The New York herald., 1876-03-03
General schenek and Little Emma.

General schenck and Little Emma.
We have now the intelligence that Minister
Schenck is about to return home to explain
his connection with the deplorable Emma
Mine business but before he leaves the
teeming world of London behind we hope
he will give promise to go back at an early
day. His own fair fame and the sadly shat
tered honor of his country alike demand
such a pledge. Sheltered behind his
diplomatic immunity he may remain safely
in London /; but once leaving it and then
disposing of his Ministership the wronged
and robbed thousands of English investors
would find the chance of testing General
Schenck's responsibility as small as that of
getting back their money. Hence our Min
lister Mt the Court of st. James should volun-
tarily give bonds to return. 1t may be
essential to General Schenck to fight the mat
ter out in Washington but unless he stands
his ground in England his future will be as
clouded as that of the whilom republican
Presidential candidate who stands con-
demncd by French law to a fclon's cell in
cont,rmdcian for his part in q similarly bot
tomless stock swindlo. English law does
not try a man in his absence but the eva
sion of trial WILL in General Schencks
case, be as morally destructive of his char
acter as the sentence of the French court on
General Fremont.
This Emma Mine business shows the gull
libility of the English people in a peculiar
light. England is full of people with small
fortunes who do not desire to invest them in
business, but are always on the lookout for
any stock investment that will bring any
rate of interest higher than the old comforta-
bic three per cents. They are not rich
enough to 60 to the fountain head for infor-
nation like large capitalists, and hence must
rely on the representations of others. They
mostly belong to the decent classes and to
thousands of them the loss of their fortune
means beggary. For them is the glittcrine
prospectus made. For them is it studded
over with names that seem synonyms
of honor, stability and safety. For English
projects n man or two of title is necessary
but for IN American trap no bait could be
more alluring than the name of tho American
business, TO be sure. is not promoter of
bubble companies but his name in pros
pectus is as incontestGblc n fact as q fly in
amber, although it may trouble every honest
man i'll America to know how it got there
How did it? The casual visitor to Sclt Lake
City in the summer OF 1871 could learn that
the Emma Mine was only u rich 'pocket,"
with oil its wealth in sight, and that
the chance of finding q true vein of
ore within the radius of the claim was as
gcologcally remote as the prospects of a
poker player 'iilling his hand when draw
ing to a single ace-a form of comparison we
have specially used to bring the matter home
to General Schenck. twas even reported that
the owners were afraid to work the mine for
fear of it's prcmaturely "petering out. Were
General Schcncks means Of information in
ferior TO that of the stray visitor to Ciah
Or did he lend his name to the speculation
without taking the trouble to inquire
Decidedly, the plea of being victim IS
as dangerous to him as any other he could
make.