Arizona weekly journal-miner., 1902-02-19
A MAMMOTH CORPORATION.
Members of Douglas, Lacey S Co. Ar- rive m Prescott for Business Visit-An Insight Into the
 Operations of the Firm.

A distinguished party of gentlemen arrived on last nights train for a brief visit to this section to look aft .r mining and other interests here. It is party representing firm who during the past year has expended over SlOO,OOO in the development of the mining resources of this section, and whose expenditures during the present year will largely exceed those of last year. They are R. L. Spencer, Major Horace NJ. Russell and Dr. Peter Austin of Douglas, Laceo. & Go. of New York. Mrs. H. Howard Douglas, wife of the senior member of the firm, is also with the party, all of whom arc domiciled during their stay in Prescott with Mir. and Mrs. J.. W. Conger in East Prescott.
 MT. Spencer, who visited Prescott about year ago, is member of the firm and is a keen, shrewd business man who can grasp financial prop osition at a glance and either from intuition or through his superior sa- gacity, can come to conclusion at once in regard to the merit or de- merit of any proposition presented to him. Major Russell is the general manager for the firm in California and a portion of Mexico, and specially attends to their extensive oil interests in California.
 Dr. Austin is the metallurgist for the Standard Smelling and Refining company of which Douglas, Lacey & Go. are the fiscal agents, and which has recently completed the erection of a concentrating plant at Val Verde.
 The party went out to Val Verde today to inspect this latter plant which has been making experimental runs for some time, as it has not yet been accepted by the company. If it is pronounced satisfactory by Dr. Austin the plant will be accepted and active operations commenced at once.
 Douglas, Lacey & Co. are expan- sionists in the truest sense of the word. Commencing operations here about year ago or less with some properties purchased from H. B. Clifford, Captain l.. D. Phillips has been picking up additional ones as they have been presented to him, when proven satisfactory to him, un- til at the present time he has the supervision over thirty mines for that company.
 The financial plan adopted by Douglas, Lacey & Go. is somewhat new in regard to the operation of mines and manipulation of stock as investors with them are guarded against loss. They represent large number of companies and stock holders are given the benefit of the general average of them all. Among the number are several which are good dividend payers. From the stock of each company, when placed on the market, a certain percentage is taken and deposited with trust com pany. In case one company fails to prove remunerative the investor in it is permitted to return his stock and receive stock in a company which is paying dividends. The popularity of this plan is shown by the fact that it frequently happens that the stock of company when placed on the market is frequently over-subscribed in short time. Only a short time since they were compelled to return S60,0OO of one company organ ized by them, that amount of over subscription being received by them.
 The company's operations in this county will be very greatly enlarged during the present year.