Local Management Group Retains Control Of Argus

Local Management Group Retains Control Of Argus

Six Ann Arbor
Men Elected
As Directors

Detroit And Chicago
Stockholders' C?? ^
Win One Place i-acn

With more than 80 per cent o

>' stockholders voting either b;

; . i)\y or in person, the local man
agement slate last night took si;

out of the eight places on the nev
Argus board of directors.
'""Trfe Chicago stockholder
pledged to support the Gidwit
brothers slate obtained only oni
place on the board, and the De
troit shareholders committee, or
ganized by Louis Eston, also elect
ed one director.

Ann Arbor members of the boar*
of directors are: George J. Burke
sr., acting board chairman; Rob
ert Miller, manager of the Ai:

Lines National Terminal Servici
Co.; Rudolph Reichert, presiden
of the Ann Arbor Bank; Johl
Airey, King-Seeley Corp. boar<
chairman; Mayor William E
Brown, jr., president of the Am
Arbor Agency, Inc.; and H. L
Frisinger of the construction firn
of 'Lewis & Frisinger.
Other Groups Elect One Each

The Eston group director wa
William Trethcway, Detroit build
er and investor. The eighth direc
tor is Gerald Gidwitz of Chicago
president of Helene Curtis Indus
tries. Inc., a cosmetic supply firm

James M. Delaney, of Chicago
acting general manager of thi
< -nmpany, and A. L. Ashby, presi

>-(t of Olivet College, lost out ii
their bid for election to the boan
as management nominees.

Election of the new director
came shortly before 3 o'clock thi
morning following nearly 30 hour
of proxy counting, legal argument
and wrangling over procedure, an<
finally the balloting itself.

The outcome of the election wa
a sweeping victory for lor'"' riisri
agement. The group clair. i
control of the board by '-- . _ 1
witz brothers might have mean
removal of the business fron
Ann Arbor, although this chargi
was denied by the attorney fo:

the Gidwitzes.

After a short session at 3 o'cloci
this morning, at the close of th<
stockholders meeting, the new boan
decided +"i l'"1'4 its formal organi
zation '; Vtonday afternoon
Nov ••^ ..S.tit time it may elec
a h i airman, president an<
othc; - ;"• >'rs.
Complicated *'•''- System

Under the •, • .cated cumula
five voting system prescribed b;

Michigan law, each stockholde
has one vote per share for eaci
•director — or eight votes per shan
in the case of Argus, becausi
eight directors were to be elected

The stockholder could split hi
eight-votes-per-share evenly amonj
eight candidates, give all to on<
candidate, or otherwise divide then
as he sought fit.

Inasmuch as the six winning
management candidates receivec
either 294,779 or 294,780 vote]
apiece, it was evident that th<
Ann Arbor group dropped tw<
nominees (Ashby and Delaney) ii
order to be certain of the electiol
of the other six.

The Eston group, which origin'
ally had proposed five directorship
candidates but. nominated onl;

two. obviously concentrated it;

support on one candidate—Trethe
way, who led the balloting wit!
300,004 votes. The second Estoi
.nnirnnpe, Harris L. Greene of Nev

.'oiled only 500.
;•":

Gerald Gidwitz received 293,70(
to capture the eighth place on th(
board of directors. His brother
Joseph, fell approximately 25,00(
short, receiving 270,288.

Homer Hilton, present vice'
president and a retiring directoi
who withdrew his nomination b;

an independent stockholder, picRec
up 3,100 votes despite his plea thai
the management slate be sup'
portorL

Ashby and Delaney received 60(
voles each.

Eston, the Detroit investor wh<
secured the election of Trethewa;

to the board, charged at the open
ing of the meeting Wednesday tha
while the company was basically
sound, the major difficulties wer<
due to "faulty" plant operation.

He reported that Robert D
Howse, former president, was fire<
in June "after I intervened witi
Northern Trust Co. in Chicago, th<
principal creditor, to put. in a nev
general manager." Shortly afte:

the resignation of Howse, Delaney
of Chicago, the defeated nomine*
for director, was made acting man
ager.