St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1883-02-16

tai and wonderfully valuable mine in
Arizona. He was bachelor, wanted
to do something toward educating
youth, and had decided to give the
Tennessee college 5000, 900 or $500, ,0OC
worth of mining stocks. He had seen
Bishop Simpson and been referred to
DR.. Newman as great authority on
financial matters. Reticent about the
dazzling prospects of his mine, as a
man accustomed to mighty enterprises
might naturally be, by dint of ones
tioning the brethren learned that it
was perhaps the most valuable proper
ty in Arizona, and that great quanti-
ties of very rich ore were already taken
out, and that tons of almost pure sill
yer lay ready to be shoveled into carts,
or something to that effect. But
there was a trifiing encumbrance on
the mine, and it wanted the usual ''de-
velOping :" it might be well to raise
S50,00O, and it was proposed to give
the persons present an opportunity to
aid in doing this. The 800 shares
would be put on the market at $40
each, but those inside could take few
at S5. Here was an opportunity to
serve God and mammOn at the same
time to help an enterprise which
would finally make the college rich,
and also turn a private penny and
the temptation was too great. DR..
Newman invested $1,000, and Bishop
Simpson followed with 5000.
Col. Bixby's work was then well be-
gun, and his success continued. The
Christian Advocate, official organ of
the church, published an editorial
which enthusiastically Landed Bixby
as a public benefactOr with "name,
character and ability of the highest
mine at length. The editor, DR.. Fowl
er, and the associate, DR.. De Puy, had
some stock. DR.. De Puy says BiXby
never gave him any, and he thought
the same was true as to Fowler, but
tive were given some good bargains,
as we thought at the time" President
Spence advertised the stock for sale in
the Advocate, to be delivered at the
Methodist book concern building in
New York, and lastly, Prof. Caldwell
published in the paper report of Il
personal examination of the mine,
putting it to the skies. There was to
be 5 per cent dividend in November
and per cent a month thereafter
The result of all this was that MethO-
dists became crazy to buy the shares,
and great many did buy. 1t is said
that S5O,00O was "invested" in the
vicinity of New York alone. Church
members passed it around in a quiet
way as a good thing, and considerable
quantities were sold at Chautauqua in
1879, at the general conference at Gin
cinnati in 1880, and at other simi-
lar gatherings. Bixby took an
office in New York and made
hay to the utmost, selling right and
left for what he could get, from SIC
down to 80 cents. What the total was
nobody but he knows.
Long before the selling stopped there
was uneasiness because of the absence
of dividends, and then came the season
not unusual in such cases, of sending
new dollars after the old ones. Presi-
dent Spence arranged the purchase OF
an adjoining mine called the Alice
for S25 900, and a new company called
the Globe City was organized to take
the united property. Still nothing
came, and, other contributions being
exhausted, DIR. Newman advanced
$1,000 to send a Chicago engineer
named SissOn out to investigate
Then they had another man who only
wanted to ''develop" things, and Mr.
Platt of Waterbury, CT, sent out S35,
600 to do it with. Here the story ends
rather abruptly. The company exists,
and some stockholders yet nurse rem
nants of hope but the money is gone
The mine has been Jumped" because
neglected, and nobody will pay thu
5000 which would redeem it. TIL,
property is worthless, and the minis
ters, professors and editors are left t.
comfort themselves with the though
that men much better acquainted witt
business affairs have bought ex
perience of the same kind Spring
| field Republican