THE SUMPTER MINER
Wednesday, February K QV
CASE OF TOO MUCH
PROFIT TAKING
Tho Horn in yotsorday's Minor,
telling nf Albert Oohor'H contract
with m Pittsburg, I'a., syndicate of
Standard Oil stockholders, fur whom
ho will Hhnr'ly go to Arizona to
assume tho management of ii group
of mines, started hii epidemic of
reuiluiseoiiHos in tint lohhy of tiio
hotel Sumpter last night.
" 'Lucky Al' Golsor Ihii'L a hit
lucky," hii id mi old minor, in com
menting on tint career of tho ex
owner of tho lioniiii'ii. "Ho Ih
simply ii mitiiriil horn inintir, with
m positive genius -tin iiIiiiohL super-
natural ablli.y -for finding Py
ill U J, IIW M J tu ,f n ij w v n ihmt
much gold litilliou Golsor toted
down the (rail from tho lluuauza
during tho yours bo and his brothers
mid dlslor and mother operated thai
fiimnuH property before soiling out
to the .Standard oil peoplo for half
u million dollara. It is fairly well
known thai after tlio ritlHhurgoiH
took over (ho mine, 10 stampH
pounded out an aveingo of $10,000
per mouth. During one mouth in
1 1I0M the yield reached tho record
breaking figure of $10t!,000.
"The Pittsliurgorn were great
prollt takers. Tbey strenuously oh
jeotoil to the manager cutting down
dividends 011 any pretext whatever
The result was that during I ho year
11101 the mill got so far ahead of
the mine that the 10 Htamps bad to
ba bung up for a long time, while
the uiMUNgor opened up new 010 re
hhivom. Thorn was, of course, a big
kick from tint PitlHburgeis, who
knew about as much about mining ih
a bog does about religion. They
figured Unit bocauso the mine was
yielding $10,000 per mouth, with a
payroll of about $15, 000, tbey Hboulil
at least, draw down about $'25,000
every III) days. Tbey couldn't under'
tauil that 10 stamps, dropping day
Mini night, eats up a big lof of ore,
mid that tor every bundled minors
employed in taking out this ore,
there should have been at least HO
others doing development work. The
malinger pointed out tills fa,it, but
the Pittsbuigora laughed at him and
insisted in taking prollts. The
culmination of this short-sighted
policy came when in 1000 the mill
wasshul dowu and the manager faced
l be big tiiHk of blocking ore out for
another spurt wild the slumps. At
this time (ieisor hadn't yet received
all the payments oil the oiigiuul
purchase price, and the fear grew in
bis mind Ibal tho I'ittshurgors
might get cold feet and quit alto
gether. So bo loft bis bunk in
Ilium, bit the trail for tho mine,
and in about twenty minutes point
oil out to the manager where, how,
when, why and how far to go in
foaroh of mm 01 e. It is a matter
of blstory that in a couple of uiouIIh
the mill started up again for a good
long run and the Plttshurgors again
hi'gai clamoring for prollts.
"It was at this juncture that
Krodorlok P. Hayes, then president
and controlling stockholder of the
Jiouaua company, put bis foot dowu
bard on the boggisbuess of tho stock
boldnm, and declared that thereafter
the ueeds of the mine would be con
tilted before dividend checks were
issued. Hayes came out with a
plan to install a $150,000 hoisting
plant and sink a iTOOO foot shaft to
open the vein at depth, thus afford
ing plenty of sloping ground for
an indefinite period.' Immediately
t.lreo wan a big
light among the
IMttHhurgerH, led on 0110 sldo by
President Kayos and some of tho
directors who know that mining h
an exact sclonce and not a alap-baug
sort of game, and on the other by
thoHo stockholders who insisted on
dividends even 'though tho heavens
fell. Tho fights waxed bitter, and
niHiillitd. iih iivorvhndv lioronhoiitH
, ,(n()WH, ln yoH standing pat -until
tho ether faction took tiio left-hand
horn of the dilemma
and bought
out IImvoh, saying : '.'We'll
ru.
this mine lo suit oursleves. '
"Hayes is said to have cleaned up
pretty near a million dollars on the
deal. A part of it- -$:I50,000-. be
promptly reinvested in Maker county
mines, purchasing tho famous old
lialHloy-Mlkhorn, which, under bis
direction has emerged from com
plete abandonment into the center
of the stage of Htoadyjlividond-payora
aud ovory man in eastern Oregon
is proud nfhiiu.
"With Hayes out of "the way, the
profit-taking Pittahurgers began to
take prollts 1 don't think. It is
true that for a considerable period
the mill pouudodg 'out the usual
iiota of gold bars, which were
piomptly gobbled up by the eastern
ers, but the inevitable happened
when once again the ore reserves be
came exhausted through a penny
wise, pound-foolish policy of neg
lect lug development woik ahead of
the mill's capacity, aud another shut
down came. More Internal trouble
followed, the malinger was called up
on the carpet, but bo lead the riot act
to tho IMltsburgers aud demanded--absolutely
and llatfootedly demanded
that he bo given free band to open
up the liouauxa as it should he open
ed up. Tbo manager just simply
hoisted the red flag of rebellion aud
told the hoard of directors, in polite
language, of course, that they were a
set of blanked hogs, aud that their
action in keeping the treasury always
empty and limiting tho mamigeineut
to a certain cxpcuditiiio. was simply
ruining one of tho biggest mines iu
the west, as well as utterly shattering
the reputation of tho manager among
the eiMteru Oregon mining men, who
were familiar with tho liouaua
mine, but not with the damphooli-ih
iiohs of the liouaua company. '
"Oh, but that little manager nmile,S'urlury N. C. Haskel, of the Olti
the IMttsburgers a speech that made j'''rt l.'MK"u, 1 nrrango, if possible,
'0:11 sit up and take notice. Ho!or "' ullutmuut of ihub iu the
threw a M-aro iulo 'em that insulted ' proponed bullidug for tbo Similiter
In tho dlrectois pushing a losolutioii
empowering tbo manager
to do
as!
he blamed pl.,asod aud call ou the I
ompany for funds, il any wore need-1
m)(
"The manager immediately bought
a deep sinking plant, sunk a shaft
to the 1200-foot level, crosscut to
1... ....1.. 1 ..... ..... ... ...tn '
jiuu tuui, iifiuiiuu in) uiii, tan win null 1
wueu tie could, aud was beaded 1
directly towaid the goal of his aui-ed publication of "The story of Gol
bitious, which was to make the Uou- 'couda," a la Lawsun, has uot yet
auza what it was uudor the old Geiser
regime a bonanza iu fact. He was,
of course, touching the stockholder's
hunk roll pretty heavily, but it's a
two to-one hot tlmt he wasn't asking
I for more money than the mine bad
formerly paid out in dividends. Vet
he was reaching that point, and when
bo got dangerously oloee, a bowl went
up from the smoky alty. The stock
' holders got together and groucbed.
They bum mod
argued. J They
and hawed. Tbey
wailed. Then tbey
employed a mining engineer and sent
bim iutojtbe great southwest with
instructiens: 'Find us a mine that
will payjfrom tho grass roots and we
will quit this Uonauza game.'
"According to reports, this mining
engineer has turned the trick. At
least the Pittshurgers have sent Al
(joHer dowu there to manauc heir
grass root mine. inhere Is any man
0u earth who can u nke ilialr mint
j pMy, that man is Al Geiser. Hut I'm
Hhovng in my slack on tho propel-
tion tlmt their grassroots mine in
Arizona hasn't otie ten thousandths
part of the priaaltillitlea surroundiug
tno Honai-za. And I'm ready to
. 1.....1..... ... tit. n.....n ..lnil n ......
' blofi, ,ny unt,lulvo0Hi Hworiloli lllBfc
. wii. ,i (j0Hor at tho belm. the
I )n(mn 0Mn u0 made a rip-snorter
inside of two months.
"Just as soon as custom stock
holders get rid uof tho insaue idea
that in western mining they can
apply I he principles of frenzied fin
ance and make aometbing out of
notbing, just that soon will the min
ing industry leap to tho front.
"Tho Uonan.a lias produced mil
lions nf dollars, and the man who
sayB H is worked out is u fool. And
just bocauso Uouauza stockholders,
after participating for years in big
dividends, are called upon to put
bank Into tbo mine some, of their
nastily takeu profits lu order to
make certain steadier aud larger
dividends tbey kick like bay steers.
Aud it makes me sick."
BAKER CI1Y PLANNING
EXHIBIT AT DEPOT
A movement has boon inaugurated
by the Citizens League of Uaker City,
looking toward the erection of a
building near the O. K. AjjN. depot
in which to display iu au attractive
manner the products of Uaker
county, iu the way of fruit, grain,
wool, timber aud oie. Efforts will
bo made to cause all eastbouud O. H.
& N. trains during the Lewis aud
Clar fair time to stop for au hour at
Hakor City, thus affording eastern
visitor.! au opportunity to look over
tho city aud visit the exhibit build
ing. The plan is yet in fromatlve
shape, but there is reason to pre
dict success for it.
AnUmny Mobr, chairman of the
board of managers of the permanent
1 re exhibit iu Sumpter, went dowu to
linker City yesterday to confer with
mnuK district.
Mr. Mobr returned to Sumpter
t . .......
"" morning. o mm mat 11 mo
ll" ltt onrried out, Sumpter will bo
ou tho ground floor.
Maybe
ttouiau's
1..1.1.... it
tho Puiidletou Kattt-Oro-warning
cry of "low
has resulted in a ducking
At any rate the threaten-
uiiiikdi
of ueaus.
been given tho digulty of a bath iu
priutei'a iuk.
TO OPEN
CAMPAIGN
FOR COIN
General Manager Anthonr Mohr
and Assistant Ueueral Manager J. Et.
Reed, of the Sumpter ore exhibit,
aie preparing a campaign for coin.
Tlic subscription list, which, on the
evening of the miners' mass meeting
Smut-lev night, wbb headed by 11.
T. Mendt.w for $250, the Killeu,
Wm mi, hlouHrt company for 150
anil Him Sni onsen coii.pany for $50,
mil be 1 i 1 diluted among the mer
chants aud liiifiuons men in a few
days, and a liberal response is ex
pected. Tho old Vlusru building, opposite
Tho Miuer oiiico, which waa selected
by General Manager Mobr us suitable
quarters for the permanent exhibit,
may not bo leased, as its Seattle
ownor and her Sumpter agent do uot
seem to bo able to reach au agree
ment. General Managor Mohr ha
his eye ou another building. 'tin
Tho outsido membora of the board
of managers of the oxhibit have
already begun the work of collecting
ores for tho display.
Crazy Ideas of Geology.
A great many intellectual Crimea
are committed iu the name of geol
ogy, and many meu of otherwise
good judgment have beeu misled by
these dreams. The Pearson shore linn
theory of ore deposits is even today
attracting considerable attontinu. It
la understood that thle theory, iu
general, claims that coal aud iron
wore deposited aloug tho auoieut
shores lines in bays, where tbo oar
rent would eddy and carry tho drift
wood or the irou and other mlucrala
in solution. From au examination
of the maps aud a study of tho con
tour liuei, this wise one claims to
be able to sit iu his office chair
and locate coal ur irou bods iu auy
part of the world. A few years ago
he brought his theory to the atten
tion of James J Hill, of the Great
Northern road, aud secured some kind
of a contract by which he waa to
explore for coal in Montana and
Washington. Coal waa found aud Mr.
Pearson claimed a inillit n dollars as
his commission uudor the ooutract.
The case was taken to the courts and
the wholo theory laid boforo s jury.
Mr. Pearsou was awarded $500, being
wages aud service for the tlmo he
spout in tho work, but the case oou
victod Mr. Hill of being a very poor
geologist. Last summer Pearsou in
terested some Duluth peoplo in a
proposition to locate irou ore by bl.s
rule of three theory. He was given
full sway to select the Jocatiou ami
several thousand dollars subscribed
to pay for the expense of drilling.
The drill was located uear Ely, iu the
Vermillion disrtict. The first rook
struck was greenstone, and the diill
coutiuued in greenstone 800 feet.
Mr. Parsuu still believes his tueory,
but those who lost by this last van
turo are somewhat skeptical. Mining
World.
Geueral Manager Daillie, of the
Columbia, returned this foreuouu
from Uaker City.
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