Cryolite Lawsuit

SIX HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS.

The Great Cryolite Lawsuit.

The present May session of the Supreme Court in this town will be a memorable one. The Ten Eyck murder case was disposed of on Saturday, and on Tuesday be­gan the trial of the great cryolite lawsuit, between the Lenox Plate Glass Company of Lenox Furnace, and W. E. Dodge, of New York, the widely known merchant, importer, philanthropist, &c.

The counsel are A. J. Waterman, Geo. M. Stearns, and M. Wilcox for plaintiff; Pingree & Barker and H. L. Dawes for de­fendant. Mr. Waterman opened the case for the plaintiff and, in substance his state­ment was this: In 1868 Mr. A. T Servin, of the Lenox Plate Glass Company, was in New York, where he met Mr. Dodge, who spoke to him about the Lenox business, and in the course of the conversation said that he would like to talk with him about the manufacturing of white glass, or cryolite, with view to uniting the latter business, which was then being carried on at Philadelphia, with the business at Lenox Furnace. Mr. Dodge and his son, C. C. Dodge, were interested in the Philadelphia concern, and Mr. Servin was referred to the latter for further information. The cryolite business was frequently discussed between persons interested in the Glass Company and those representing the Cry­olite concern, and the the result was that, as alleged, convinced by representations that the manufacture of this white glass was very profitable, equal to 60% of the capital invested, the Plate Glass Company made arrangements to go into the business. A new company called the Lenox Glass Company was formed with $800,000 capital. It purchased the Crystal and Plate Glass Company's property, and Mr. Dodge took $450,000 in stock. They then gave the Porcelain or Cryolite Company [$100,000] in stock for the license to manufacture under its patents, and gave its notes paya­ble in 5 years for $50,000 and stock to the amount of $50,000 for 1000 tons of cryolite.

Before these negotiations were completed, which was in 1870. there had been frequent meetings of officers of the porcelain company and the glass company at which, and continually, the former repre­sented to the latter, it is alleged, that there was great profit in the business; that with two small furnaces in operation in Phila­delphia they were clearing $7,500 a month; that they desired to transfer the work to Lenox Furnace in order to have more room and greater facilities, and it is alleged Mr. Wm. E. Dodge, at a meeting held in the polishing shop in Lenox Furnace, at which a number of people who, it was supposed might be induced to subscribe for stock in the company, were present, made a speech reiterating the assertions of the great profit in the business, and said that, if the manufacture was as successful here as it had been in Philadelphia, there was "not ground enough in Lenox Furnace to hold the buildings that might used in the business." The Plate Glass folks placed implicit confidence in these statements, stock was taken in all the Country round-about, and the business began.

It was a dead failure from first to last. Mr. R. F. Mason, now deceased, was rec­ommended by Mr. Dodge as skilled in the art of making this white glass from cryo­lite, but it proved that he could do nothing with it. The result was, that after months and perhaps years of enormously costly experiments, it was found that cryolite was worthless for this purpose. Every dollar invested in the business was sunk, and the company utterly ruined.

Meanwhile some news leaked out about the Philadelphia concern, which had ceased to exist when it transferred its business to the Lenox company. Some of the stock­ holders had brought a suit against the of­ficials, claiming they had been wronged in the negotiations with the Lenox concern an in the transfer of the property, and it is the revelations in that suit that are the basis of the present plaintiff's claim for damages to to the amount of $600,000. It is alleged that the Porcelain Company, instead of having made a profit from its manufactures, had lost all invested in it; had never produced a single article at a profit; and was at the time the representations of its success were made to the Glass Company $200,000 in debt! That special stock had been issued which, under the laws of of Pennsylvania, made the stockholders liable for the company's debts, and that the concern was in this alarming con­dition when the bargain with the Lenox Co. was completed. It is further alleged that by Mr. Dodge’s cash subscription of $50,000 he secured the completion of the bargain, and that with the stock issued for the payment of patent rights, cryolite, & c., he paid all the debts of the Philadelphia company, released himself from liability and made a profit of from $40,000 to $60,000. These alleged facts being ascertained, four years ago the Plate Glass Company began this suit and it has been on the docket ever since The plaintiff asserts that Mr. Dodge, and other defendants, "fraudulently and deceitfully and with intent to cheat" — made the representations they are alleged to have made to the Glass Company,

THE DEFENSE

The defense is a specific denial of each and every allegation, and the “answer” is very lengthy and explicit. Mr. A T. Servin was the first witness. He brings the suit in the name of the Glass Company, in accordance with a vote of the directors, Geo. O. Peck. R. G. Averill and himself, and he pays all the expenses. If he recovers he is to have a "reasonable compensation" and the balance is to go the stock­holders. If he loses the suit the loss for expenses will be his. He testified to con­versations with the Messrs. Dodge, and substantially to the alleged facts set forth in the declaration, and was on the stand all day. The cross examination was conduct­ed by Mr. Barker, and it brought out the fact that as early as 1869 the plate glass company was well acquainted with cryolite and its products. Mr. Servin had visited the the works of the porcelain company in Philadelphia several times; had manufactured the stuff at Lenox Furnace for the Porcelain Company; knew it would break the melting pots, and that it was very diffi­cult, if not impossible, to secure uniform­ity of color. Letters were put in showing his experience with it, and a contract to manufacture in connection with the porcelain company for five years was pro­duced. The examination tended to show that the plaintiff was not only acquainted with the nature and freaks and unreliability of cryolite long before the actions complained of in the suit occurred, but that he had practical knowledge, by the manufacture at his own works, of what could be done with it. The defense certainly opens by this cross examination very strong, and the case will grow in interest. The exami­nation of Mr. Servin was not completed by the time of adjournment, on Tuesday, and the case went over until this morning, as Mr. Dawes was called away yesterday, and the court was occupied with divorce cases.