The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1920-06-03
BUNKER HILL & SULLIVAN
INNER HISTORY OF COMPANY


Hill and various smelling companies
are worthy of record. The first con-
centrate, produced in the mill that
was built in Milo gulch. was shipped
to the smelter at Wickes, Mont, I'M
der contract of 1883 with the Helena
& Livingstone Smelling & Refining
company The next contract was
made with Anton Eilers of the Colo
RADIO Smelling company at Pueblo.
Later the output of the mine went to
the various smelters at Denver
Pueblo. Kansas City, Omaha and San
FraciscO. In 1898 the Bunker Hill
company joined with the Alaska
Treadwell group (of which Mr. Brad
ley was president and d. o. Mills
large shareholder. as of the Bunker
HID in buying 1867 shares out of a
total of 5000 shares in the company
owning the smelter at Tacoma, on the
shore of Puget Sound. This stock was
bought at the rate of 500 per share
and gave the Bunker Hill a holding of
31.34 per cent; the Alaska Treadwell
companies bought an equal interest;
certain other friendly individuals also
purchased stock, the remaining shares
representing the personal holdings of
w. r. Rust (the manager of the
planD and a few old stockholders
The smelter was in a dilapidated con-
ditiOn and needed to be reconstructed
The proceeds of the stock sales went
into the treasury of the reorganized
company, of which Mr. Bradley be-
came president, while Mr. Rust con-
tinued in charge as manager. Having
now an assured supply of lead con-
centrate from the Bunker Hill mines
and an assured supply of gold iron
concentrate from the Alaska Tread
well mines, this smelter was soon
placed upon its feet and became such
a profitable business that it not only
paid dividends after completely re-
facilitating its lead smelling depart
ment. but it was enabled out of its
earnings. to add a copper smelling
department This, the first copper re-
fnery on the Pacific coast, started to |
work in 1908. In consequence of its |
the. smelter was coveted by |
the Guggenheims. In 1904 they sent |
H. c. Davis to Tacoma and he took |
Mr. Rust back with him to New York |
Mr. Rust they secured the
written consent of Mr. Mills to a sale |
of the Bunker Hill interest. Early in /
1905 Messrs. Davis and Rust accom-
panied by Bernard NJ Baruch, came /
to San Francisco in order to complete |
This required several !
and resulted in a payment of
S1015S9 per share or a total of So,
79.4SS.sO for all the stock of the Ia
coma Smelling company. At the
same time, the Guggenheims lin the
name of the American SHELTERS Sc
surities company bought control of
the Selby smelter at a price of s4,
224,0OO. The Tacoma and Selby
smelling companies were mutually
dependent to the extent that the Ia
coma lead bullion was being refined at
he Selby plant; this inter dependence
was used by the negoiators as a means
If soaring each smelling company
nto the belief that the other had sold
)ut. Two years earlier the Guggen-
leims had acquired the Everett smell
err
One condition in the sale OF the Ia
,oma smelter was that 25-year con-
racts be made with the American
smelling & Refining company for the
produced by the Bunker
Hill and the Alaska Treadwell mills,
re tI,o 0f- ha !
meet whatever competition might then
meet whaever competition might then {
lictate. Previous to the expiration of {
he five years, the Alaskan companies S
treated their own competition by '
building the first unit of a cyanide
liant The A. 5. & r. company could
lot meet the rates as determined by l
his cyanide mill and consequently
ost the Alaskan output. In the case
# the Bunker Hill, this company had :
,ettered it's contract even before the
expiration of the five-year period by {
outside markets for its
+ 75% lead and it's 300 lead products
which the Guggenheims, by an over I
light. had excluded from the 25-year :
contract by covering only such of the {
Bunker Hill products as assayed be- c
ween 800 and 1870 lead. The con- $
ession that had been won as to the
+ 759o product led to investigations in G
earch of a wet process capable Of
urning out metallic lead and zinc |
nd this research is still proceeding. [
t is interesting to note that not only t
lid Curtis H. Lindley and Myron A. t
folsom. as counsel, decide that the I
building of a smelter by the Bunker I
Hill company was no infraction of
he contract with the American Smell a
ing & Refining company, but Peter r
:. Dunno, attorney for w. H. Croker l
oncurred. Nevertheless it caused Il
litigation. After the concessions won G
n 1910 there followed a tightening OF d
he Guggenheim smelling control and t
he gradual spelling of the Bunker +
Hills market for it's -t759o and 300 /
PRODUCTS, in which categories the S
....,. rf,U "a D1apn the q