Citizen's Enterprise Co. granted extension; list of factories brought to Muncie includes Hemingray

LEASE OF LIFE

Again Granted Citizens

Enterprise Co.

TRUSTEE IS APPOINTED

Expert Accountant Williams Placed in

Responsible Position by Judge

Leffler — Sketch of Organization.

Jordan D. Williams was appointed trustee for the Citzens' Enterprise company yesterday by Judge Leffler, on application for a trustee made in behalf of the company by the board of direc­tors.

The company was organized for a period of five years. Afterwards the time limit was extended three years, when it was found that business could not be settled in the first-named time limit. The action of yesterday was to further the life of the corporation for the same reasons.

The last extension will expire next month, and the company has the Whitely land property to dispose of, a suit against John Williams in the Su­perior court to settle, and other busi­ness to transact that necessitates fur­ther time.

The statement made by the officers show the liabilities of the company to be but about $10,000, with more than $12,000 assets, figuring the Whiteley property at the low sum of $9,000. This shows conclusively that the company is entirely solvent, and the action of yes­terday is simply to enable the impor­tant affairs to be settled in a satisfac­tory manner to all persons interested With this understanding, the court quickly granted the application of the board of directors, and appointed Mr. Williams, who is an expert accountant, and who will conduct the business sat­isfactorily.

The total subscription, or capital stock of the company, was $200,000, and the directors report that 70 per cent of that sum, $140,000, has been collected, leaving $60,000 of the original subscrip­tion yet uncollected. All of which is past due. Most of this amount is made up of subscriptions from irresponsible persons, and will not be collected.

PURPOSE OF APPOINTMENT

The action is simply to further wind up the affairs of the company, which has about done its mission, and not without leaving a monument well built to show how well the work has been done.

This monument consists of an addi­tion of nearly twenty thousand people to the population of the city, almost as a direct result of the big manufac­turing industries that have been loca­ted through the agency of the Enter­prise company.

It was in 1892 that Fred W. Heath conceived the idea of the novel organ­ization of such vast enterprise. At first Mr. Heath expressed the plans and probable result to his closest busi­ness friends, some of whom laughed at the idea of launching such a pon­derous undertaking, that of inducing Muncie property owners and other public spirited citizens to donate $200,000 to build up the city, Mr. Heath figured that this amount of money woould locate factories that would in less than ten years increase the pop­ulation to 35,000, the money to be used in furnishing free land and fuel, with a small cash donation for manufac­tures in other parts of the country to move to Muncie. Their coming would bring the workmen and me­chanics, and homes for these men would enrich properties in and around Muncie. The advance resulting from demands in the sale of real estate would reimburse the doners [sic] donors, and the picture has more than been realized by most all.

The company was organized with James Boyce president, George F. Mc­Culloch secretary, and George L. Lenon treasurer, and the plan of securing the donations was begun. First the property owners were listed, and then an assessment pro ratio was made. It was figured that other donations would be secured, and agents were employed to approach these people. Public meetings were held, speeches were heard, and the people were worked up to an exciting pitch before the total amount was secured. When the task was completed there was a general jollification

The officers named here served throughout the period of the company with the exception of Mr. Lenon, who died. His piece was taken by Mr. John W. Little, the present treasurer, who has been an untiring worker with the other officers.

WORK OF COMPANY,

Among the factories end mills that stand as monuments of the company, are the following:

The Midland Steel works.

The Indiana Iron works.

The Muncie Iron & Steel works.

The McVoy Corrugated Iron works.

The Consumers Paper works.

The Whitley Malleable Castings works.

The Over Window Glass works.

The Muncie Flint Glass works.

The Hemingray Glass works.

The Maring-Hart Window Glass works.

Gill Bros.' Glass Pot factory.

The Muncie Wheel works.

The Hollowware works.

The Bell Stove works.

The Muncie Knitting mall.

The Common-Sense Engine works, the White River Iron works and other mills and factories belong in the long list also, the combined plants employ­ing more than 6,000 hands.

The present board of directors of the company, the men most instrumental in the work of the company, are: James Boyce, A. L. Johnson, G. F. McCulloch, C. H. Church, John W. Little, Freder­ick Klopfer, J. G. Greisheimer, J. A. Meeks and F. J. Claypool.

The advisory board was: J. A. Heinsohn, T. H. Kirby, D. T. Haines, Arthur Patterson and Emmett Smith.

The work that will be dropped by this company has been taken up by the Commercial club, and will be carried on, there being at the present time important negotiations along the same line.