Bigger Atlas

Notoriously miserable has been the record of investment trusts as a group. Notably excellent has been the record of one trust: Atlas Utilities Corp. Last week Atlas, still little known beyond the purlieus of Wall Street, acquired control of two well known investment trusts, and with them, management contracts.

The deals marked the eighth and ninth acquisitions made by Atlas since last October. President of the company is a quiet, modest man of 39 who is considered one of the ablest men in the country yet is as obscure as his company. He is Floyd Bostwick Odium (pronounced: Oddlum) whose other chief interests are his vice-presidency of Electric Bond & Share and his vice-chairmanship of its big unit. American & Foreign Power Co. Seldom in the public prints, he was written up two years ago for conducting the "most expensive telephone call," London-New York, 95 min., $1,425. Slim, nonchalant, sandy-haired & freckled, Floyd Bostwick Odium studied law at University of Colorado, in New York started work with Simpson, Thacher & Bartlett of Manhattan. In their office he became a close friend of George Henry Howard, seven years his senior. Just as Lawyer Odium left to take charge of the legal department of Electric Bond & Share, so, two years ago, Lawyer Howard left to become president of United Corp.

In 1924 the two men formed a private investment trust, first called U. S. Co., later Atlas Utilities Corp. The original investment of $40,000 was the base for successful operations and in September 1929, a public offering of stock was made. Despite the financial connections of President Odium and Director Howard, Atlas is a strictly independent trust.

First of the two trusts bought by Atlas last week was Ungerleider Financial Corp., formed in 1929 under the management of Samuel Ungerleider & Co. whose senior partner is cheery "Ohio Sam" Ungerleider. The other was Sterling Securities Corp., formed three years ago by the interests which sponsored Insuranshares Corp. It has two Hayden, Stone & Co. men on the board, was one of the first two investment trusts listed on the New York Stock Exchange (the other: General Public Service Corp.). Assets of the two trusts at the end of last year were $9,000,000 and $20.000.000 respectively. Atlas now has $25,000,000 in assets, controls a total investment structure of $48,000,000. Despite their many duties, Friends Howard & Odium still have time to go trout-fishing together at the Howard camp, Mount Mansfield, in Vermont.

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