HIE LLLi O
..tU-i II,
-1 .
Local Tire Firm
Started in Barn
Loft in Dakota
brictson, on Stand, Tells of
His Company's Rise From
Haymow to $10,000,
000 Corporation.
From the haymow of a South Da
kota barn to commodious offices in
the Woodmen of the World build
ing in Omaha and a luxuriant suite
in the Blackstone hotel, and from a
one-man tire shop to a $10,000,003
corporation such was the story told
yesterday on the witness stand in
federal court by O. A. Brictson,
president of the Bricston Manufac
turing company, under fire of the
Nebraska stockholders.
BrufSton appeared in court on or
order issued Friday by Judge Wood
rough at a hearing of a peti
tion filed by stockholders for a re
straining order against the company.
"Broad allegations have been
made," said the judge at the open
ing of the hearing, outlining the
scope of the investigation, "in the
original petition filed by the stock
holders, of highly improper conduct
in the running of tlii concern, such
as hiding from the stockholders."
Bricston on Stand.
Bricston himself was the first man
to take the witness stand. He was
accompanied into court by his force
of office help, which includes Mrs.
Bricston, Miss Bertha Traspa and
G. M. Breed.
Tor 15 years, Brictson lived m
Brooking, S. D., a town of 4,000
"souls, he told the court, and he
operated there a tire business which
manufactured the "Brictson tread"
under patent.
He began the business in a hay
mow of a barn, starting with one em
ploye., soon branching out to erect
;i fittlc frame workshop, 28 by 32
feet, which since has never been
transferred to the corpration.
Grew to $10,000 000.
Then the company grew to he
come incorporated in South Dakota
for $10,000,000, of which $8,000,000
was common and $2,000,000 preferred
fctock. he testified, and now operates
a three-story plant at Brtoking.
Under this original incorporation,
he held $4,000,000 common stock, he
declared, and $100,000 preferred
stock. Members of the first board of
directors were G. J. Flittie, George
CobeJ and II. F. Haroldson of
Brooking and V. L. Montgomery
of Sioux City.
He secured his own stock by trans
ferring his assets and business into
the corporation. These directors all
held preferred stock in the corpora
tion, and paid for it in cash, he stated
under cross-examination.
Came to Omaha.
Then in the fall of 1917 Brictson
came to Omaha, opened offices at
10! 5 W. O. W. building, secured a
suite at the Blackstone hotel, where
lie. lias lived since, and Mrs. Brict
son remained on the payroll, in
charge ' of accounting, bookkeeping
and moneys.
s-Before coming to Nebraska the
stock of the Brictson firm was re
duced to $5,000,000, he related, and
a permit was obtained from the state
tailvvay commission to sell $500,000
worth of stock in 'the state.
Edwin T. Swobe became fiscal
agent in charge of stock sales in
Nebraska and sold "about $326,200
worth," he testified.
Paid 5 Per Cent.
"Swobe was paid 5 per cent for his
sales," he stated, and Judge Wood
rough interpolated, "I understand
he was paid in stock," but attorneys
passed the judicial remark un
noticed. "Total charge of 30 per cent was
permissible for sale of stock?" quer
ied Attorney F. A. Mulfinger, for
the stockholders.
"Yes." replied Brirtsoit. ,
"Then vou charged $97,806 to sell
$326,000 in stock," declared Mulfin
ger. Commission Audited Books.
"The blue sky commission audited
the books and allowed 30 per cent,"
said Bricston.
"This was not an arbitrary sum,"
interjected Attorney Cullhane, coun
sel for Brictson.
"We can account for every dol
lar and every postage stamp used in
the office in the transaction of busi
ness." "How much business did the com-
rji COMPANYfflP
T TSE only new gen
uine bearings
when replacements
are necessary.
We carry Hyatt,
Timken and New
Departure bearings
sent directly to our
store rooms from the
factories of the mak
ers of these products.
You can get nothing
better.
v
Omaha Branch
1812 Harney Street
Phone Atlantic 2844
Hands May Be Fortune
f'fil Pi) -VS
John F. Kirkham, 1538 North Six
teenth street, former president of the
Omaha Auto Body company, who
seeks to secure the $130,000 estate of
John O'Connor, shoemaker-hermit,
who died in Hastings, Neb., in 1913,
on the claim O'Connor really was his
father, who disappeared when a
young man: and the queerly marked
hands of Harold Kirkman, 6, his
grandson, which resemble those of
the dead hermit and the missing
Kirkman.
pany do in 1919-20?" asked Mulgin
ger. Produces Statement
Bricston produced a financial
statement and prepared to answer
as Judge Woodrough prompted:
"Quite a little, wasn't it?"
And Bricston answered, "Yes."
"Between $200,000. and $300,000 in
merchandise was sold in Nebraska
in 1917," declared Bricston "and
there was some profit in that."
Introduces Ad.
During the hearing Attorney
Mulfinger introduced a newspaper
advertisement picturing a large fac
tory building and offering for sale
stock in the Brictson company.
"Did you pay for this advertise
ment?" he asked Mr. Brictson.
"I never saw it before," replied
Brictson.
"But you sanctioned it?"
"We mav have paid for it un
knowingly.' We paid for many
thinrrs. I didn't know it was being
run."
Buys Out Directors.
Mr. Brictson told how he had
"bought out" four of the directors
of the company, and that at the
present time he was the only officer.
He is president, and treasurer, he
said.
"f purchased the stock of these
four stockholders because they de
manded salaries for their services.
They tried to come through, but I
refused."
There are 836 Nebraska stock
holders in the Brictson Manufactur
ing company, but part of the $360,
200 worth of stock was sold in other
states, Mr. Brictson said. He said
his wife had no title in the com
pany, but had acted as accountant
and received a salary of $200 a
month.
Lists Assets.
Tangible assets of the company
were given as follows: Real estate,
$28,000; Liberty bonds, $60,000;
banks, $23,000; war savings stamps,
$2,789, and bills receivable, $17,807.
An answer filed by Brictson's
counsel to the stockholders' petition
asking an injunction and the ap
pointment of a receiver contained
an explanation of how Air. linctson
acouired stock in the company him
self.
He entered into a contract with
the company on January IS, 1917,
permitting the company to use his
patent on the Brictson tread and as
sieninE good will, factory equip
ments, machinery, office equipment
and bills receivable amounting to
$5,372, in exchange for 40,000 shares
of common stock and 1,000 shares
of preferred stock in the company
and an agreed salary of $7,500 the
first year and $10,000 for the second
year, according to this explanation.
' Lincoln Officer Here.
Mrs. F. H. Hawley, juvenile court
officer at Lincoln, visited the Oma
ha court session yesterday.
Legion Kidnaps
Radical Woman
Shenandoah Veterans Take
Exception to Statements of
Socialist Speaker There.
Shenadoah, la., Aug. 13. (Spe
cial Telegram.) Aroused by abusive
and personal remarks directed at
American Legion members in a
street talk Thursday, officers and
members of the war veterans' organ
ization interrupted the oratory of
Mrs. Ida Crouch Hazlett, woman
socialist, by kidnaping her. Mrs.
Hazlett is the radical talker who has
caused disturbances at Des Moines,
Boone, Sioux City and other Iowa
cities.
Remarks to which Legion men
objected were calling adjutant I. B.
Raeder "a dirty cur," and saying Des
Moines Legion men were "just boys
who never did and never will know
anything." She was relating her
.vn.ni in Dps Moines, where
she was arrested and later kidnaped
by Legion men.
Mrs. Hazlett was taken from an
automobile, where she was speak
mir hv Thomas Mumhv. commander
of Legion post, and others and es
corted to the car ot warren ooom,
Rainbow division veteran. She was
taken for a short ride in the country
nr.A ,-!,, rif.rl tn thp lintel. She im
mediately sought the Hindman cigar
store, from where sue teiennoucu
Mayor G. B. Warner, asking per
mission to speak.
Fearing further disturban-e the
mayor refused. MrsT Hazlett left
Shenandoah yesterday, but refused
to tell where she would attempt to
speak next.
Two Pictures May
Establish Title
To Large Estate
Photographs Identified at Old
Home of Hastings Hermit
Brings Omaha Man
Nearer $130,000.
Greensboro, N. C, Aug. 13. (Spe
cialsTwo photographs have been
identified here by residents of Guil
ford county in an effort of John F.
Kirkman of Omaha to establish a
rlalm tn the pstatp nf $130,000 left
by the death of the hermit, John
U Connor, at mstings, cd.
Attorneys for Kirkman have been
in this city tracing the history of
John Madison Kirkman, father of
the Omaha man, in an effort to
identify him as the Hastings hermit.
John O'Connor died in Hastings
in 1913. No one knew anything of
him. His past had remained sealed.
He had amassed a fortune by hard
work, thrift and shrewd manage
ment. Reads of Death.
John F. Kirkman read of the her
mit's death and said jokingly:
"My father was a cobbler and he
disappeared. That may be my
money at Hastings."
Friends urged him to investigate.
He learned O'Connor had left some
pictures with a family named Hickey
at Fremont. He secured them and
found thev were pictures of his
mother, of an old bridge, and a
bishop.
( Identify Bridge
Old residents here have identified
the pictures as those of a bridge
built over Reedy Fork creek in Guil
ford county, and of Bishop Edwards,
husband of the missing , Kirkmair's
sister. These pictures were known
to have been in the possession of
John Madison Kirkman when he left
home, a youth, and disappeared.
Before the civil war, Harris Kirk
man was a bridge builder living here.
He was the father of a boy and girl
by his first wife. They were John
Madison Kirkman and the girl who
later married Bishop Edwards.
Learns Cobbler's Trade
The boy learned the cobbler's
trade here and after the death of
his father, lived for a time at the
home of former Governor Morehead.
In 1857, with Harper Edwards, rela
tive of the bishop, he hiked 800 miles
to Richmond, Ind. Young Edwards
married and settled there.
Kirkman followed his cobbler's
trade and at Thornton, Ind., met
pretty Marie Tricksey, whem he
married at Lebanon in 1861.
in 1Sftv the hov. John F. Kirk
man, new of Omaha, was born, and
the family moved to Camden, O. In
1869, the father set out in search of
a home. He was never heard from
again.
Residents of Camden made up a
purse for the family, when it was
Quality Goes Clear Through
F. O. B. Factory
Touring $985 I Sedan $1,685
Roadster 985 " Coupe 1,535
DORT SALES COMPANY
HARVEY H. JONES, PRESIDENT.
2211 FARNAM STREET DOUGLAS 6082
SPEE
D WAGON
The best truck in
the world for
farmer or merchant
and you know it.
A. H. JONES CO.1
Hasting, Neb.
Distributers for Southern and
Western Nebraska
JONES-OPPER CO.
Omaha, Neb.
Distributors for Eastern and Northern
Nebraska and Western Iowa
1 m n
rr 7 " pn 1 "ti ''i ;l I h "I U
seen the husband had disappeared,
and the mother returned with her
child to her mother's home at War
renton, Ind.
Within four months, she died of
a broken heart and the boy was
bound-out to a widow named Bart
lett near Rainesville.
When 14 he ran away to learn
something of his relatives. At Cam
den, the bishop told him of his
father's disappearance and his moth
er's death, and the lad returned to
the Widow Bartlett until she died,
when he made his way west to
Omaha.
Not Only Proof.
But the photographs left by the
hermit and identified as those carried
by his father when he disappeared,
are not the only basis on which
Kirkman claims the $130,000 estate.
John O'Connor, the hermit, was a
boot and shoemaker. So was John
Madison Kirkman. John O'Connor
had a cut thumb which dangled at
one side of his hand. John Madison
Kirkman had the same deformity.
John O'Connor had a twisted
fnger on each hand. So has Harold
Kirkman, 6, grandson of John F.
Kirkman of Omaha.
Des Moines Watchman
Has Revolver Battle
With Three Burglars
Des Moines, la., Aug. 13. (Spe
cial Telegram.) With one of their
number bleeding profusely from a
bullet wound, three burglars, who
were surprised in their attempt to
rob the dressing room of the open
air stage at Riverview park early
yesterday, escaped in a waiting auto
under the gun fire from Tom East,
night watchman.
East was making his rounds at 3
yesterday morning, when he came
upon three men as they were rifling
the dressing room. Each of the bur
glars drew a gun and opened fire
on the night watchman. Dodging
behind a tree, East returned the fire.
As the.men ran from the room, East
saw one of the men drop to the
ground, crying out, "Oh, my, God!
I have been hit!
Companions of the wounded man,
however, succeeded in dragging the
injured burglar to the roadster
standing nearby. The trio were
able to start their machine and get
under way before the night watch
man could reload his revolver and
again open fire. A trail of blood
marked the path of the fleeing ban
dits. This is the second attempt
that has been made to rob Riverview
this week.
Victim of Sleeping Sickness.
Lethargic encephalitis, or sleeping
sickness, proved fatal to Eugene S.
Luce, 44. 2426 Saratoga avenue. The
body will be taken to Lyons, Neb.,
for burial.
Let the Chalmers
Prove Its Worth
Get the truth about the
Chalmers from the car
itself.
Sit at the wheel and see
how the Chalmers controls.
Feel its wonderful motor
performance, idling down
to a creep in traffic, or
speeding away in the
country.
The car is silent, smooth
running, good-looking,
and the upkeep and replace
ment charges are low.
Let the Chalmers itsell
prove these things to your
satisfaction.
Mid-City Motor and Supply Co.
2216-18 Far nam St.
Omaha
TELEPHONE AT. 2462
ft7 E a aW HK m si m aw.. mm
I HA V K K
;USE BEE WANT ADS THEY BRING RESULTS:
The End of Each
Eager for the
Finds the Cadillac
TT-. 1Ta- 7sl1
Day
nitz Standard of the World
Any morning, any Cadillac owner
may start across the continent,
with the same sense of security,
insofar as the car is concerned,
that he feels when he drives from
his home to his office.
He must supply gasoline and oil
and grease for his car but that is
the greatest inconvenience which
he should encounter.
He can be quite certain that each
night will find his Cadillac just as
fresh, just as flexible, just as rest
ful, just as obedient, as it was at
the beginning of the day.
If he treats his Cadillac with even
a fraction of the consideration with
which it treats him, he can dis
miss from his mind all thought of
repair, or adjustment, even though
he travel thousands of miles.
He can be sure the Cadillac will go
as slow as any occasion requires;
or as fast as he ever wants to go
that it will always help and never
hinder him in everything he de
sires to accomplish.
All of this it will do every hour of
every day, with a never-varying
steadiness, and readiness, which
suggests nothing so much as a sort
of strength and intelligence which
never tires and never grows less.
The Cadillac, as we have said, re-
quires less in the way of adjust
ment and repair than any other
car in the world ; but it is satisfying
to know, just the same, that its
lesser needs can be ably and con
veniently cared for, anywhere in
in this broad land.
Years ago it might not have been
possible to say all these things
about the Cadillac, for the truth
is, they are the accumulated pro
duct of the years.
It is their rarity, and their un
usualness, which have made
the name Cadillac a celebrated
name, in every corner of the
civilized globe.
For this Cadillac reliability is rare,
and it is unusual.
Time may produce another car as
dependable as the Cadillac -but
this dependability is still the pe
culiar and special prerogative of
the Cadillac alone.
Phaeton 13790 Touring Car . - . - $3940
Victoria Suburban 5190
ISedan 4950 Limousine 5290
P. O. B. Detroit. War Tax to fr aAW
Roadster
Town Bro'ugham
Imperial Limousine
5690
5390
J. H. HANSEN CADILLAC CO.
OMAHA
LINCOLN
C A D I L LAC