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THE MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
a chance to regain his property, but there
came a time in December when he was told
that he was out, and out forever. For a
few days he was desperate, made threats
against his former friends, but to-day he is
cheerful, prepared to commence life over
again $nd, if rumors are true, he will be
heard from in the immediate future.
THE HISTORY OF THE RISE AND FALL
of the commercial house of Alfred Dolge
forms a story that reads like fiction. Many
chapters have been written in relation to
the failure, but in all the proceedings Al-
fred Dolge maintained a silence that was
most remarkable. He has now spoken.
His side has, heretofore, been unpublished.
In plain, every-day English, Mr. Dolge
claims that he was urged into the assign-
ment by supposed friends and then bun-
coed by them.
A few months after the failure, it will be
remembered, an action was commenced by
the Garfield National Bank and the Bank
of the Metropolis of New York city to set
aside the receivership on the ground of
fraud. At the time the summons and com-
plaint were served a temporary injunction
was also served on Receiver Mills, ordering
him to show cause why he should not be
removed. Receiver Mills deposited in
bank $50,000, pending the final outcome of
the case, and the injunction proceedings
were dropped. The suit is still pending.
The Garfield Bank secured an order to ex-
amine Alfred Dolge in supplemental pro-
ceedings, and he, with several others, was
called as a witness. Thirty-six days were
consumed in the taking of evidence, which
consisted of over 800 typewritten pages.
The examination was conducted in this vil-
lage before Attorney Wilson as referee.
Adams & Adams, of New York, and Geo.
W. Ward, of this village, were the attor-
neys for the bank. The examination was
conducted by Mr. Ward under instructions
from the New York attorney.
It is expected that \the original suit of
the Garfield Bank will soon be tried. It is
noticed on the calendar in" the Supreme
Court in New York and will be tried
there. The last day of the supplemental
proceedings session was on March 18, and
Alfred Dolge was the witness.
ALFRED DOLGE'S STORY.
His story is, briefly, that in 1896 he was
urged by some of the prominent citizens
of Little Falls and New York, who were
his extensive backers, that it would be for
his interest to make an assignment. That
he met in conference with them and a
number of attorneys in the Hotel Metro-
pole, in New York, that the conference
lasted until 2 in the morning, and that the
plan was that he should make an assign-
ment. The felt mills were to be bought
under mortgage foreclosure, that a com-
pany would be formed to run the property,
that the debts would be funded and that
all the creditors would be allowed to come
in. The preferred stock of the company
to be organized was to be given to the
creditors and the common stock issued to
Alfred Dolge. All the profits of the busi-
ness were to go to pay up the preferred
stock and, as soon as this was cleaned up,
the preferred stock would be the property
of Alfred Dolge and he would have his
business back.
After fully considering
the matter in 1896, Mr. Dolge says, he re-
fused to make the assignment and, unaided
by his supposed friends, he secured the
necessary money to meet his obligations.
In 1897 Rudolf Dolge, son of Alfred
Dolge, and a member of the firm of Dolge
& Son, returned from South America,
where he is engaged in business. In his
testimony, Mr. Dolge says that one of the
gentlemen who urged him to make the as-
signment in 1896 went to his son and urged
him to give a power of attorney to a man
named Robinson, an attorney in New
York, for the purpose of protecting his
interests in case anything should occur. It
was urged in argument that the strain on
his father was such that he was liable to
collapse at any time and that, in case any-
thing did occur, someone would be on hand
with power to take care of the business un-
til he could return from South America.
Rudolf said that he would consult with
his father in relation to the matter, and
then he was urged not to do anything of
the sort as, if he did so consult and any-
thing occurred, it could be said that a con-
spiracy existed. He was therefore urged
not to say anything to his father about the
matter. A power of attorney was drawn
and given to Rudolf to execute and he
put it in his pocket. At the earnest re-
quest of the supposed friends of his father
he finally signed the paper in August, 1897,
and turned it over to them. Alfred Dolge
in his testimony declares that he knew
nothing about the existence of this paper
until a few months ago and then the above
facts were given to him by his son.
9
of Mr. Kernanin Utica. After this agree-
ment had been arrived at, $15,000 of the
Dolge paper went to protest the same day.
This was, he says, the first paper of the
Dolge firm that had ever been dishonored.
Mr. Dolge also says that, on the same
day and while he was in conference at the
Hotel Metropole, a note broker named
Chapman was in his office and, hearing
that there was trouble, made the offer to
raise Mr. Dolge $70,000 on his paper; that,
when he learned this, he called up the
Hotel Metropole and conversed with his
friend but was told not to have anything
to do with Chapman and to let things go
on as planned.
Mr. Dolge testified that the value of the
Dolge properties in this village was $3,000, -
000; that the earnings from his business
from 1893 to 1896, years of the hard-
est depression, showed an average yearly
profit of $185,000; that the value of the
properties now owned and purchased by
the felt trust was at least $2,000,000; that,
in 1896, he owed the American Exchange
Bank $280,000 and the National Herkimer
County Bank about $240,000; that in 1898
he owed the American Exchange National
Bank about $180,000 and the National Her-
kimer County Bank about $130,000. This
debt, he says, was secured by a mortgage
on the felt mills given to George A. Hardin
as trustee. The present owners of the
property put in about $150,000 more, he
says, and purchased the machinery, the
stock in the New York store, the felt shoe
factory and the autoharp factory. As
against this money invested they have se-
cured property of the value of $2,000,000.
When the assignment was made, Mr.
Dolge says, he was told to go home, not
write any letters, not to talk to any one and
In March and April, 1898, Mr. Dolge have nothing to do with the lawyers. He
says he was again urged to make the as- has not been consulted by any of the re-
signment and another meeting was held ceivers of the different plants and the only
in the Hotel Metropole. Just before the conversation he had with the assignee was
blowing up of the Maine and the uncer- when the latter brought to his house a
tainty in relation to the war values were schedule showing the valuation of the
knocked high, the money market was close landed property and he was asked what he
and panicky and business was demoralized. thought about it; that he told the assignee
He had hard work to borrow the money to that it was so ridiculous that he had nothing
keep his business going and, during this to say.
time, for two weeks, day in and day out, a
After the property had been bought in
supposed friend went to him and urged at mortgage foreclosure and the other
him to make an assignment and clear his properties had been purchased the friend
mind of the worry that demoralized busi- who urged him to make the assignment
ness was causing him. The first week in came to him and told him that the present
April, Mr. Dolge says, he went to his of- owners had no use for him.
fice in New York and asked him what he
Mr. Dolge says that at this he lost his
had made up his mind to do about it; that temper and may have said some unwise
Dolge told his friend that he could not see things. Then he went to New York and
the sense of making this assignment then, saw some of his friends with a view of
as his liabilities were over $200,000 less getting money and paying the men what
than they were in 1896 and that, at best, he owed them. He presented a plan to his
it would cost $100,000 to make the assign- creditors that met with their approval and
ment ; that his friend offered to manage it he went to the present owners and wanted
for him and that Dolge finally told him a thirty-day option and offered to pay them
that, if he thought it for the best in- in full their claims in cash and all the
terest of all concerned, he should go money they had paid out besides and he
ahead.
After this, Mr. Dolge says,
was told that not for a day or a minute
he
simply acquiesced
in what his would his proposition be considered; that
friend told him to do. A conference was they had found a good paying property
held in the Hotel Metropole, of New York, and proposed to keep it.
and, the Sunday before the assignment,
The above is Mr. Dolge's side of the
another conference was held in the office story, says the Utica Saturday Globe.