Clarke Squelched

Ever since Floyd Bostwick Odium's Atlas Corp. jumped into the tangled affairs of Utilities Power & Light Corp. in 1935. an air of electricity has hung about everything connected with the $400,000,000 holding company and its pyramiding promoter, Harley Lyman Clarke. Since last autumn, when Promoter Clarke was edged out of the U. P. & L. presidency, the charges and counter-charges have mounted to high-tension voltage. Last week came the first legal payoff in the whole business. In Chicago, Federal Judge William Henry Holly approved a voluntary petition from the company for a 77B reorganization, issued a restraining order against other suits against U. P. & L.

First effort to put U. P. & L. into receivership was last autumn when a group of creditors filed a reorganization petition at Freeport, 111. The company denied insolvency (which it did again last week) and had the case transferred to Chicago. Judge Holly then denied ex-President Clarke the right to intervene except as a creditor, which he did in a new action filed in Virginia, where U. P. & L. is incorporated.

While Promoter Clarke was seeking a way to get into that case, U. P. & L. filed suit against its old president for alleged misappropriation of $3,000,000 (TIME, Dec. 7). Cried Mr. Clarke: "Attorneys for Floyd Odium . . . [have] hastily concocted the scandalous story ... to muddle waters and to detract attention." Replied Mr. Odium: "I did not know of the suit until advised by the Press."

Harley Lyman Clarke continued to sputter on the sidelines last week after the 77B petition was accepted. Meanwhile Mr. Odium, holding 40% of the company's debt, prepared to take an active hand in remodeling the power pyramid into what the Public Utility Act of 1935 calls a "demonstrably useful" holding company.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.