Broken Caneheart

To many a proud, rich family Depression has brought a sudden shock. Last week it was the turn of the sugar-great Spreckels family to receive its Shock, but it was one which did not come as a total surprise.

If the Lords of Business are gathered in some marbled Valhalla, the late Claus Spreckels must be prominent among them. When the celestial ticker has stopped and cocktail time draws near he might entertain the other spirits with tales of his business battles. Many were the little struggles which marked his rise from a German emigrant (1848) to a San Francisco storeowner (1856) and then a mighty sugar king. Among these was the hard battle with American Sugar Refining Co., ending with the "Sugar Trust" being driven from Mr. Spreckels' territory. And there was the argument with King Kalakaua of Hawaii which ended in defeat, Sugarman Spreckels returning his medals and title and the King allowing rivals to enter the rich sugar territory. And there was the titanic battle with his son Rudolph over sugar after which the son emerged a victor and millionaire at 26.

When San Francisco was having its political upheavals in 1906, young Son Rudolph took an active part, became recognized as the new leader of the Spreckels family. When Claus Spreckels died in 1908 the leadership was a fact. Brother Claus August ("Gus") Spreckels moved to New York, where he directed the Spreckels Sugar Corp. (formerly Federal). Rudolph Spreckels continued to live and act in the manner which made Spreckels synonymous in the West with Wealth and Prestige. First blow to the Spreckels pride must have been the collapse of Kolster Radio (1930), of which Rudolph Spreckels was board chairman. Although absolved of blame, Mr. Spreckels had shown that his potent sugar magic was not applicable to radio.

While the Spreckels interests are many, sugar has been the core. Great is American Sugar Refining Co. whose table sugars (Domino and Franklin) are 25% of the total U. S. cane output. Also great was Spreckels Sugar Corp. whose tablets (Caneheart) were 6%. Depression has hit both companies. Last fortnight American Sugar, whose chairman Earl D. Babst has no faith in stabilization projects, bowed to the gale and cut its dividend from $5 to $4. And last week the same gale toppled Spreckels Sugar into a receivership.

Applicant for the receivership was Mr. Spreckels himself, owner of $10,000,000 par value securities in the company and its creditor for $50,000. Depression has hit the company so badly that it has only nominal cash, has current liabilities almost twice as great as current assets, has paid no dividends since 1924, is accumulating interest debts at the rate of $300,000 a year.

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