The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1913-02-27
Especial correspondence to Mining and
Engineering WorId)

Engineering WorId)
a suit against the Guggenheims and
the so-caled smelling trust and in
volving millions Of dollars, has been
filed in the supreme court of New
York. The contestants are minority
stockholders, mostly residents Of the
northwest, of the Federal Mining and
Smelling company. Through their at
torneys they ask for the annulnent Of
an alleged unfair contract under which
the ores of the corporation are now
being shipped to the shelters Of the
American Smelling and Refining com
pany on a basis mucI below the pres
ent price Of lead.
The action is one of the most i'm
portant and ar-reaching that has af
fected the mining industry for many
years and is the most important in
its bearing upon the lead industry
since it passed under the domination
of the smelling trust. The Occur
dAlene district of Idaho where all the
mines of the Federal are located, pro-
duces about q per cent of the total
domestic lead supply Of the United
States and about As per cent Of the de-
silverized output. The Federal COM
pany accounts for AZ per cent Of the
Occur d'Alene output and no less than
IL per cent of the domestic lead de-
rived from all sources.
The action is also of extreme import
ance i'm that it involves men OF great
prominence in the financial world.
About the time the contract complain
ed Of was entered into in 1905, the
Federal directorate included John d.
Rockefeller, Jr., f.. Parmalee Prentice
George J. Gould, Frederick T. Gates
George w. Young, Peter B. Bradley
and several other fiiancers OF Import
ance.
Upon the day the contract was sign
ed the old directors resigned and were
succeeded by alleged dummies in
the employ Of the smelling interests
It is painted out the evidence of the
Nd directors win explain whether they
aided the trust to enter into an unfair
contract running 81 years, after sell
inc control to the Guggenheims. OF
whether the contract was entered into
upon the authority Of the alleged
dummies"
The family row brings back to mem
| 1ry one Of the most spectacular mining
promotions Of recent years. Fedora
was promoted in 1908 by Charles
Sweeney, one of the most forceful and
interesting of western mining men, tC
take over the holdings Of the Empire
state Idaho Mining company. which
for some years previously had sue
eessfully operated properties at Ward
ner. Burke and Mace in the Occur
d'Alenes, Idaho. Foreseeng that the
association of such q commanding fin
ancier as John y. Rockefeller would
aid in the exploitation of the new
company and open wide the public
purse, Sweeney approached the STAN
| lard Oil interests with the proposal
that they turn over the old Everett
smelter and Monte Cristo mines in the
state of Washington to the new com
pany and take the price agreed upon
in stock.
| The smelter was Anticipated at that
! time and the Monte Cristo mines had
failed to respond to expenditure OF
large sums of Standard Oil money. but
| he Rockefeller interests accepted
| Sweeney's proposition and the prop
erty was duly turned over early In
1908. AT the same time the Rockefel-
| Ter interests took control Of the com
pany's directorate. Subsequently the
/ Guggenheims sought contract for
treatment of the company's ores and
as considera ion for favorable agree
ment, is said to have paid 100000 for