Evening star., 1937-11-21


claim. Otherwise the company would
lose title to the property.
WHILE Mr.. Haussermann would
w gladly have washed his hands Of
the whole affair, he did not want to
have it said that the Benguet COM
pany lost its property while he occu-
pied the position of vice president,
with his law clerk as secretary. Hence
to avoid this economic disparagement
Judge Haussermann personally ad-
vanced funds sufficient to pay the
taxes and the annual assessment
work.
This was in 1911, long before he had
the faintest inkling that Benguet Con-
solidated Mining Corp. would become
famous as the largest gold mine in the
Philippine Islands and one of the
largest in the world. Instead, 1t kept
the man awake nights wondering if he
had done right, if he, too would soon
be bankrupt. In the meantime the
mining property lay idle.
Two years later, in 1918, the presi-
dent OF the Bank Of the Philippine Is
lands urged Judge Haussermann to do
something toward rehabilitating the
property. This finally resulted in
Haussermann making a proposition
| to the bank that the unsold shares of
the company be sold at price not to
exceed the price paid by those who had
previously bought shares prior to the
| destruction of the mill. and that none
of the old shareholders should be
| frozen out.
Disposal of the unsold shares under
those terms required fund of about
100000. An additional $4,000 be-
came necessary to bring the property
to a producing stage; these funds the
bank finally agreed to furnish. Work
on the property was resumed, a new
mill was purchased and erected, and
in September, 1915, the new mill COM
menced operation. Judge Hausser-
mann had staked his economic future
on principle of business ethics.
From 1915 to the close of December
81, 1929, the Banquet properties pro-
duced more than $10,O0O,OOO in gold
During that period of time it paid out
in dividends more than $5,O00,000. In
| 1923 it declared 100 per cent stock
| dividend.
NJ 1N1NG was still, however, far
from Haussermann's heart and
interest up until 1926. He had re-
tired from the practice OF law in the
Philippines upon getting Benguet
properly under way, and in 1915 re-
turned to the home of his birth In
Ohio. He left his long time law clerk,
A. w. Bean. in general charge of the
Benguet Company's mines. He made
annual trips to the Philippines during
the next 10 years to look over the COM
pany's affairs. and would have spent
more time at home in Ohio had it not
been that Mr.. Bean fell i'll and found
1t necessary to give up the active
management Of the business and de-
vote all of his time to restoring his
health.
This was in 1925. During the next
two years a new manager was put in
charge, but the arrangement was not
a success. It so happened that along
about 1928 and 1929 the reports of
the then engineers indicated that the
ore body of Benguet would be ex-
hausted in another year or two. Hence,
instead Of getting new manager, it
was decided that Judge Haussermann
should return TO the Philippines and
take active charge of the mines, then
thinking 1t would be for only period
Of two years. Consequently, at the
close Of 1929 Haussermann assumed
active charge of Benguet, hoping and
planning the while to resume life on
his beloved Ohio farm shortly after
the turn of the decade when the mine
would, he thought, have become ex-
hausted and his duty to shareholders
discharged
Benguet shares have been the EQUIV
alent OF currency at Manila banks,
both foreign and domestic. for twenty
years. Because his mine prospered
more than others, Judge Haussermann
has come to annex other mining prop
erty in the rich Baguio Mountain re-
gion. 120 miles from Manila. Balstoc,
termed the worlds premier gold mine
on the basis of net profit per ton of
ore treated. was taken over by Ben
guet in 1925 on an operating contract.
RALATOC, six miles from Beneuet
in an adjoining valley, was capi-
talized at s500,000, but its promoters
and owners had always lacked the
funds to pursue its commercial de-
velopment in a practical way. Ben
guet. under the direction of Hausser-
mann, Immediately began development
OF Balatoc in earnest, spending $375.-
600 to build mill. Since the first sale
OF Balatoc bullion in 1929 1t has paid
quarterly dividends. Stock dividends
have increased the capital to $2O00,-
600. It's mill capacity is 1900 tons a
day, or six times its capacity when it
came under the efficient management
OF Judge Haussermann in 1926.
10 Judge properly the proportions
OF the gold mines under Hausserman's
management let us view the total gold
dividends in the Philippines In 1896
the dividends of all gold mines totaled
Ss,l9s,167. OF this amount Balatoc
dividends were $2,s00,0O0 and Ben
guet $4.000,000. In other words, of
every 81 the public gained in dividends
from Philippine gold mines last wear.
So, or "a per cent, came from Judge
Haussermann's largest two mines,
Benguet and Balatoc.
The near 100000 in dividends
paid by these two mines in 1886 rep
resent 40 per cent more than the total
capital of the two mines combined
Benguet's dividends, for instance. were
l25 per cent of its capital, and Bala.
toes l4o per cent. On its original cap.
ital last year Benguet's cash dividends
were 750 per cent, and Balatoc,s $50
per cent. It may be Of interest to
point out that there is more gold
mined In the Philippines each wear
than IN the entire continental United
states except Alaska, and more than
there k mined in A1asko