The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1910-01-07
TWO TaIes Of Sailed ores.

Two Tales Of Sailed Ores.
The finance forum of the West Side
Y. NJ C. A. had John Hays Ham,
mond as its chief talker last evening
on Mining Investments" following a
talk on "Fallacious Economics by
George E. Allen, of the American In.
stitute of Banking. Not the least. in
teresting development OF the evening
, came when, after his formal address.
Mr.. Hammond arrived at the stage OF
answering questions.
"Mr Hammond" said a budding
student of finance, 1--WE hear a good
deal about 'saiting mine would.
like to ask you how that is DONE
No cheerful Charley ever smiled with
a broader smile than that which over
| spread Mr.. Hammond's face with a
flushing accompaniment at this ques-
! ton. He said that he really did not
think he should be called upon to give
away such matters az that, but added
| that after all in such presence he
supposed it would be safe enough.
And he added:
."one way is by the injection of
curiousIy enough might as we'll tell
you, for it's on me-that very thing
has been done right here lately. I
carelessly put up $4,000 on mine
proposition on the reputation of two
pretty well grounded engineers with
out even examining the mine. It
was out in an Inaccessible part of
Arizona. When I went there the SUI
perintendent offered to show me the
mine. He had an innocent look-too
| innocent to suit me. So I told him
as 1 had seen other mines 7 could
| find my way about pretty. we'll and
| that he could aid me in my work IL
he cared to do so by going up on top
Of the hill and taking some surface
samples while I was at work inside.
He took the hint and went.
'fWell, the men who had given an
opinion on which I had put up my
| $4,000 had taken every precaution
they knew of to protect their samples,
sealing wax and all that sort of thing,
and locked the bags up under a Yale
lock that mad two keys. They only
had one of them"
Mr. Hammond's roseate smile of a
moment before was so thoroughly COM
pretended just here by his auditors
that he didn't have to go further with
| his story.
But he told another one of how an
| earlier California mine was not sold
after he had been sent to it, and
| found after weeks operation of the
well guarded mill some $1,000 in gold
as result, although samples of the
ore which he had from time to time
taken out in the mine Itself indicated
value of So or SO ton. while the
value indicated by the mill operations
was $50 or $50 ton. When the own
| er. failing of sale, threatened to sue
him for the S1,500 distracted from the
mill operations of that week, which
Mr. Hammond had turned over to the
holders of the option on the mine,
| Mr.. Hammond responded: Just
bring that suit" But the suit, he said,
was never brought He gave the names
of the mine and the owner, and said
| that he was ready to stand a libel suit.
Mr.. Allen. when he was explaining
corporations to his audience. said that
there was not much difference be-
| tween the United States Steel corpor-
poration was merely a few hundred
blacksnniths banded together in a
corporation. an artificial person.
1.-THE American people," he said,
"dO not seem to be able to d1St1n-
guish between size and sin. and they
are liable to pick the biggest, instead
of the worst corporation as an object
| of attack. From my personal obser-
| Standard Oil the decentest trust of
them all. They haven't asked any
body to buy their watered stock. They
| haven't sold anybody bad goods. They
have simply used the same methods
against competitors that one country
store keeper would use against another
If he had the brains to think of
them. I cannot find where the cor
poraton is anv worse than any 1nd1-
viduai in business, and am inclined
| to think that its size and not it's BUSH
ness methods have made it an object
of attack"
He said that the law of averages
would show about the same results
in the way of goodness among 1000
corporations as among 1000 natural
| persons
Possibly" he said, "in a time to
come corporation may become in a
way republics, and it may be that the
! Steel Corporation has such a condi-
! ton in mind in distributing its stock
not. only among its employees but widely
| elsewhere" York Sun.
| Warns Canadians.
| With the executive council deliberat-
| ing on the naval defense policy pre-
paratory to placing the government
| policy before parliament that question
| is assuming primary Importance. Mr..