Business & Finance: Weber Hits Back

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A month ago the New York Stock Exchange discovered that of the $92,000,000, "U. S. Government and other marketable securities," which Allied Chemical & Dye put down in a lump sum among "current" assets on its balance sheet, the largest part consisted of the company's own stock. Forthwith the Exchange ordered Allied stock be stricken from trading on Aug. 23, if in the meantime Allied did not give its stockholders more & better information. A grave defeat was this for Orlando Franklin Weber, autocrat of Allied, who for a full year had urbanely held the Exchange's Listing Committee at arm's length. To make matters worse a committee of his own stockholders was soon found to force a special meeting early in AM ust in an attempt to elect four new directors and pry open Allied's accounting system.

Unaccustomed to being thus boldly thwarted, but quite capable of coping with the situation, Orlando Weber struck last week at this revolt among his stockholders.

Allied Chemical was formed in 1920 by the merger of five great chemical companies. Stockholders of some of the merged companies did not hide their distaste for Mr. Weber and his methods. One of these companies was General Chemical Co.. founded by the late Dr. William H. Nichols of Manhattan. Another was Solvay Process Co., founded and largely owned by the rich Solvays of Belgium. The committee demanding a new deal for Allied stockholders was headed by Charles W. Nichols, son of Dr. Nichols, and by Gordon Auchincloss, president of Solvay American Investment Corp.. holder of 500,000 shares (20%) of Allied common.

Last week in a letter to stockholders Mr. Weber, always polite, always plausible, explained that they should not support the efforts of "a self-appointed committee purporting to represent stockholders" whose plans ''have nothing whatever to do with the company's relations with the New York Stock Exchange." The Exchange and the Company had agreed, in fact, on many matters. "As to others, discussions with the Exchange are being continued." Then he launched his attack on the committee:

Solvay & Cie is "one of the most powerful chemical companies in the world," interested in I. G. Farbenindustrie of Germany and in British Imperial Chemical Industries, Ltd. The aim of the Solvay interests in wanting to elect new directors is to steal information for use by Allied's rivals. "The American Chemical industry is today fighting to maintain that [the American] market for American capital and American labor against the organized, combined and ruthless attacks of foreign competition."

The Nichols interests which joined with the Solvay company to form the opposition are, of course, not foreigners, but Mr. Weber took the opportunity to dig Son Nichols by quoting a letter of his late father to Armand Solvay in which objection was made to the Solvays' aim to build up a world chemical consortium and have Allied join it.