VIRGINIA BIOGRAPHY
831
termyer was counsel for the latter, and his
activities brought on the investigation of the
life insurance companies and led to the
elimination of the officers and others who
had been responsible for irregularities, and
to the passage of reform laws in many
states. In 1906 he led the fight of the Inter-
national Policy Holders" Committee against
the old management of the Mutual and New
York Life Insurance companies. Another
case which attracted widespread attention
was the Dodge-Morse controversy, which
led to the disbannent and sentence to the
penitentiary of Abram H. Hummell, a well
know New York lawyer. Mrs. Dodge had
secured a divorce from her husband and
subsequently married Charles W. Alorse, the
banker, for whom Mr. Untermyer acted as
counsel. Hummell conspired with Dodge to
have the divorce set aside, on the ground
that he had never been served with process
in the divorce suit. They succeeded in this,
and Morse was compelled to secure an an-
nulment of his marriage because of the ille-
gality of the Dodge divorce. Mr. Untermyer
secured a restoration of the divorce through
court proceedings, and thus reinstated Mrs.
Morse as the lawful wife of the banker and
Dodge's attorney was punished as above
noted.
Mr. Unterm3-er has organized many of the great brewing, manufacturing, mining, in- dustrial and railway corporations for which he is general counsel. Among these may be namecl the Kansas City Southern Railway Company, the New York Breweries Com- pany, the New England Brewing Company, United States Brewing Company, General Development Company. New York Butchers' Dressed Meat Company, International Cot- ton Mills Corporation, American Litho- graphic Company, National Enameling & Stamping Company. Lake Superior Iron & Chemical Company, Antafogasta & Bolivia Railway Company, and many others in Eng- land, Germany and this country. He is a director in a multitude of corporations. As counsel for the leading copper and metal companies of the United States, he success- fully carried through the merger of the Utah Copper Company with the lioston Consoli- dated and Nevada Consolidated companies, representing a market value of over one hun- dred million dollars. For this he received the largest fee ever paid to an attorney in this country, seven hundred and seventy- five thousand dollars.
Although among the first to realize the
great economic advantages of corporate
combination, Mr. Untermyer is a firm oppo-
nent of corporate abuses, and it is said that
his candidacy for the United States senate
in 19H was opposed by many large finan-
ciers on that account. His fearless attacks
upon corporate abuse and the "confidence
game" in finance proves that he possesses
the courage of his convictions. His exposure
of the financial plan of re-organization of
the United States Shipbuilding Company
caused the retirement of Charles M. Schwab
from the presidency of the United States
Steel Corporation and the abandonment of
the proposed plan, for which was substi-
tuted a scheme which saved millions ot dol-
lars to the bond holders.
Mr. Untermyer has figured as counsel for one or another of the interests in nearly all the important corporate reorganizations of the past fifteen years. He represented the English debenture holders and share holders committee of the Pillsbury & \\'ashburn Flour Mills Company in proceedings con- nected with the receivership and proposed reorganization, and was counsel for the re- ceivers of the Seaboard Air Line. He now represents the committee of first mortgage bond holders of the Wabash, Pittsburgh Terminal railway, in the attempt to wrest the control of the Wheeling & Lake Erie railway from the Gould interests. He is counsel for the reorganization committee of the Kansas City. ]\Iexico & Orient Railway Company, now in the hands of receivers, and in which many millions of English capi- tal are invested.
He has consistently upheld the rights of minority stock holders, urging changes in the laws for their protection, and now rep- resents the committee of minority stock- holders of the Louisville, Henderson & St. Louis Railway Company, in the attempt to compel the Louisville & Nashville to pay dividends on the preferred stock of the for- mer company, which had been earned but diverted. He is also counsel for the com- mittee of stockholders of the Rutland rail- road to prevent the New York Central from diverting traffic in its own interest, and in the further attempt to prevent acquisition by the New York, New Haven & Hartford Railroad Company of control held bv the New York Central in the Rutland railroad, in exchange for control by the Central of the Ontario & Western, now owned by the
