The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-02-18
GLAMOUR STRIPPED FROM THE MERGER. Price Paid for Heinze Proper ties Was S25,000,0O0 PEOPLE ARE SAVING MONEY Large Deposits in New York Banks Indicate General Tendency in the
 country-Interest Taken
 In Mining Stock.
PEOPLE ARE SAVING MONEY
BY W. G. NICHOLAS.

New York, February 17.-(Special)-Th official announcement stripped the glamour from the big copper merger about which Wall street has been so ex- cited for several weeks. The figure paid for the Heinze properties in and around Butte was definitely stated to be $25, 100000, of which $S,500,OO0 is to be applied to the retirement of the bonds of the United Copper company. The remainder goes into the treasury of that corporation. and it is said with some show of authority that the preferred stock amounting to 5000, GOO will be retired. That would leave S16.500,000 of the purchase money in the treasury. That would allow a distribution of S6 per cent to the holders of the S45,- 100000 common stock outstanding Of this issue F. Augustus Heinze has 900 in one block and probably $5,00O,O00 addi- tional. That would apparently give him $11,000 900 as his individual share in the transaction In addition thereto he has a two-thirds interest in the other treasury and corporation assets. The company is supposed to have $2,5OO,O0O in cash besides the amount above mentioned, and it owns mining property in Montana and British Columbia of more or less value. The Heinze touts asseverate that these prop critics are more valuable than those that have been sold, but this remains to be demonstrated Aladdin-like stories have been told of fabulous strikes in one of the mines, but the correspondence in the newspapers which make a speciality of mining matters is entirely free from mysteries in regard therto. The La France, which has been advertised as one of the assets of the United Copper, Is only partly owned by that corporation, the Heinze brothers owning the control indi- vidua1ly. It is on the programme for United Copper to take over the La France group Minority shareholders are curl ous to know whether this deal will in volve merely an issue of new United Copper stock or the transfer of a large chunk of company money to the indi- vidual bank account of F., Augustus Heinze and his two younger brothers. Uncertainty on this point has been re- hected in the quotations of the stock in New York, Boston and Pittsburg An other feature which adds to the uneasi- ness of minority stockholders is the amount of the subscription. which United Copper or the inside holders thereof are under contract to take over the Heinze interests. Desperate efforts have been made for several weeks by the Heinze party 10 ulstrlbute hlsh-prlceu shareS III United Copper, and there is good reason to believe that the campaign was meas urably successful, although the manlpula- tion was to patent that many speculative lines were dumped on the insiders at top figures. It is therefore probable that the Heinzes played back large share of their profits in sustaining an artificial market. The Heinze brothers enter formally Into Wall street with. a tangible capital of about $2O 100000. They will doubtless con- tinue in the mining business for some time to come, developing their properties until they can be sold to advantage, but it Is understood that their great ambi- ton lies in another direction and that their purpose is the creation of an inter- national banking house. Mention of this fact was made in last weeks letter, and there is really nothing new to add to the announcement.