The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-07-21

read off yesterday and, while it did
NOT develop the presence of any more
knowledge of the use of cyanide as a
gold and silver solvent among the min
ing men examined than was the case
on the day previous, yet the hearing
before the commission was of a more
interesting nature. President Dern, Of
the Mercur Gold Mining and Milling
company, was asked TO take the strand
by Mr.. Edm0ndS counsel for the cy-
andde people, and, of course he re-
fused. 1t was only a grand bluff on
the part of the attorney, made simply
Tor the purpose of getting the matter
into The record and thereby before the
court of South Africa. In this he was
very successful, as the following inter-
e5dng official transcript of the records
kept by StenogTapher Cook will show:
Mr.. Edmonds calls the attention of
the commissioner to the fact that there
has been present at all the sittings
Of the commission in this city, a, gen
tieman who, he is informed, is a mem
Der of the bar, by name Mr.. Frank
Pierce, and who, he has noticed, in the
daily Journals, is referred to as TAX
iIsg part in assisting the plaintiff s
counsel, Mr.. TruslOw, in this case and
before this commission. Mr.. Edmonds
AO4oC@'Ao SAAcll MI ACIC6, LCIG PRES
emit, will kindly state whether he is
acting as one of the counsel of the
plaintiff in this case at the present
time, or has been so acting in any way
during the Sittings of this commission.
Mr.. Pierce-NOt at all, sir.
Mr.. Edmonds requests Mr.. Pierce
to state whether or not he has made
suggestions TO the Plaintiffs counsel,
Mr.. TruslOw, respecting the crOSs-eX-
animation Of the Defendants witnesses
called before this commission.
''Mr. Truslow-NIr. Pierce has done
so n
Mr.. Truslow objects to any of this
matter going upon the record, on the
ground that the same is entirely irrel-
evant.
Mr.. Edmonds calls to the stand as
a witness Mr.. John Dern. here pres
emit, who, he believes. is the president
of the Mercur Gold Mining and Mill
ing company of Utah.
Mr.. Truslow objects, no notice hav-
ing been given.
Mr. Edmonds suggests that mas
much as Mr.. Truslow has hitherto uni
fOrmly waived lack of notice in the
case of all previous witnesses, that he
will state whether lack of notice is
The only reason why he declines 10
allow Mr.. Dern to testify at the in
stance of the defendants.
Mr. Truslow replies that Mr.. Dern
S. Interested in the MeTcur Gold Min
ing and Milling company, a. company
which, he believes, is using the McAr-
thur-F'orrest pr0cess-a company, at
least, which is being sued for infring-
ment Of the McArthur-FOrre process;
and he therefore, thinks that this eX-
animation is simply a fishing excur-
sion. and for that reason he objects
until he has deliberated upon the
question; and he now states that MI.
Del-n refuses to go upon the stand.
Mr. Edmonds replies that he would
be happy, on behalf of his clients, to
afford Mr. Dern an opportunity of
going upon the witness stand and teS-
tifying as to the facts in issue in this
case. He naturally prefers that, con-
sdering Mr.. Dern'S position of nos
Utility to the McArthur- Forrest patents,
as stated by Mr. TruslOw, he shall go
upon the seand. if at all. without inter
mediate elaboration on the part or
Mr. Truslow, or opportunity for con-
ference in regard to his testimony;
that if Mr.. Dern declines to go upon
the stand now, he shall not offer him
another opportunity for 50 doing.
THE Commissioner think that the
objection raised by Mr.. Truslow, Of
want of notice, is a good one, under
the powers vested in me by the COM
lri'sssion, and I sustain the objection.
There were several Tx[SOnS why Mr..
Dern did not care to go%pon the stand,
one Of them being that there is vast
difference between the questions al IS
sue in this SouthhAfrican case and that
in which the Mercur company is di-
rectIy interested. The South African
patents are general in their nature,
while those in the United States pro-
vide for a specific solution. designated
as weak solution of eight to 1000
Where users of the cyanide process are
not making use of this particular ratio
the claim is made that the holders OF
the patents have no rights in the mat
ter.
Only two new witnesses were eX-
alr!ned before the commission yester-
day. the usual long waits occurring
between and during sessions. 1t was
announced that the defendants have
Int three or flour more people to call
to the witness stand and Monday viii
more than likely witness the ending of
the work of the commission in the
west. At the morning session Mr..
Steen was recalled for the purpose of
showing that the purchasers of the
Union mine, his old property in Cali
fornia, did not make use of the cyanide
process 20 treat their gold ores during
the time they were in possession. The
gentleman stated that when he took
the property back ii was very evil
dent to him that no attempt had been
made to treat the ores, for the mill
was in the same condition as when he
left il.
The new witnesses were Richard
Efackintosh and John Herman. Their
testimony was OF practically the same
"a ture. Both have been for years in
ferested in and directly connected with |
.nsining and the general treatment of /
ares, but neither had heard Of the /
eyanide process prior to the filing of |
the patents in the United States, nor |
had they ever known of cyanide being |
used as a solvent for gold or silver /
prior to the date of the issuance of the |
referred to. The gentlemen |
stated that they always kept posted /
On any new method of process for the |
treatment of ores and would have /
heard OF the cyanide process prior to /
the issuance of the regular patents had I
1t been made use of in this section. |
Neither of the witnesses had ever made |
use of cyanide in any of its forms.
Both sides profess to be greatly |
pleased with the showing that has been
made before the commission during the
sittings in this city and certainly each
has made points and succeeded in en-
81 m boring the records with y1-of11se