People's Pilot, Volume 2, Number 28, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 30 December 1892 — WHEAT PROVED HIS DOWNFALL. [ARTICLE]

WHEAT PROVED HIS DOWNFALL.

E. 8. Coner, * Minnenpolu Real Estate Dealer. Dabbles In Wheat and Is Forced to AMlfn—inabilities of »l,Owe,O«O . MnnreAPCLis, Minn., Dec. 27. — A loss of $250,000 in wheat during the last thirty days has led to the failure of E. 8. Corser, which was announced Monday. His liabilities are stated at sl,000,000. The failure created the most intense excitement of any that has occurred in this city for years. Corser is the bead of the real estate firm of E. E. Corser & Co., one of the largest in the northwest, and Corser’s failure will cause the suspension of the firm. It was wheat and not unfortunate real estate deals that caused Mr. Corser’s suspension. The firm embraces besides Mr. Corser, Lester B. Elwood, Walter E. Badger and Austin B. Belknap. It is difficult to arrive at the true state of affairs until the matter is placed in the hands of a receiver and the liabilities and assets have been carefully figured up. It is thought from present prospects that Mr. Corser will be able to meet his obligations nearly in full. The estate will show a fair valuation, the real estate assets amounting to nearly $1,080,000. The assets will amount to about $15,000 in excess of the liabilities. The amount received by the unsecured creditors will largely depend upon the management and successful -handling of the estate by the assignee, the greater part of the property being •real estate. The assignee has not been appointed yet, but will probably be selected this week, and it is likely the papers in formal assignment will not be issued until later in the week. Mr. Corser was fifteen years ago president of the city council. He is at present president of the real estate board, and has just declined a renomination to that office. While not regarded as a wealthy man, Mr. Corser has been looked upon as one of the substantial men of the city, and it has always been considered that he was safe and conservative in his business policy. Friends called on him to offer aid in tiding over the present difficulty, but he decided it was best to let matters take their own course and do the best he could under the circumstances. He has a large farm in the Red River valley and raises' considerable grain, and in connection with his own product has gone extensively into wheat dealing. Though Mr. Corser himself is confident that his assets will nearly or quite cover his indebtedness there are those of his creditors who are far from feeling so confident Four of the local banks cover nearly SIOO,OOO of his paper at the present time, all of which is said to be unsecured. The Hennepin county savings bank has $5,000 of this and the Nicollet and First national and Security banks about $3,000 each. An official of one of the above banks offered to sell his paper for 25 cents on the dollar. The immediate cause of Corser’s failure is wheat speculation. It is to the wheat pits of Minneapolis and Chicago, and not to Minneapolis real estate, that the failure must be credited. The story is that Corser’s losses in wheat aggregated $250,000. When asked about tbe matter he did not deny that he had lost money in wheat speculation.