Business: Power & Light

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Last week a man pooled some of his resources and three corporations their all—the result a billion dollar grouping of power and light concerns webbing their lines from Ohio through Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri and into Kansas. The man is Clement Studebaker Jr., 55-year-old head of all the Studebaker interests, president of the Studebaker Brothers Trust, chairman of the North American Light & Power Co. which holds among other properties the Illinois Traction System (the longest electric raliway in the world)—manufacturer, financier, "clubman" (he belong to clubs in Boston, Detroit, Manhattan, Chicago). The corporations are: 1) the North American Light and Power Co. of Studebaker (value $200,000,000), 2) The North American Co. in which Studebaker and Senator McKinley of Illinois are jointly interested (value $525,000,000), 3) The Middle West Utilities Corp. of Samuel Insull (value $425,000,000). Their aggregate earnings last year were almost $200,000,000.

To effect the merger the North American Light & Power Corp. will be refinanced and then owned jointly by the North American Co. and the Middle West Utilities Corp. But Mr. Studebaker has taken care to retain his individual stockholdings in the light and power company and to remain as its directing head.