A Corporate Heist in Whatcom
A shareholder warns Seattle merchants not to purchase illegal drafts from a Whatcom corporation attempting to bleed its own company dry.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
On the 28th of July last, the Board of Directors of the 'Washington Colony' of Whatcom, W.T., a private corporation, being heavily in debt to creditors in Seattle and elsewhere, passed a resolution to pay R. Van Sandt, President, $3,600; J. Y. Collins, Treasurer, $1,000; T. C. Austin, Secretary, $1,000; and various directors, $600 each. In all, $11,000 was to be distributed. These drafts are now believed to be in Seattle for sale. Any one purchasing said drafts is notified that said acts are illegal and that their payment will be legally resisted by the stockholders, creditors, and others interested.
“Any one purchasing said drafts is notified that said acts are illegal and that their payment will be legally resisted.”
This notice serves as an early example of 'corporate raiding' or insider malfeasance, where company officers attempt to cash out before insolvency. The warning to the public remains a timeless theme in business news—beware of buying paper from entities in crisis.
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