The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1908-04-23
PLAN BEAR RAID
ON BECK TUNNEL
Shorts Start Movement to
Knock Bottom Out of /,
Popular Stock.

Market operators who have felt for some
time past that Beck Tunnel Consolidated
stock was selling too high have been per-
sistently selling it short for big turn
With the evident intention of making a
play that would send prices giimmering,
broker who has been doing some of their
business was dispatched TO Provo Tues
day night commissioned to demand an in
spection of the companys books. He re-
turned yesterday and, while the report
that he had gone down and was prepared
to make trouble in case his demands were
not acceded to were industriously clrcu-
lated in the forenoon, no one seemed 70
be particularly alarmed over what would
happen or what mares nest would be
unearthed during his visit to company
headquarters.
Upon the brokers' return there seemed
to be some disappointment over the fact
that he was courteOusiy treated and given
every opportunity to make his investi-
cations, both by President Jesse knight
and Secretary Allen. 1t would have suit
ed the purpose of the shorts to have had
their representative turned down. cold.
Then they might have circulated any kind
of a report they liked and had it believed.
Asked in what condition he found the at
fairs of the company, the returned mis-
sionary, H. J. Wylie, said:
"Well, not very good. The company
owes a sum of money, and Mr.. Knight
himself says that the stock is selling too
high for a prospect. You ask how much
the company owes. That / cannot tell
you because l told the company officials
that the information / was after was not
intended for the public that l get
ting ii solely for clients of mine | under
stand that there is very little ore blocked
out in the mine, and that no shipments
will be made until after the knight smell
ter is in operation. 1t is certain the stock
is selling away too high, and believe
that it will go down to 80 cents.
Notwithstanding the statement of Mr..
Wyle that he could not say how much
the company owed, he had not been on the
floor of the exchange ten minutes before
every other broker who took any inter
est in the matter had quoted him as Civ
ing the amount at all the way from $780,
900 to $37 600. But that does not matter
Speaking for the company. Lester W.
Mangum. who is up from Provo on jury
duty. stated that he did not know that
the company had ever made any attempt
to conceal anything connected with its
affairs, and he did not suppose that any
body understood other than that the COM
pany was in debt. He explained that it
had been many months since the company
had had a market for its ore. In the
meantime a tremendous amount of de-
velopment work has been done, and a
great deal of money has been spent in
equipment. A 600-foOt double compartment
working shaft has been put down, and
machinery capable of operating at depth
of 1900 feet has been installed. In addi-
ton, connections have been made between
the old tunnel and new shaft workings and
considerable new ground to the north has
been prOspected. The north country has
not yet disclosed any ore bodies of a
marketable grade, though the ground be-
| ing prospected looks most encouraging.
Ore bodies are still in evidence in the
| southern portion of ground, toward the
Colorado, and Mr.. Mangum declares that
| he is certain that. if told to go ahead and
do so, he could ship ore enough to clean
up the company's obligations in sixty
days. What the mine will look like by the
time the company is ready to ship to the
| Tintic smelter, Mr.. Mangum would not
undertake TO predict. but men who pro-
/ fess to know something about the prop
! erty and who are known TO keep close
/ watch on everything that is done in the
mine. declared during the afternoon that
they would welcome drop in the price
/ of the stock if they could get more of it.