Western liberal. (Lordsburg, N.M.) 1887-1919, 1906-11-02

In the fall Of 1899, when copper was
selling for seventeen cents, the Shan
non copper company wasincorporated,
and purchased the Shannon mine at
Metcalf, and proposed to build a big
smelter plant to reduce the ores in
that mine. The Management imported
a couple Of supposed to be wise men
from the great mining camp of Butte,
to build It's works and run its proper
ty. The men proved to be failures,
and by the time they got the plant to
producing copper the metal had gone
down to eleven cents. The manage
ment Of the company has been chang
ed several times and the company has
kept plugging along, keeping about
even, and accumulating enough money
to pay the interest on its bonds, and
what bonds became due. The balance
Of its surplus has been put back into
the property, to increase it's capacity.
Last summer w. I. Palmer, who had
been a long time with the company,
in q subordinate position, where he
had become perfectly familiar with
its needs and the mistakes that had
been made, was appointed president,
to fill the vacancy caused by the re-
signation of President Gill. Mr.. Pal
mer devoted his entire attention to
the property, and materially reduced
expenses. A few months ago the
price of copper was materially ad-
yanced. The combination of the re-
duction of cost and the advance Of
copper has at last put the company
on Easy street, and now the stock
holders who have waited so long, are
to receive their reward. At the meet
ing of the directors last week Thurs
day declared a dividend of fifty cents
a share, payable on the twentieth Of
December. A Christmas present they
will duly appreciate. 1t will cost the
company $4,000 to pay this dividend.
When the stock was first put in the
market it sold at $3.50 per share.
Later it was raised-by various stages
to as high as SIS. At one time it sold
for S1S on the Boston stock exchange.
1t then went down and the price
huctuated, going as low as $3.50, but
averaging around 81, Recently, with
most of the copper stocks, its price
went up, and it has been selling
around SIS. The day the dividend
was declared it sold as high as s17.25.
One of the democratic candidates
who was in town last week told the
LIBERAL that there was considerable
opposition to w. II. Jack for commits
sioner because he was a member of
the cattle sanitary board when the
bunch of horses was rounded up and
sold. This is one of the proverbial
campaign lies. Col. w. H.. Greer was
the member of the cattle sanitary
board for this section at the time
these horses was rounded up, and he
was held responsible for the act. He
afterward left the board and Mr.. Jack
was appointed in his place. Since Mr..
Jacks appointment there has been no
such trouble, and win not be as long
as he is on the Sanitary board: Mr..
Jack is one of the large cattle owners
in the county, and he is one of the
few large cattle owners who always
looks out for the interest of the small
holders, helps them sell their cattle,
and gets as good price for them as he
does for his own, when they are in as
good condition. He also is one of the
few cattle owners who never has any
trouble with the assessor. He always
returns his cattle at such a fair count
and valuation that the assessor never
has an excuse for raising his return.
Last year was such a good year for
cattle that his stock increased so in
number that he voluntarily raised his
return for taxation. That is the kind
of a man Grant county needs as a