The Lee County journal. (Leesburg, Ga.) 1904-19??, 1907-10-25
COPPER CRASH
DOWNS HEINZE
Famous "Magnate" Heavily In
voIved in Tumble Of Prices.
TWO BANKS INVOLVED
Big Institution in Germany and One in
Butte, Montana, Hard Hit--Sensa-
lions in Financial Circles.

! Sensations followed each other in
rapid succession in the financial dis.
trict of New York Thursday as the
result of the collapse of the projected
corner in United Copper and the sus-
pension Of the prominent brokerage
firm of Gross & Kleeburg, Wednesday.
The firm of Otto Heinze & Co. was
suspended on the stock exchange.
F. Augustus Heinze, the Butte cop
per magnate, resigned the presidency
of the Mercantile bank Of New York.
The Amalgamated Copper company,
ut it's directors meeting, cut it's quar-
terly dividend from two per cent to
pne per cent.
The directors Of the Boston and Mon
tana Copper company declared a quar-
terly dividend of SO in place of a
former dividend of $12.
The failure Of Haller-Soehlee & Co.,
prominent bankers of Hamburg, Ger.
many, with liability that may reach
e7,500,000, was announced.
The State Savings bank Of Butte,
Mont, Of which the Heinzes are the
principal stockholders, suspended.
The suspension Of Otto Heinze e.
Co, of which firm Max NJ. Schultze
is the stock exchange member, was
based on complaint to the exchange
made by Gross g. Kleeberg, the stock
exchange firm which failed Wednes-
day. In communication to the pres
ident of the exchange this firm charg
cd Otto Heinze & Co. with refusing
to accept 1922 shares Of United Cop
per, said to have been bought on the
order of the Heinze firm. This action,
Gross & Kleeberg state, was respon-
sible for their failure.
The failure Of the Hamburg, Ger
many bank, and the Butte, Montana,
bank, both followed closely on the
news Of the suspension oil the Aeinze
firm Of the stock exchange.
The low price Of refined copper,
which dropped even lower Thursday,
and the disorganized condition Of that
metal in the market, is the reason Civ.
en- for the reduction of the dividend
in the copper companies.
The Butte bank was largely cOntrolL
ed by the Heinze interests, F. Angus
tus HeinEe being the principal stock
holder, and the news Of the Otto
Heinze suspension on the stock ex-
change and of the failure OF the Ham
burg firm precipitated a run which
Immediately caused suspension of
the bank. In statement issued by
the officers, 1t was declared that the
bank is perfectly solvent and that the
suspension is solely for the purpose
Of gaining time to arrange the banks
affairs
F. Augustus Heinze has been
prominent figure In New York financial
circles since the settlement Of his long
drawn out litigation with the Amalga-
mated Copper interests over Heinze's
Montana properties. 1t was under
stood that he received large sum in
cash, enough to make him several
times a millionaire, as the settlement
agreed upon. 1t was soon after that
he became president of the Mercantile
National bank, one of the large finan-
eial institutions Of New York city.
A graduate Of the Columbia school
Of mines, he went west almost without
capital and began the development Of
copper properties, which brought him \
ia conflict with the great Anaconda
company, now part Of the Amalga
mated Copper company. This conflict
lasted for years, and was fought out
from court to court, until year or
so ago a compromise was effected.