The Goldfield news and weekly tribune. [volume] (Goldfield, Nev.) 1911-1947, 1914-11-21
Heinze's Spectacular Career

One of the most spectacular figures the mining game
OF the west has ever known was Frederick Augustus
Heinze, who recently died at Saratoga, N. Y. In his COM
paratively short career he wrested several immense for
tunes from the ground and in other ways, and throughout
his experience in Butte, Mont, he was continually in
volved in litigation. AS a young man, after having spent
a year or SO in Butte. Heinze returned to New York and
was employed for a short time on the Engineering and
Mining Journal. This publication, in it's last issue, devotes
considerable space to Heinzes career and among other
things says:
To tell the whole story of the fight for fortune at
Butte would require a volume. 1t covered about every in
terest in the State of Montana from mining to agriculture.
Politics boiled with it and elections turned upon it. 1t was
a story of chicanery, bribery, besmirching of the courts,
and even bloodshed. The Amalgamated Copper com.
pany was charged with all the crimes of the calendar and
Heinze figured as a popular hero, the independent citizen
who was fighting single-handed for his rights and his
property against an immense corporation, no less than
STANDARD Oil The Amalgamated officials of that tilne
were guilty OF many misdeeds, no doubt, but in looking
hack upon the events we are disposed to think that virtue
Y us quite as much on their side IS on Heinzes. The law
yers fattened as never before but out of the enormous waste
of money there came a redeeming feature, viz, a knowl
edge of the Butte ore deposits was gained to the subsc
quent profit OF Butte that probably would not other wise
have been obtained.
In 1902 Heinze had transferred most of his interests
to the United Copper company. In 1906 this company,
which was still Heinze, and the Ama1gamated became tired
of fighting and of the mourning of prodigious legal ex-
pense and of the stencil of thing generally. The Amalga-
mated purchased the more valuable of Heinzes property
in Butte, paying him about SIoOoo!ooo, according to the
popular belief. The exact amount was never officially
stated, SO far as we know. Thus was terminated victor
iously a Io-years' fight for colossal fortune.
During the struggle Heinze had shown his versatile.
ity. He published newspapers, he started banks, he played
politics, he did anything that would promote his mining
interests. Having "cashed in his checks" he came to New
York in 1906, a handsome, polished, daring man, willing
to wager his last dollar, supremely confident that he
would prevail over every obstacle. He established his
brothers, Arthur and Otto, in the stock exchange firm Of
Otto c. Heinze and Co. He had IN overwhelming ambition
to figure as a great banking financier and this was pre-
eminently the time of high finance. He bought control Of
the Mercantile National bank from Edwin Gould, paying
an enormous price, and became It's president.
Working through this bank and his stock exchange
firm, he and his friends established a chain of banks.
Things were breaking big i'll the financial world and
Heinze's name was heard wherever bankers and brokers
got together. Then came the threatening days of 1907, and
when every othr banker was outstanding his resources
Heinze started to corner United Copper. This company
had been continued in existence, although most of its val
liable property had been sold to the Amalgamated and the
proceeds distributed AS to the value OF what remained
here was a mystery and uncertainty. Yet the capital
Of tie company was not written down, which was always
regarded by critics as a preposterous neglect. The stock
Was a useful gambling medium.
The attempt of IleinZe and his friends to corner Unit
ed Copper failed. The firm of Otto c. Heinze and Co.. failed.
The State Savings bank of Butte, Mont. a Heinze insti-
tuition, suspended payments. The clearing house commit
tee compelled Heinze to resign from the Mercantile Ma
tional bank presidency and began an INVESTIGATION OF its
affairs. This was the beginning of the panic OF 1907. That
started with the Heinze failure just as the European war
started with the murder of the Austrian archduke. The
first was not the cause of the panic and the second was
not the cause of the war, but both were the sparks in the
powder magazines.
HIGH GRADE SHIPPED & Nickerson lease returned values of
EDnN cENEN nEC a.A 10 - -,