, He Warns. "And if it is not effected by April had held out hope to them. They "I understand Symington (H. J.|1, 1940, the axe will fall," Mr. Roe-- had figured that under the sweep-- |Symington, K.C.) and other gentle--| buck insisted. ing powers given to "The Czar of |men of high pressure salesmanship| "The government," said Mr. Hep-- the North" (Mr. Heenan) and the |were in your office. I suggest that| burn, "is not taking any sides what» . |required endorsation of Queen's |you be a little careful in this mat--|soever. We are turning the matter Park any reorganization plan com-- _ tey and not leave a lot of sore people|over to the courts." pleted would work fairly all around, in this country and in the United _ "You are going to alienate the and their position would not be States and Britain." investing public in England," charg-- overlooked. Now, without any warn-- Mr. Roebuck lauded the operation|ed Mr. Roebuck. "While the thing ing, he charged, the government of the company under the receiver--|could be worked out in an equitable had "suddenly taken the brakes off" ship and held, that while returns way so that all might get something, , and was prepared "to throw the lapsed in 1938, there was a total l including the creditors." great empire of timber up north § es to the highest bidder." In 1937, he said, the junior secur-- i ity holders had been enticed into a false sense of security. Today the government was deliberately "put-- ting the skids under them."