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Show I : " MINING AND FINANCIAL H By Murray Schick. H Chemistry of the Stock Exchange. H Notwithstanding the desertions in the last few H months the Stock and Mining exchange had no H difficulty in mustering a quorum for the annual H election nor in finding men to take the official H positions. The re-election of President R. J. H Evans was in the regular order of business. To H propose another name would have been looked Hl upon as treason to the exchange. President Evans H has not only steered the organization through H the shoals of depression, but he has conducted H its internal affairs with admirable tact and judg- Hj ment. Thero is a good deal of fellowship among H the brokers, but there are also a number of pro- H . nounced antipathies which have been intensified H rather than modified by the short picking of the H last year. Love didn't fly out through the window H when poverty came in at the door, but went H straight through the roof. To be a successful B presiding ofiicer, Mr. Evans had to remember H that A, B andJD would form a harmless mixture, H as would C, E and P, but that A and C would H form a caustic compound and the combination B of D and produce a terrific explosion. m A president could make a fine mess by telling H D and E had accused him of burn eg a barn in 1 Missouri and taking seriously the statement of D M that E had been run out of Texas for stealing M sheep. Still one has to be sympathetic. Evans, being a born diplomat, would meet the situation B by suggesting to E that D had burned the barn H simply to make room for a garage and assuring B D that the sheep in Texas were in the habit of H following strangers. PPJ B , Has Heinze a Conscience? m When the exchange gets busy again the mem- M i bers will have less time for the cultivation of ' personal enmities and one of the principal ob- BH, stacles in the way of concerted action for the H glory of Utah and the mines will be removed. B And it really begins to look as if the exchange BBJ, would get busy. Prices have stiffened consid- BBJt erably since the ilrst of the year, sales are more H numerous, inquiries from the East are multiply- H ing and stocks are relatively scarce. The hold- K ers seem to have followed the old rule which was Bt to plant investment stock in a dark dry place Hj and forget it until the demand for it became H urgent. The awakening interest runs toward in- Bj vestments rather than speculation toward de- jj veloped mines rather than prospects. Silver H King's steady advance is characteristic of the H new movement. There is a widespread impres- H slon that the King has been holding back a H large percentage of its available smelting ore H out of resentment at the conduct of F. A. Heinze H in using his smelting contract as a sand-bug. The BBB announcement that Heinze conscience stricken, BBB perhaps, after reading the gentle admonitions in H Goodwin's had disposed of his contract with the BH Silver King to the American Smelting & Iiefln- BBB Ing company was taken as the prelude to a lid- BBM raising at the mine. Recent buying has been BHj influenced to a considerable extent by the sup- jH position that the King can increase its output at fK will and that the object of the smelting company Hi in purchasing the Heinze contract was to bring B about such an increase. BBB BBv BBJ; King Tonic for Debilitated Stocks. Hf The stock exchange has not awakened to the HH( significant developments at the Silver King Con- KVs solidated. While the price of this stock has been K; ' dropping point by point. Traders have been B; watching the ore shipments and, finding these BHi small, have jumped to the conclusion that the BBV H present ore-supply in the mine is uncertain. The truth Is that the company has been taking out more ore than ever and exposing more ore than it has been taking out. Without going into the technical details, which would occupy several pages, I may say that workings on the 1,500-level have opened a network of fissures, some of which are leading into strong shoots of $80-ore. The formation is exceedingly favorable to the making of some immense stopes like those that have yielded such enormous quantities of bonanza ore in the surrounding claims. The fissures have not yet been opened at the llme-quartzite contact near the 1,700-level of the King Consolidated shaft where the orebodies are naturally expected to attain at-tain their greatest dimensions. Cessation of shipments, I am informed, is due to the condition of the roads which makes teaming team-ing Impracticable. The ore bins at the mine are full to the tops and mineral is being blocked in two or three places under ground. When the roads improve and the movement of ore to the sampler is resumed the market will begin to appreciate the magnitude of the disclosures. dis-closures. And, if indications are borne out, the King Consolidated will furnish precisely the tonic that Is needed to restore mining securities to their former vigorous activity. A Fine Report. But As a report the statement of the Nevada Hills company for December could scarcely be improved, im-proved, but the subBtance of the report is disappointing. dis-appointing. After all charges are deduced the net profit on the 4,410 tons of ore milled Is but $401.22, or 10 cents a ton. Thero is nothing in the report Itself to account for the small earnings. earn-ings. Ten dollars and twenty-two cents a ton is a fairly good value for the ore, the loss of $1.30 in the tailings Is not excessively high, the mining cost of $3.25 is reasonable, considering the character of the ground, the marketing cost, 55 cents, is not exorbitant and a general expense of 62 cents a ton is low. These deductions leave $1.30 profit per ton, but the allowance for depreciation de-preciation of buildings and equipment take3 $1.20, leaving but one dime per ton as clear gain. Prior to 1U08 the Nevada Hills paid $375,000 In dividends and when George Wingfield took over the control It was anticipated that the earnings earn-ings would grow. The outcome forces the conclusion con-clusion that Wingfield, for once in his life, was mistaken in a mine, or that his plans have not been carried out efficiently. What Are Nevada Hills? The latter explanation is adopted by a stockholder stock-holder of the company who has been looking into the proposition. "I believe the Nevada Hills would pay well," he told me, "if the amnagement would get the right kind of talent and pay what its worth. The mill might just as well be treating 1C0 tons a day as 140; the recoveries should be 90 per cent or more and the cost of repairs and depreciation might be greatly reduced. "But you cannot get these results without loyalty and skill. The mill has no superintendent superintend-ent In charge. The men are the most discontented discon-tented bunch I ever saw, being mostly transients. Accommodations are so poor that no one will keep his family there if ho can help it. The machinists, ma-chinists, on whom so much depends, are paiA less than the current rate. The mill has lost iiours and days because the machine shop was occupied only by an apprentice. |