Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1883-02-15
A METHODIST NINE.
Colonel BiXby's Philanthropy - How
Leading Lights of the Church Were
Taken In.

Colonel Bixby's Philanthropy - How
Leading Lights of the Church Were
Taken In.
The New York Herald devOtes three
| columns to the history of the Isabella
Silver Mining Company, into which. it is
stated, large number of leading Metho-
| dists in New York and elsewhere were
! drawn, and in which a large amount of
money has been sunk. The company was
Incorporated number of years ago under
the mining laws of California, and had a
nominal capital of $40, ZOO, 900. The owners
/ were San Francisco capitalists, among
| them Col. Ii. G.. BiXby, who. it is claimed.
| worked the mines long enough to become
| satisfied of their wOrthlessness. Rev. John
f. Spence, President of the East Ten
| nessee Wesleyan University at Athens,
was made to believe, however, that there
were millions i'll the mines, and Prof. CaId-
well, chemist and mineralOgiSt in the Yves
| leyan University, was sent out to exam
inc them, and reported that they were even
richer in ore than they had been repre-
sented. In the summer of 1873 DIR. Spence
and Professor Caldwell called on Rev. DR..
Newman, pastor of the Seventh Avenue
Methodist Church in New York, and in
troduced Colonel BiXby, who, DIR, Spence
said, had decided to endOw theEMethodist
Episcopal University at Athens with
gift of 5000, 900 or $780, 900 of mining stock,
Colonel BiXby admitted there were some
membranes on the property, but he
wanted to raise 500, 900 to put the mine in
working order. DIR. Newman was so favor
ably impressed that he invested s.. 900 in
the stock, and Bishop Simpson followed
with 5000. Soon afterward the
Christian AdUOcdte, the official organ
of the church, edited by Rev. C.
III. Fowler and Rev. w. II. De Puy, who
afterward invested in the stock of the
I Of.
BlXby's muniticence, and Endorsed the
mining enterprise in strong terms. The
| Wesleyan University put a thousand
+ shares of its stock on the market, letting
| early subscribers in 'EOn the ground
door" at So share, the par value being
| placed at $40. Prof. Caldwell also pub
lished in the Christian AdUOcote the
| result OF his Investigations, expressing
| the opinion that the Isabella mines
were among the most valuable in
| Arizona. Dividends of Eper cent a
| month were expected, and the
stock went off like hot cakes, and Meth
| Odist ministers as well as laymen invested
largely. Col. BiXhy, who is now said to
be in Spain, opened an Office at the Astor
! House, in New York, and peddled out the
| stock from ten dollars down to fifty cents
a share. The stockholders waited pa
tient1y for year, and then began to open
their eyes. Still there were encouraging
reports, and the Alice mine, adjoining the
Isabella, was purchased. Last March
even the pretense of working the lisa
bella was abandoned, though it is
hoped the Alice mine will
still prove good property. The lisa
bella mine, it is stated, would have
been dear at 5000, while the ore is said to
be like that used by the Pennsylvania
Railroad to ballastits tracks. 1t is thought
it had been well sailed prior to Prof. Cald-
welPs visit. The East Tennessee Univer-
sity, which had intended to change its
name to the BiXby University, as a COM
pliment to the generosity of the California
millionaire, has reconsidered its determi-
nation, and will retain it's present name.
No blame is ascribed to DIR. Spence or
Prof. Caldwell, who are thought to have
been simply the catspaw of a very clever
speculatOr. Large numbers of Metho-
dists, it is stated, would be pleased to dis
pose Of Isabella mining shares at very low
figures.
j. j. Olsher, Tusculum, Ca, says:
Browns Iron Bitters is the best medicine
/ ever knew for torpid liver,n