Tonopah bonanza. [volume] (Butler City [i.e. Butler], Nev.) 1901-1909, 1903-06-13
CLOSURE OF THE
STOCK EXCHANGE
Review Of Facts and Statement Of The
Causes Therefor.


The idea Of establishing stock ex-
change In ToDopah was conceived in
the early part of last year, and after
arrangement of preliminaries, the
raising of funds To erect the building,
and the completion Of the latter, the
exchange was formally opened in
January of this year, with Henry c.
Cutting as president Hardly had
the first call been made when trouble
begun. Wash sales of stocks of non
producing mines, particularly those
in which the president was inter
ested, took the lead in each days
sales, and were doomed to value far
beyond reason stocks issued by
merltorious companies were run
down to figures twenty-five and fifty
per cent lower than the treasury
price, and the stock of close corpor-
atoms, whose issue was held solely
by individual members of the COM
panies and not share of which had
been permitted to get into the mar
ket, had a ridiculously low value
put upon it by being hammered down
for the benefit of few. And all this
when the stock could not be pro-
duced were it demanded by pur-
chaser. At this time it became evil
dent to ninety nine per cent of the
members of the Tonopah Stock Elk
change that it was being operated
against the best interests of the
camp and if allowed to continue with
the calls legitimate mining would
have to cease in Tonopah. A meet
ing was called by the stockholders on
the last of January for the purpose
of discon tinuing the calls and at this
meeting, by two-thirds vote, the
call was stopped. President Cut
ting arrived from San Francisco
few days afterwards and succeeded
in getting the directors to order a
call to be made and this in the face
of the order that had been made to
discontinue the calls. During the
opening of the exchange and the
election of new officers on April ",
the exchange had been plunged in
debt to the amount of 81, 800.
During this time not one cent
was ever paid in on the sales OF
stock, for no such a record is on the
hooks. Under the management of
the new directors the Indebtedness
of 81, 800 has been reduced to $767 .07.
If the wishes of the stockholders had
been complied with this expense
would not have occurred. On April
%, a new board of directors was
elected who ordered the exchange
closed until the time arrives that will
warrant the opening of the same.
Tonopah has the richest known mines
in the world to-day, but she has not
the population to maintain stock
exchange.
The people of Tonopah believing
that the business men of San Fran
cisco who have become interested
in the San Francisco and Tonopah
Stock Exchange did so in good faith
upon the representations made by
Tonopah people to them, felt it in
cumbent for them to show what the
Tonopah Stock Exchange has had
upon the mining industry of this dis
trict, amp they should at all times be
guarded in their investments by care
full investigation of the mines in this
district and not be made to believe
that Tonopah mining district covers
an area several hundred miles and
that the Mizpah ledge runs through
it all. The representative mining
men of Tonopah do not approve or
countenance the listing of wild cat
miees and unloading them on the
public generally.