TRADE: 23

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23¢ on the Dollar

Two months ago San Francisco's Golden Gate International Exposition suddenly closed, 34 days ahead of schedule. Although in midseason Fair officials had given out that the Fair's net liabilities were only $2,650,000 and were rapidly being reduced, by closing date its net liabilities had increased to $3,263,500—$4,265,362 total liabilities and $1,001,862 assets, of which $400,399 was accounts receivable.

Before a referee in bankruptcy in San Francisco's Federal Court, fortnight ago, appeared all of the Fair's major creditors. Biggest of these were six banks, Standard Oil Co. of California, and Pacific Gas & Electric Co., with unpaid loans totaling $2,677,310. Next was a group of contractors and other unsecured creditors, to whom the Fair owed $1,464,913. Decision of about 65% of the creditors (including the banks, P. G. & E., Standard Oil) was to take their licking, split up some $650,000 coming to them (about 23¢ on the dollar), and have no more to do with the Fair.

The rest of the creditors were willing to gamble on getting back more if the Fair ran another year, and offered to turn over their $350,000 share of the assets to 1940 Exposition, Inc., a new corporation formed chiefly by hotelmen and restaurateurs who had made money by the Fair. Other assets of 1940 Exposition, Inc.: $125,000 of new donations, $1,000,000 from pledged hotelmen, $250,000 more from San Francisco, city & county. Because the Fair's new managers think that they can carry the exposition over the winter and rehabilitate it in the spring with $1,600,000, and their expected assets in cash and accounts receivable tote up to $1,725,000, they last week announced that the Fair will try again in 1940.