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Northwestern Car Company, A Failure in Minnesota Which Attracts General Attention. The suspension of the Northwestern Car Company of Stillwater, Minn. Saturday, of which Senator Dwight M. Sabin is president, and of the flouring mills of J. H. Townshend & Co. of Stillwater, in which Senator Sabin was a general partner, caused some surprise. The car company had in its board of directors and among its stockholders & number of the wealthiest and most successful business men of the Northwest, and it was not supposed that they would allow the concern to go under. Saturday afternoon, however, the District Court was applied to for the appointment of a receiver, and Judge McClure appointed E. R. Brown, of the Stillwater firm of Hersey, Beal & Brown, lumbermen, receiver of the assets and business of the company, The flouring mill of J. H. Townshend & Co., intimately connected with the car works. suspended simultaneously with the company, and is awaiting the result of the failure. Townshend & Co.'s note for $5000 went to protest Friday night. The capital stock of the Northwest Manufacturing and Car Company was $5,000,000, of which $3,000,000 was preferred stock and $2,000,000 common stock. The preferred stock had been paying 2per cent. quarterly dividends for nearly a year past until the fire of last April. At that time it was voted, on account of two fires which OCcurred within the six months preceding, and which destroyed a considerable amount of the company's property and interfered somewhat with its business, to pass the usual April dividend. The company was the largest manufacturing corporation in the Northwest, and had been built up by the enterprise and skill of Senator Sabin from very small beginnings. The company manufactured threshing machines, steam farm engines (not locomotive engines, as has been erroneously stated), doors, sashes and other articles of use to agriculturists, and railroad freight cars. The company has a contract with the State of Minnesota for the labor of over 300 convicts in the penitentiary at the rate of 45 cents per man per day. This contract has still seven or eight years to run, and has given the company a considerable advantage over other manufacturers of this line of goods. The liabilities of the Manufacturing and Car Company are stated at $1,100,000. The assets are given at over $4,000,000, and will nominally amount to between $4,000,000 and $5,000,00 00. Of these assets nearly $2,000,000 are stated to be in the form of farmers' notes which are taken for the machines sold to the farmers. The company holds a lien on every machine sold to the farmer, and takes his note with another indorser. As a rule the percentage of loss to the company has been small in comparison to the profit m ade, and collections have been fairly prompt. The nature of the business has been such, however, that a large amount of material has necessarily been carried all the time, and the monthly pay-roll of the company has been very large, compelling the large amount of borrowing every season which has actually taken place. In the Autumn the farmers would receive considerable money from their now growing wheat crop, and this money they would have used in liquidating their notes. The low price of wheat is said to have had a good deal to do in retarding collections. Senator Sabin has been a heavy borrower for the car company from capitalists in New York, Boston, and many of the smaller cities of New England. He has sold stock in Norwich, Conn., Fitchburg, Lowell, Manchester, Bangor, and many other places. rust funds are said to be largely invested in it. The preferred stock has been sold in considerable quantities, with half as much of the common stock thrown in as a bonus. One firm in Boston is said to hold nearly $100,000 in stock and paper of the car company. ST. PAUL, Minn., May 12.-Mr. E, S. Brown, the receiver of the Northwestern Car Company, takes hold of affairs today, and the company will go on as usual. The appointment of a receiver was asked after the failure of D, M. Sa in to negotiate & loan of $1,000,000 in New York, in order that the business might be run without the danger of an attachment by the creditors until the former's notes for farm machinery, which are held to the extent of over two million dollars, could be realized upon and the creditors paid. It is the opinion of the business men of this city that the affairs of the company have been run upon too large a scale. The company has on hand half a million dollars' worth of iron which was bought on credit, and is sufficient to last three years. NEW YORK, May 12.-Wayland Trask, an intimate friend of Senator Sabin, says: "No one in the East will be burt by the failure of the Minnesota firm." FITCHBURG, Mass., May 12.-The stock of Sabins & Co., was sold here by Worcester parties, and President Lawrence of the Wachusett Bank, who says the stock is all held by strong parties, who will not be embarrassed by the company's suspension. He is confider the company will pay all debts, and that preferred stockholders will lose nothing. NORWICH, Conn.. May 12.-So far as can be learned, not over $25,000 or $30,000 is here invested in the Northwestern Car Company. Personal loans to Senator Sabin are very small. No hardship will result to any one here, 80 far as is known. MINNEAPOLIS, Minn., May 12.-A special from Stilwater, says that a run was made on the First National Bank this morning, growing out of the Car Company's complication, but it was soon checked. When all the demands bad been met only about $25,000 had been paid out. The Car Company's hands and Townshend Mills are st 11 work. Senator Sabin is expected home to morrow night. ST. PAUL, Minn., May 12.-A Stillwater special says the feelings here today is much better than yesterday. Receiver Brown ha 8 entered upon his duties and announced his intention of contiuing operations. Townshend & Co., have not suspended and say that they can make no statements as to its condition until Senator Sabin returns, as they do selves) how. then stand on
