The San Francisco call., 1904-03-15
THREATEN SUIT
AGAINST MINE
San Francisco Creditors Are
Losers by Queer Deal That
Is Made in Plumas County
BANKRUPTCY PROBABLE
New Outfit Costing $4,000
and Ore Deposit of Value
Are Yielded for Pittance

San Francisco business men and their
attorneys suspect that there has been
sharp practice in a mining deal by
which. on the face Of affairs, they stand
to lose 100000. Not long ago the Plumas
Gold Mining Company, Limited, allow
ed its valuable property to go out OF its
possession into the ownership Of par
ties to whom the sum OF only $4,000 was
due.
Within the last year the mine owned
by the company. in Plumas County.
has been equipped with forty stamps
and a large amount of mining ma
chinery- The equipment and supplies,
the latter being furnished by Plumas
County merchants, while the former
came from San Francisco, represent an
outlay Of $4,000, the greater part of
which is due in this city. The indebt-
edness was not paid, even in part To
secure themselves, the Plumas mer-
chants have filed a first attachment on
all the company's property This leaves
the San Francisco merchants to lose all
that they have trusted the company
ed with the business men of Plumas
to prorate, or unless legal proceedings
shall right matters. A suit Is threat
ened with probable disclosures con-
cerning very interesting phases Of the
deal that has led the company to give
up a property that is intrinsically valu
able and that has on IT at least $4,000
worth Of entirely new equipment, to
be sacrificed by reason of the default
IN a payment of only $4,000 that was
due as an installment
HISTORY OF COMPANY.
To have the story understood, some
history Of the mining company involved
is given. The Plumas mine was origin
ally owned by the Plumas Gold Mining
Company. That was capitalized with
], 900. 900 shares of stock. The mine has
a large ledge that carries low grade orc
ranging in value from 81 to 50 per ton.
according to assayers' returns. To make
it pay largely, II was deemed wise by
the original company TO put in a large
milling equipment that il might. after
the maner of the famous Treadwell
mining property in Alaska, make a
great deal Of money by handling large
quantities OF ore.
W. D. Lawton was managing the
property. He went to New York to In
terest outside capital, it being neces-
sary to raise more money than could
be obtained by the sale OF the stock in
California. Douglas. Lacey & Co. Of
New York financed the matter. A new
corporation was formed that is named
the Plumas Gold Mining Company,
Limited. The stock was divided into
8 OO0. 900 shares. More or less of this
stock has been sold in the East. In the
deals that concerned the mining prop
erty. McGill & STANDARD, contractors,
were involved. To them the sum OF
$4,000 was due as an installment on
debt When the default occurred in the
payment of this $4,000, the mine was lost
70 the company. Douglas, Lacey & Co,
who financed the deal, did not come to
the rescue. Before this took place Mr..
Iawton had lost his position with the
company. Since then he has made GER
tain statements about the entire trans
action that make the San Francisco
creditors. and possibly the investors in
the stock of the company, curious to
know How, with a good mine in sight,
with many thousands of dollars in
vested in new equipments. in default
OF an actual run Of ore through the
mill to show what the ore was worth
when it was handled. the property was
permitted to go for $4,000.
CREDITORS FILE SUIT.
Since the attachment was placed on
all the mining property by the mer-
chants Of Plumas County residing in
Quincy, a suit has been filed by z. A.
Belcher and Attorney Kirk of the San
Francisco Board of Trade, represent
ing the San Francisco creditors. Bel
cher said yesterday that unless some
thing is done the San Francisco cred
itors will not get anything for their
mining machinery and other supplies
that were furnished.
If the Plumas County creditors do
not do the fair thing suit will be filed
to throw the mining company into in
voluntary bankruptcy.
Mr.. Belcher said he did not have a
list of creditors. In other quarters it
was learned that among the San Fran
cisco parties concerned as creditors for
mining machinery and other appliances
supplied to the mine are the Dunham,
Carrigan & Hayden Company, the
Joshua Hendy Machine Works, the
California Powder Works, the Boston
Woven Hose and Rubber Company, the
Schaw-Batcher Company, the Pacific
Tank Company and the Meese &
Gottfried Company. Attorney Kellogg
of Quincy is looking after San Fran
cisco interests at the Plumas end of the
line. while Messrs. Belcher and Kirk
are attending to matters here.
Certain of the parties concerned say
that the contractors, McGill & Stand
art, were put in charge of the mine to
represent Douglas. Lacey & Co. A rep
resentative of Douglas. Lacey & Co,
Walter w. Wick, is in this CITY, He
contradicts some of the statements that
have been made by Lawton. The San
Francisco creditors seem to have COM
plete confidence in Lawton. A great
deal of litigation is likely to grow out
of the transaction.
Election Cases Decided.
The Supreme Court decided yes
terday that Charles B. Howard was
legally elected Sheriff of Siskiyou
CoY,,,fu in 1oao