The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1879-07-31


Frank H. Gassaway, man of notorious
character in Washington, received ST.
66S.73 for taking an inventory ll6
pages of foolscap), of furniture and fix
lures at the San Francisco Mint. At
the close of the Lindeman investigation
Of that mint in 1877, but before the re-
port was made, the Superintendent, La
Grange, who was removed in consequence
of that investigation presented Linde-
mans wife with $1,000, saying it was a
present from the employees of the
mint. Some of the employees, it is said
complained afterward that they were
compelled to contribute and could i'll at
ford it.
When Prof. Robert A. Rogers, of Phil
adelphia, E. o. Leech of the Mint Bu-
reau, Washington, and A. W. Dowing,
Chief of the Coming Department Of the
Philadelphia Mint, were sent to San
Francisco to examine and attend the
yearly settlement of the Mint, Lindeman
instructed Superintendent La Grange to
pay their travelling expenses and $40 q
day to Rogers from the profits of frac-
tional silver coinage. Before the Glover
Committee he swore that he had never
used these profits thus, but the record
convicted him.
Lindeman bought in his wife's name,
in 1874, $50 shares of the California and
125 shares of Consolidated Virginia, the
"Big Bonanza" silver mines of Nevada,
which were controlled by Flood, O'Brien,
Mackey and Fair. For these he paid 80
per cent. or less, about $4,000. Before
the committee he had called these $780,
900 every moderate means" of his wife's.
In March, 1875, he bought of the Con-
solidated Virginia Dore silver bullion,
valued by the sellers at 81 ,023, 900, and
paid them 81, 100000 on account without
waiting for the assay to show whether it
was correctly valued, or 9S.3 per cent.
of the value as afterward ascertained.
The company got their money two
months before completion Of assay, and
were thus enabled to make $4,000 in
terest. In June, 1875, he bought of them
imported silver bars valued by them at
81 500, 1000, and paid them $l.425, 900
down over two months before completion
of assay, and enabled them thus to make
SOS, 900 interest. The assay showed the
bullion worth but 81 ,437 900 or sea, ,O0O
short of the valuation, so that he paid
them IN advance 9S.6 per cent, of the
value, running a great risk of the over.
paying. The bullion was paid for at
S1.21@ per ounce fine metal, delivered at
San Francisco. The express charges
were paid by the Government to New
York from the profits on fractional
silver coinage. instead of being paid by
the sellers, and the charges at the Assay
Office were borne by the Government,
without authority of law. These expen-
ses amounted to $4,000, which made the
silver cost the Government SIPS per fine
ounce. The market value was S1.24.S
so that the purchase, as we'll as costing
$4,000 more than Lindeman pretended,
cost $4,000 more than it could have
been bought for elsewhere. Lindeman
also directed Superintendent Acton to
pay $4,000 more than the assayed value
of the gold in the purchase, the. sell
ers claiming that the assayers had made
mistake" Acton replied that there
was no authority to pay it, but at Linde-
mans direction, after seeking to throw
all the responsibility on Lindeman, he
paid, and charged it to "proft and loss. u
Prof. r. Rogers of Philadelphia, an:
other stockholder in the Consolidated
Virginia, the sellers, was employed by
Lindeman to make an examination" ="
and of course reported strongly in favor
of making the payment. William E.
Dubois, Assayer at Philadelphia, pro.
tested strongly against correcting" as,
says at the instance of outside parties
saying that this destroyed the reliability
of assays. The payment was hidden in
the Directors annual report for 1877, by
calling it "wastage," when no wastage
but $4,000 saving, had occurred. The
payment took place without the knowl.
edge of the New York Paying Clerk, and
without authority from the Secretary oi
the Treasury. The purchase altogether
cost about $50, 900 more than was preten'
ded. In the same month Liudeman also
took off the Company's hands nearly $2,'
100000 more silver that they were anx'
ious to sell.
January, 1875, the Bonanza stocks, un'
der the effect of wild reports about the
mines, were very high in price. Consoli'
dated Virginia reached $50. Lindeman':
s25, 900 worth of stock was worth once
100000. But it fell by October to 2l(
and California, the other part of the Bo'
nanza, to 250. So it was bulled again
In the summer of that year Lindemau
visited California on official business
sought conference with the manager:
of the mines, and arranged an inspection
of them. He and Prof. Rogers then OF
soon after, holder of $4,000 or more
stock in these mines, inspected them
twice. Rogers made report valuing
them at $300,00O,000, which Lindeman
saying that other estimates were toe
high, concurred in and published in his
annual report for 1875. This was widely
circulated and jumped Consolidated Vir.
ginia to 1876 and California to 375. The rise
carried Lindeman's stock up to 10000
and his official representations held the
stock up to $50 per original share to the
end of 1876, and to lis, till the end Of
1877. The mines only produced about o
sixth of the amount represented, and the
stock fell in value about SIS, 900, 900, &C.
cording to the Statistician of the United
States Monetary Commission. The
maintenance of the stock at high prices
enabled the owners to sell y stock
enough to realize about $125,000,000,
and the fall caused the buyers to lose
about S100,0O0,0OO, which the first sell
ers pocketed by Lindeman's aid. This
spread misfortune and distress through
out the Pacific coast.
Oct. 10, 1877, the Secretary of the Treas
ury signed at Lindeman's instance an
order stopping the coinage of trade dol
lars. Lindeman managed to let the
Nevada Bank of San Francisco, owned
by the Consolidated Virginia party and
the Anglo Californian Bank, know of the
suspension the same day, though the
public did not know it till the next.
The second business day after the sus-
l.. I'LL L i