The copper country evening news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 18??-1907, 1896-01-06

| greediness Oh tue OWNERS ot III" iec' VIM
dem lnded that ROYALTY OF 40 cents pc
ton should be paid for all the ore raise'
in the Queen mine during the past yea
and also for the years TO come, which thu
management for the lessees refused Il
pay, as to do so would entail further losi
upon them and therefore they instructed
Manager Cole to close down the mine ant
discharge the 200 men lately employed
there.
The prices OF labor, material and every
thing necessary in raising the ore and
sending it to market have fallen consider
ably. This became necessary in order to
compete with other ranges and the low
price of iron, but notwithstanding this
the owners OF the fee, like Shylock, have
demanded their pound OF flesh and will
not make any deduction from the roy
atty and in consequence those who still
work the mines have, in order to save
themselves, to reduce the pay OF the
workingman to the lowest possible point.
To show the greed OF these fee owners
we NAV state, the Iron Herald is our au-
thority, that the late Mr.. /. z. Pendill,
previous to 1871, purchased some land
at So per acre; that part OF the land was
afterward bought by one McComber who
explored and opened mine on il, which
he afterwards sold to the, McComber Iron
Co. This company, not being satisfied
with the result of the workings, after
wards. in 1886, sold the lease and mine
TO other parties for 100000, when the
Lucy mining company was formed and
which worked the mine for seven years,
giving employment during that time to
an averge of about fifty men. AYthe
price of ore had got so low the lessees
found that they could not work the mine
at profit and asked the fee owners to
'7asAAse s!ry 81. IL > : no (
ton, but "a they would not do so the
mining company stopped work, removed
all the personal property and surrendered
the lease, since which time the property
has been idle.
During the time the mine was worked
a ROYALTY OF 40 cents on 494 ,2S0 tons of
ore, amounting to S197,792, had been
paid to the fee owners who had bought
the land at s. per acre and had expend-
ed nothing on it after, as the lessees in
addition TO the royalty had to pay the
taxes, which during the time mentioned
amounted to say $4,000. But this il
not all, for another part of the Pendill
purchase, about twenty acres, was leased
by the East Jackson Mining CO., at a
ground rental Of 5000 per annum for
i've years. Thecompany expended about
sl5O,O0O in sinking shaft and other ex.
plorations. At the end of the five years
the company was willing to raise more
money for exploratory work, provided
the owners would remit the $4,000 per
year ground rent while the exploratory
work was going on, but the owners pos.
lively refused to make any such conces-
SION and in consequence the place il idle.
SO much for the Pendill property. but
now comes the case in point, where the
greed OF the BreituDg heirs and Mr.
Healey has just thrown 200 men out of
in the middle OF a Lake Su.
perlor winter. We again draw on the
Iron Herald, which states that in 1878
the late Mr.. Breitung and Mr.. Healey
purchased Tor an approximate sum of
$4,000 the mineral right Of large sections
d. land in the southeast portion OF the
'lty OF Negaunee. Various mines wero
afterwards opened on the land. the com.
'anies paying ground rent of $4,000
'ertain and a royalty OF 40 cents DER ton
he ground rent to be deducted from the
'osalty should that exceed $4,000.
one OF the mines opened on this prom.
rty was the Blue, the organizers. who
we're mostly people in the neighborhood
u Negaunee, spent nearly $175.O in
'peniDg and equipping this mine inter
Fhich the price Of ore fell so that !,
plte oil the cheap price OF labor the
essees found they could not work M
rofit and pay the 40 cents per ton row.
lty and accordingly asked Tor a rednc. :
ION TO 20 cents per ton, but az the own.
~ would not reduce il by the Is cent?
ne mine was idle all last year and
rom'ses to 20 remaip, entailing loss 70
|
very person concerned and WORKING
~ b hardship on very many Nepaunoe
eople who had put in their money 20
evelop the mine o
Upon this same $1,000 purchase xe,e
pened the mines OF the Buffalo syndi. 7
tie from which n round nu mbers 200
W tons OF ore have been shippe }. the
yal uDon which would be $500. 600. 7,
should be remembers that the lessees
ADDITION to the royalty have paid
any thousands OF dollars in taxes. but Y
Notwithstanding all this now that tho \
sees In the present state of the iron
ide, say they canno. afford 20 nav
're than 20 cents royalty, the fee III
'ners demand their full pound OF flesb
q rather than stand their fair propor.
% OF the sbrlnkage In vslues that has II