The San Francisco call., 1908-04-03

book keeper draws SIS. transfer
clerk $50; and up at the Virginia
City Office a superintendent is down
for $3.50, and there is clerk and a
watchman, and, perhaps. a boss or
two. All this is required to keep the
two mines going.
About $4,000 worth of work at the
mine year and $4,000 for purposes
of administration 1t is a sorry spec
tacle. OF course, each mining COM
pany contributes TO the Ward shaft.
the pumping association, or the Sutro
tunnel repair account, but why employ
an army of attaches at comfortable
salaries and keep the stock holders
paying these assessments?
GIVES ACTUAL CONDITIONS
recent article in Nevada min
ing paper by John Lyons called atten-
tion to these conditions. The writer
pointed out, and investigation sub
stantiates his assertion, that the Ophir
mining company carries the burden of
the Comstocks. The Ophir has en-
tered a body of ore Of promising pro-
portions that sent its stock UP with
a rush above the So mark, creating
one of the big nurries of recent years
in the district.
AAO PlOPOclliOh dliO4hlc ~
this" says the writer of the ar
ticle in question, that the Ophir is
able to pay and therefore she does
pay. OF course the stock holders of
the Ophir. like all other stock holders,
would like to see their mine paying
dividends. But the Comstock is
peculiar place. Hardly mine in the
whole camp is run according to the
wishes OF the stock holders. The
hY1E "a
are given by the brokers to their
friends, and thus the control of the
mine is secured 1t is a notorious
fact that for several years In the early
nineties and the early years of this
century the control OF the best mine
on the CONS took at that time. the
Consolidated California and Virginia,
not own a solitary share of the stock. .
AMUSING SALARY LIST
The writer refers TO the Gould and
Curry mine as maintaining a pay roll
of $500 month for actual wages on
the property out of a total expenditure
of $4,000 a month. Continuing, he
says:
1T is comicsl to glance over the
weekly reports Of some of the Com
stock mines and see the expense ac-
retaries. watchmen, and other super
numeraries and then to find at the bot
tom of the column the wage roll of two
lonely miners-neither of whom, per-
haps. has full months pay coming.
This train of reflection especially
suggested itself when your correspond
ent read the report of the Sierra Ne
vade, Union Consolidated and Mexican.
These mines are assessed with a liber-
ality that astounds one. and between
them all they manage to support two
miners, who drove a drift 10 feet last /
week. Your correspondent understands |
that Utah comes in with the other three /
mines for the support of these two min
ers, but OF this he is not quite certain |
WHERE THE MONEY GOES
But when one considers that each |
Of the three companies first mentioned /
pays a salary 10 a president. another
10 secretary in San Francisco, still /
another to a secretary in Virginia City,
/ salary to a superintendent salaries
20 foreman, watchman. engineers, and
30 on, he begins TO understand where
some OF the assessment money goes.
patience of the people who keep put
ing up the assessments.
IF the mines were run on a really
economical system, they would be
under the head Of one compe-
ent man, instead of being supervised !
1y spectators, retired book keepers,
Ind others who know nothing of prac-
icaI mining, and whose heaviest labor
consists IN drawing a salary. How a
nan can hold a state office, manage a
business and mercantile con-
efn, and still contrive to spend a large
,art of his time away from the camp,
. one of the mysteries of mine man
cement that finds exemplification on
he Comstock alone"