SQUARING THE NEWSPAPERS.

Otago Witness, Issue 2325, 22 September 1898, Page 44

SQUARING THE NEWSPAPERS.

Part of the Dunlop promotion arrangement consisted of press calls at par. Bankrupt had a man named A. M. Broadley (the same who disappeared from London society some years ago in consequence of a criminal prosecution) who arranged advertisements and " everything" said in the press, and he gave the papers whatever calls or options he liked. Bankrupt did not profess to know the names of the papera. These arrangements mostly gave a 10s option upon shares at par, and would be given for a month, or until the special settlement. At this time bankrupt was purchasing all that he could in the open market, and these " press calls " cost him £63,500. Mr T. Harrison Davis, who was introduced to bankrupt by_ Mr Finch Hatton, was employed to settle with the little evening papers, and induce them " not to pull the company to pieces." For that purpose bankrupt paid Davis £4250. On one of the cheque counterfoils was written "for quieting papers on pneumatics." On another counterfoil was written, "to square papers." Davis used to show bankrupt from time to time lists of papers and names a foot or two in length, with figures opposite the names from £5 to £100. Witness had none of the lists by him, but he remembered two of the papers were the Pall Mall Gazette and the Financial Post. Broadley managed the preliminary affairs of the company before it was bought out; pictures of the works, articles, and puffs. He had no regular accounts from Broadley for the £5327 drawn as per cheque counterfoil for " booming the company, and he had no knowledge whether that money' was legitimately paid or not. When the company was floated he made Broadley a present of £10,000 for his services. Bankrupt paid E. Beall, who owned the paper called " British Company of Investors," £1123.