Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-12-04
AT THE LAST DITCH.
Comstock Mining Stock Gamblers
Near the End of Their String.
A SUIT THAT SETTLES THE CASE.
Peculiar Methods of Milling Brought Out
on the Witness Stand.
A SUIT THAT SETTLES THE CASE.
THE BROKERS BUSINESS KNOCKED OUT
,errcr,n TELEGRAM TO THE DISPATCH. !,

rsrrcrAL TELEGRAM TO THE DIsPATcH.l
SAN Francisco, Dec. 3-The Comstock
mining stock gamblers are nearing their
last ditch, if one may judge from the San
Francisco market and the revelations made
in the Hale & Norcross suit here and in the
mines at Virginia City in the suit brought
bv NJ. w. Fox against the officers OF the
Hale & Norcross mine for s.. 600, 900, which
he claims has been stolen from the stock
holders He has actually proved from the
mines and mill records that in the three
wears which his suit covers ore that assayed
at S3,5O0,000 was shipped to the Nevada
mill, while only 81, 100000 in silver bull
lion was returned.
1t was proved that the mill company
worked for its own benefit what were called
'tailings," but these included rich con-
centrates, fraudulently allowed to run into
the mill 1t was also proved that Presi-
dent Lew, of the Hale & Norcross, was
paid regular bonus by President Hobart,
of the mill company, for which no one
could explain the purpose, but the assump.
ton is that it was sop to prevent him
from exposing the fraud on tie stockholders
he is paid to protect.
How Two Papers Are nIuzzled.
These admissions were all wrung from
Superintendent Evan Williams, of the
Nevada mill, as both President Levy
and Superintendent keating, of the Hale
g. Norcross Company, skipped to Nevada
and evsded subpenas. During these last
three years, when the books of the mine
show that sufficient good ore was extracted
to paw the quarterly dividends, assessments
were regularly levied on the Hale & Nor
cross, and the stock was kept down to a low
figure.
Levy & Heating are now on Comstock, and
they have exercised power there to bull
doze two daily newspapers of Virginia
CITY and prevent them from publishing re-
ports of the Hale K Norcross suit, under
threat of Withdrawing the advertising
patronage of all the mines. of course, it is
upon this advertising that the papers live,
so not one line of the damaging revelations
made for over week in this San Francisco
suit has been printed in Virginia. censor
ship of the press which would receive the
commendation of the Gar.
The Janin brothers, who went TO Virginia
City to try new process OF reducing Com
stock ore, which, it was claimed would
save much larger percentage of the assay
values than the process now in operation in
the Carson River Mills, report that the test
was a failure. 1t is now stated the Janins
were sent to Virginia City by the Hale &
Norcross management, with the understand
ing that they should report the present pro-
cess of reducing ore in operation at the Car
son River Mills the best that can be adopted,
and they will he called on to testify to that
effect in a suit against Hale & Norcross.
The Best Process Not Wanted.
It is well known among quartz mill en-
rnlnrac that fbe mill mostly
posed of the Comstock Mining Company
directors do not desire to save large per-
centage of the assay value of ore. If they
did it would materially decrease the value
of tailings, which form The principal source
of the mill owners revenue Hence no
process whereby a greater percentage of the |
ASSAY value of the ore is saved than by the |
present method vii be adopted.
All these revelations of fraud have Grip |
pied the mining stock market here. There |
is not a stock on the list which sells for S. |
share, and the commissions on all the daily
transactions in both boards won't pay the
rent of single brokers' Office. Business is
practically dead, as no outsiders can be in
duced to put money into mining stocks.
John w. Mackay was on the witness stand
this afternoon. His testimony clinched
several points made by the plaintiff, and
corroborated the theory of fraud in milling
ores. Mackay is acknowledged by all to be
without a superior in the practical knowl-
edge of working ores. He declared that
there shouldn't be a difference of more than
10 per cent between the ASSAYS at mine and ]
at the mill. Fox has shown that the differ
ence at the Hale & Norcross was 35 per
cent Mackay also testified that there was
good profit in milling SIS ore, whereas no
Hale & Norcross ore under $40 paid the
expenses of milling.