The New Orleans bulletin. [volume] (New Orleans [La.]) 1874-1876, 1876-03-22
THE EMMA NINE FRAUD.

The arrival in this country Of Mr.. Schenck
late Minister to England, will revive the in
terest of the public in that remarkable cpl
} sode Of the Minister'S career-the Emma
mine fraud That transaction has for sew.
eral years involved Gen. Schenck in suspi.
cions, more or less we'll defined, of com
plicity in deliberate and successful attemp
to swindle the British public; but it is only
Of late that these suspicious took the shape Of
direct accusations, supported by such testi
mony as made it necessary for Gen. Schencl
not only to notice them, but to resign hi
Office and return to his own country. III
comes ostensibly with tho purpose of meeting
and refuting the charges which have been
brought against him, and which have beer
under investigation by the House Committee
on Foreign Relations What Mr.. Schenck
may have to say in defense of his con.
duct we can scarcely conjecture. He
might produce Grants certificate Of good
character; but such certificate would be
like bankrupt's Endorsement He might
show the resolutions recently passed by q
meeting of his American friends in London,
who declare that Gen. Schenck is gentleman
London might be supposed to have been in
fuenced by the destinations of that social
game which, concurrently with the Emma
mine the American Minister had the honor
Of introducing to the British public. He may
allege that he left England with all the pride
and pomp Of retiring plenipotentiary; but
the committee will be unable to Danish the
picture of the sighted Queen, to whom the
retiting plenipotentiary forgot to render his
adieux, and, of the baffied constable standing
on the shores of Albion and frantically waving
his futile writ after the privileged diplomat.
Apart, however, from what Schenck may
say or produce in his defense. it may not be
out Of place to recapitulate the points in this
extraordinary history, as far as they have yet
been developed by the testimony. The main
fact is that some years ago q company was
formed in London to purchase the now
celebrated Emma mine-a mine differing
from other mines in this respect, that the
celebrity Of those. for instance the great de-
AoC6tOCoS,
is derived from the abundant supplies Of pre-
cious metal which they furnished, the cele-
brity of this one is based upon its abundant
deficiency in that respect. 1t was not only
case of "the more You put in the less you
take out but it was case of putting every
thing in and getting nothing out To sell
such property as that was, strange as it may
seem, very easy thing in London.
Albert Grant, the great "promoter," took
the enterprise in hand, and with him were as
ISOLATED as promoters and directors a large
number of persons with honest names and
high-sounding titles. Conspicuous among
these was name and official title Of Gen.
Schenck, American Minister at the Court of
st. James. Principally through the influence
Of these honest names, and high-sounded
titles, the British public were allured into the
scheme. The capital Of s5. 600, 900 was eagerly
subscribed; the shares were zealously sought,
and they soon advanced to premium on the
strength of kilograms and reports from the
mine, which opened to the longing eyes of the
visions of sudden wealth ex-
ceeding the riches of Aladdin's cavern, or of
Sinbad's diamond valley. At this time the
promoters sold out and pocketed
rich dividend, derived, not from the
depths Of the Emma Mine, but
from the depleted pockets Of the British
Then it was discovered that |
the whole affair was q sham; that the Emma |
mine was q delusion, and the honest names
and high-sounding titles of the directors, a
snare. Not to put too fine point on it, it
was found that the British public had been
thoroughly swindled, and that the Emma
mine was only "pocket," and no. q "fis-
sure vein, which is equivalent to saying that
after the first "fad" of ore was exhausted
the mine was worthless.
It is now believed that the persons who got
up this scheme were all the time aware of the
of the property which they
offered for sale, and it is charged that Mr..
Schenck received large payment in guaran-
Iced shares and otherwise, for the use of his
name. Recently. what purports to be
account Of the transaction
was given before the Committee on
Foreign Relations, by one James E. Lyon, of
Racine, Wis, who claims to have originally
had an interest in the Emma mine property,
which claim gave rise to lawsuit with one
Trevor W. Park and others. This suit was
at the instance of Senator Stew
1T, Of Nevada, Lyons counsel, and new
company was formed. Then originated the
project Of selling the property in London.
Prof. Silliman seems to have been paid $780,
700 for making . report, which report repre-
tented the mine as q rich and productive
property: It is proper to say that Silliman
in testimony before the committee,
he facts on which this report was based, and
{ is hard to believe that he was, guilty of
vilful Misrepresentation. On the other hand,
Lyons testimony seems to justify the infer
'nce that the mine was fixed in advance,