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Show Reveal Decline of Studebaker Wealth their ancestral home on the knoll at Tippecanoe place. It was a massive, mass-ive, 30-roora mansion of stone built by the colonel's ratner. The antiques an-tiques and heirlooms of the family were left behind to help satisfy claims of creditors. At this home the Studebakers had constantly entertained for large groups of friends. In the city the couple was known as kindly and democratic. Comrades of the colonel's Spanish war days were invited in-vited to camp on the extensive grounds of the estate. Now the couple live in strict retirement. re-tirement. They see only a few of their closest friends. But those who have visited the couple in their mod est quarters report them cheerful cheer-ful and smiling, despite hardships to which they are unaccustomed. "Folks have been mighty kind," they say. "After all, that's what counts." Huge Fortune Wiped Out by Depression. South Bend, Ind. The decline of the fortunes of the house of Studebaker, Stude-baker, once the city's first family, has just been revealed. In a modest frame house Col. George M. Studebaker and his wife, head of the clan and one time master mas-ter and mistress of a great gray-stone gray-stone castle, are weathering out the lean depression years. Gone Is the enormous Studebaker fortune, which dated from the time the forbears of the present family started a little wagon factory here, nearly 100 years ago. The millions that piled up when the Studebaker factory turned to the manufacture of automobiles have vanished. Today the woman who ruled as arbiter of South Bend society and moved In the first social circles of New York and Chicago Is living with her husband upon the charity of close friends. The Studebakers live in a small white-painted house on a quiet South Bend residential 'street Mrs. Studebaker, whose hands are more accustomed to pouring tea Into dainty cups of porcelain than handling brooms and mops, helps with the dally household routine. A maid who cooks the meals does most of the housework, but many of the homely tasks fall upon Mrs. Studebaker. ' Family Loss Near $6,000,000. The story of the scars left by the depression upon the Studebaker fortune differs only in degree from that of thousands of typical American Amer-ican families trapped by the treach erous declines of the security markets. mar-kets. Close friends of the family estimate esti-mate the losses of Colonel Studebaker Stude-baker and his brother, the late Clement Cle-ment Studebaker, Jr., at about $0,-000,000. $0,-000,000. Most of the loss came In the terrific collapse of the Insull utilities empire, In which the fam ily had a heavy stake. The Studebakers had been closely allied with Insull In his spectacular rise to fame and power. A few weeks ngo Colonel Studebaker Stude-baker tiled a petition In bankruptcy. He showed liabilities of $2,000,000, assets of $2,000 and about $35 In cash. Notes of other Investors, which the colonel and his brother signed, added to their heavy losses. Gives Up Palatial Home. When the bankruptcy action was filed the Studebakers moved from from extravagant forecasts, and declare de-clare It would be too much to expect ex-pect that so gigantic a program could be gotten under way within the few months the PWA has been functioning. Spring Is Goal. The best they hope for is to reach the peak of construction and consequent con-sequent employment by spring. Nevertheless, the employment curve on the graph Is constantly rising, with the prospect lt will level off somewhat by mid-December. By then, PWA engineers and statistl clans declare, more than 1.500,000 will be at work on federal projects, Including the $400,000,000 countrywide country-wide road program, and munlcipnl and state projects. With more than $l.SO0,0O0,000 already al-ready allotted for federal projects alone, and . non-federa. projects bringing the total to date to more than $2,000,000,000 contracts are being be-ing let with Increased speed. Ickes has not let down the bars |