The daily gazette., 1883-02-08
A BIG MINING BUBBLE.
THE BISHOPS AND PREACHERS
STUCK ON STOCK.
LET IN ON THE GROUND FLOOR"
Colonel Bixby's Generous Gift-A specu-
lative Mania That Drew Church People
into Grand sWindle.

Colonel Bfxbyfs Generous Gift-A Specu-
lative Mania That Drew Church People
into Grand swindie.
NEW YORK, Feb. Light is thrown TO-
| day, by one of the New York papers, on the
mining transactions of clergymen and lay
| men high in the Methodist Church in New
York and elsewhere. II is a remarkable
story of fraud, by which $200, 900 or $500 900
| have been invested and lost in the Isabella
Silver Mining Company of California, an
almost worthless corporation. The Western
Capitalists" among them Colonel H. G.
Bixby, 1t is said, worked the mines in Cali
fornia long enough to find them worthless,
and then tried to sell them in New York.
The first transaction, after the mines proved
| to be worthless TO the owners, occurred In
the parsonage of one of the leading MethO-
dist ministers In this city.
1t was early in the summer of '78, when
Rev. John =. Spence, d. D., President OF
the East Tennessee Wesleyan University,
situated at Athens, Tennessee, and Professor
L. B. Caldwell brought Colonel Bixby to the
study of the Rev. DR.. Newman, the pastor
of the Seventh Avenue Methodist Church In
this city. Colonel Bixby was introduced as
Californian of wealth, the owner of large
mining property. Being unmarried and
having no family, DIR. Spence said, Colonel
Bixby was desirous of devoting some part of
his means to philanthropic works, and had
decided to endow tine Methodist Episcopal
University at Athens with gift Of $200, 900
or S300,0 worth of ming shares. DR..
Spence, Professor Caldwell and Colonel
Bixby had already consulted with Bishop
Simpson, and he had referred them to DR..
Newman as the better fnancier, with
promises to abide by the latters decision
The Bishop was declared to be favorably
impressed with the proposition. DIR. New
man asked Colonel Bixby II he had received
his patents at Washington, and the latter
gentleman replied that ne had not com
pleted the transaction with the Govern
ment.
ENouMBRANcEs ON THE PROPERTY.
Colonel Bixby admitted that there were
some encumbrances on the property, and he
wanted to raise $4,000 to put the mine in
working order, purchase mill, etc. Pro
fessor Caldwell had spent some time at the
mine, and he was extravegant in his praises,
He expressed his belief, DR.. Newman says,
that it was the best property in Aiizona.
DIR. Spence backed Professor Caldwell's
opinion quite enthusiastically. The
stock was to be placed on the
market at tea dollars share,
but 1t was decided TO give the first
corners the benefit of the "ground floor
Judb 10 10 say, % u buare, lnbbeau OF clU,
would be the ground floor price to the first
corners. 1t had long been an expressed
purpose of DIR. Newman, he says, to give
portion of his fortune to the cause of educa-
ton, and he thought this an excellent OPP
portunity to carry out his intention. So
he invested 81 900 in the Isabella Mining
and Milling Company" and Bishop Simp-
son followed with subscription of 5000.
The Christian Advocate is the official
organ Of the Methodist Episcopal Church.
Rev. G. H. Fowler, D. D., LID, was at that
time, and had been for many years, editor
of that paper, aud Rev. w. H. De Puy, d.
D., assistant editor. Both of these gentle
men were induced to take stock, and ON
July 25th, the AdOocdte editorially com
mended Bixby's generosity and endorsed
the mining scheme.
From the clergymen of the church the
fever spread to the poorer preachers and
from them to the congregations. About
$50, 900 was realized in New York and Vicin-
ity at once, and later on this sum was
swelled to much larger proportions. The
exact amount invested cannot be discovered
after close inquiry. At Chautauqua, In
1879, and at the General Conference held in
Cincinnati in 1880, large amount of stock
was disposed of among the Methodists
gathered at those places.
After matters had run on for a year the
stockholders began to grow uneasy. The
November dividend of so cents share, SO
freely promised, had not been declared, as,
indeed, had none OF the 5 per cent. monthly
dividends succeeding Committees went
out to Globe City, where the mines were
located, to investigate, but returned with at
least comforting reports. The mine was
still declared to be good, but too high an
ticipations had been raised. 1t was dis
covered that adjoinind the Isabella was an
other mine-the Aliee-which seemed to
possess value, and which could be purchased
for S25, 1000, and it was added to
the assets of the company. The company
was reorganized under the name of the
Globe City Mining Company, enough pre-
ferred stock was issued and sold to pay for
the property, and the stockholders of the
Isabella Company received common stock,
share for share, in the new. The only piece
of property which Mr.. Spence, to whom was
due the purchase of the Alice, found on the
Isabella was mill valued at $40, 600, which
to-day is one of the strongest assets of the
Globe City Company, albeit the Alice mine
is thought to be good property. As for the
ore on the dumps, claimed by Colonel
Bixby to be rich in silver, DIR. Spence found
twas largely the kind of ore with which the
Pennsylvania railroad ballasts its roadbed.
FEW OF THE LOSERS.
Rev. DIR. Newman had been persuaded TO
invest $500 more for improvements, and to
lend $500 to the managers. Another gentle
man, a DIR. Platt, of Waterbury, Conn, was
large subscriber, and before he got the
brakes ON had loaned the company $35, 900.
Oliver L. Gardner, chair manufacturer of
New York, and deyout Metkodist, invested
1000 and lost all but 81 800 There were
innumerable others. Shortly afterwards
Bixby was discovered to be fraud of the
first water, and he got away with large
amount of money received for stock, leaving
the holders nothing but the two mines,
which are of doubtful value.
AwILMINeToNIAN INTERESTED.
Among the officers of the reorganized COM
pany, as published in the New York Herald,
appears the name of DR.. j. r. Tantum OF
this city, as president.