Bisbee daily review., 1908-05-28
COPPER QUEENS
 DEvELOPNENTBY PROF. DOUGLAS
Told of Early Efforts to Locate
 Ore Vein at BiSbee and the
 Encouragement of the Owners.

DOUGLAS, May 2l.-The address o Prof. James Douglas at the Board O Trade banquet Monday evening was oi great interest to mining men.
 In a reminiscent and perfectly nat ural way, Dr. Douglas spoke of his earlier operations in the Warren dis trict and, step by step, recounted tht development of the PheIps-Dodge iD terests in this section. In 1880 wheI he first went to Bisbee, he said, ht saw wonderful outcrop of copper It impressed him most fayorably. pr Douglas made it plain that he is one of those who think that nature never fakes. When a big outcrop of ore is found there must be more and still more of it. Feeling that way about it, he said, he advised Messrs. Dodge and James to buy the property. He was firmly of the opinion even then that Bisbee some day would be a great district.
 Hard Time Finding Ore.
 Dr. Douglas then recounted the earlier hardships of his days at Bis. bee. After working on the property for several years the ore they had be- gan to play out. The company had
  ing to find a mine, and his New York associates were very much discour- aged. They were about to give up the work, but he asked that a certain exploration be made and told them it would cost $I5,000. . They consented to allow him ito spend that much mon- ey but made it known to him that no more would be forthcoming on that prospect. The exploration was car ried through and a mine was found That was the Copper Queen and that is still the Copper Queen.
 At One Time Far in Debt.
 The Queen was not so well of in the worlds goods in those days, ac- cording to the doctor. In fact, it was very much in debt, and on top of this the price of copper dropped to ten cents and there was no profit in min ing it. About that time a French speculator came over the worlds ho- rfzon with an ambition to corner the copper market. He threw the price up to 13 and If cents and made a contract with the Copper Queen. As the doctor told it last night, things began to get brighter for the Queen. The mine got on its feet again and began to see good profits ahead But at that, said the doctor, mining in those days was an expensive proposi- tion and the profits never ran for many years over $250,000.
 How Douglas Was Born.
 Dr. Douglas told of the expansion of the mineral holdings of the Queen in the Warren district and then re: cited the purchase of the Pilares mine at Nacozari. By past expert ence they learned that a railroad was necessary if the mine in Mexico vas to be of any value to them. For that reason they set about to build a line The first route planned was straight south from Bisbee to Nacozarl, but the route was a bad one and it then occurred to Dr. Douglas that it would be better to go east in the valley for twenty-eight or thirty miles and then cut south. He instructed his engi- neers to make another survey, and the result was the route seIected from Bisbee to the point where Doug las now stands and thence south to the Pilares. That was determined up on and the carrying out of that plan brought Douglas into existence.
 Shelter Moves Here.
 This accomplished, the growth of the Copper Queen began to demand larger reduction works and more room. When the need of this was recognized Dr. Douglas began to look towards the new town of Douglas and when he found it met require ments he decided the works shourd be located here. At this stage of the Queens development more railroads were recognized as an economic ne cessity on account of the long hauls, and he decided the line should be built even farther than Douglas. Hence it was projected and built into Fl Paso. He then spoke briefly of the birth and growth Of the mercan- tile department of the Copper Queen.
 Views on Freight Rates.
 Having thus recounted the gradual development of the Queen to its pres ent standing in the commercial world he talked about freight rates and commercial conditions. Seventy per cent of the freight haul on the Phelps Dodge lines, he declared, is mineral of one kind or another, and on all the roads 55 per cent is mineral. Dr. Douglas contended that freight rates on coal, a necessary commodity, are altogether too low, and because Of this, he said, freight rates on other things are undoubtedly too high in some cases. He asked that if under those conditions 1t is not better for all to share in the difficulties econom- ic conditions have brought about. He said that undoubtedly some rates are too low while others are too high. He advised that no complaints be filed with the interstate commerce com mission. Rather, said he, take them up with the railroad. He said he is sure the railroad would be reason ably reasonable if the complaints are reasonably reasonable and declared that by talking matters over together more can be accomplished than through the interstate commerce com mission. .# l#-.
 PAINE WEBER LETTER.
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