The San Francisco call., 1897-08-11

time Judgment is entered against them
which is to the effect that they must re-
turn 10 the stock holders OF the mining
company the value of the ore thus lost IN
the tailings. Surely this is peculiar find
ing of law and self-con Trajectory. On
these lines the charge is practically made
that these defendants have stolen this
money, although the court admits that
they made full returns of the bullion and
that the ores being treated to the greatest
advantage. there was no unnecessary
waste or loss IN the tailings."
Judge CARRIER then began review OF
the evidence given at the trial in the
lower court. The cars sample estimate of
the value of the ores was not criterion
O. the returns that should be expected
from milling. Expert c. W. Maxwell,
who had been called in behalf of the
other side, declared that so per cent of
the car-sampie estimate was fair return
for ore after reduction, and moreover
there was plenty of evidence to the effect
that car-sample assays did not give re-
liable estimate OF the value of the gold
and silver in the ore. There was no con-
ficting testimony on this point.
"When you come to convict these men,
he continued, "of theft, what kind of tes-
timony has been produced to bring about
such verdict?
Here, according to all the evidence,
was Il peEISCl HILL Will pCllCC1
machinery. The ores were we'll worked,
there being only IA per cent lost in the
operation. The conditions forbid fraud.
There were too many people engaged to
permit ii. Every phase of the case shows
that there were honest milling and honest
returns. All the doors were opened. The
books of the Bullion Exchange and Wells
Fargo banks were opened and examined,
and not scintilla of evidence to show
fraud was obtained. In 1892, when a re-
form board gained control of the Hale &
NoIcross Company, and these so-called
'consplrators' were ousted from office, 1T
was shown that 5000 tons of the same ore
were worked at the Brunswick mill and a
less percentage of the assay value than
that returned from the mill of the de-
PENDANTS was obtained. Surely then this
is positive denial of the charges of fraud
imputed to the working of this mill"
Continuing, Judge CARRIER declared that
the battery assay was the only proper
estimate of the real value of ore.
Attorney Baggett, in reply, enumerated
some of the early history of the case. In
all about Sc, 900 tons of ore were mixed up
in the fight. At a value of $36 a ton the
total value of this ore would be So 224, 600.
The battery SAMPLES at the mill reduced
this figure to 81, 224 600, or a million less.
He declared that at one time it was pro-
posed to split the difference as an ami
cable adjustment of the difficulty, but the
judgment of Judge Hebbard allowed the
mill-owners a much better settlement
than this. He said that at least S5 per
cent of the value of the ore should have
been returned from the mill, whereas but
81 per cent was the actual sum realized.
He repeated the charge that there had
been unnecessary waste in the taiings.
H. NJ. Levy had declared that the Hale &
Norcross ores were easy to handle and
that there were no elements in them to
prevent their amalgam alton. According
to Baggett there s ould have been re-
turned at least 81 100000 from the ore,
when in reality the value of the bullion
secured was but 81, ,62S, 900. a dissertation
on the value of car sampllng followed.
In conclusion Judge CARRIER maintained
that the physical facts forbade the exist
ence of any fraud among the milI-owners.
Here was case where men charged with
fraud had done every thing any good citi-
zen could do to justify themselves. This
charge had been made on a lot of vague
testimony. Every single grain of the gold
and silver obtained from the ores had
been returned.