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Show "BORAX KING'S" TANGLED AFFAIRS San Francisco. July 25 The tang: ed affairs of F M Smith, the "borax king," and head of a two hundred million dollar string of corporations, were taken Into the bankruptcy court yesterday when four small crodltora of the financier filed a petition in the I United States district court asking ihai Mr Smith be declared an lnvol-' lnvol-' untarv bankrupt The petition, signed by Leo R Dickey. E Gilman. Albert H. Hen lord and the Union Land company, de clares that prior to Mav 5. when i committee was appointed to acl SN trustee in managing Mr Smith's affairs, af-fairs, Mr Smith conveyed without mouey consideration properties valued at $1,000,000 to the Mercantile Trui-f company to B, F Edwards and to his wife, at a time when he was insolvent. These transfers, it Is alleged In the complaint, constitute acts of bankruptcy. bank-ruptcy. Late last night the committee of business men which has charge of th? personal affairs of Mr Smith gave out a detailed statement of the condition condi-tion of the millionaire's accounts. The statement says that the petition in bankruptcy was entirely unexpected, because of the fact that when the committee took charge of the affairs the majority of Mr Smith s creditor believed that they would oe able to accomplish more than would a re celver in bankruptcy. The situation with respect to Mr Smith e Indebtedness is described in the statement a6 follows- "The creditors have been advised by us from time to time of the progress pro-gress which we have made and have given us their heartiest co-operation ' Mr. Smith's secured indebtedness approximates $6,000,000, and that of the realty syndicate, excepting mori gages therefrom, to $2,000,000 The realty syndicate also has outstanding its 6vndlcate sixes in an amount of approximately $4 000. 000. These 6um In the aggregate constitute $12,000. 000 of debt. The creditors holding approximately $9,000,000 of this total sum have ai ready deposited their securities with the Mercantile Trust company and have signed authorizations giving the committee full power to act. Certain other creditors holding over $-' 000 of cialms have agreed to cooper ate with the committee "At the present time therefore there is outstanding only ?1.0ou,00:i of secured claims which have not yet expressed their Intentions The commissioners In bankruptcy suit are among this minorit Their total claims against Mr Smith, a-cording a-cording to their petition, amount to approximately $155,000 |