OCR Text |
Show COLLAP5E OF STOCK CAM BLINQ. Siuce January, 1S75, there has been a terrible phriukage in the niarkut value of every mine on tho Comstock lode. With reference to twenty-aix of the loading Comstock claims comprised com-prised within the north line of the Utah and the south line of the Justice, the aggregate decline in value amounts to S7i per cent. , or within 1-J per cent, of the whole amount. To ahow that this ie no exaggeration, we annex the totals for twenty eix mines on the Comstock lode, as follows: fol-lows: January, 1875 $271,000,000 May U, 1877 34,000,000 Decrease $237,000,000 The ehriukago in these mines last week, us shown in the Bulletin on Saturday, was over $10,000,000. The same ratio of decline would extinguish all value ivithin four weeks. It is no wonder that operators are alarmed, and are casting about for a remedy to arrest a further decline. From a casual observation, we judge lhat at least every fifth person among the adults in Sim Francisco bas been an owner of mining slock within the pftEt three years, though at present the number is smaller than it has been at any time duriug this interval. There id not an operator in stocks, from A to Z, but what has lost heavily during this period of contraction. con-traction. It is generally supposed that Flood 61 O'Brien, are the heaviest heavi-est owners of Comstock shares; if that be so, tbey are the heaviest losers, though probably the best able to bear their losses. The $250,000,000 shrink age iu mining values in the past thirty mouths is a sum large enough to give all operators a chance to lose something, aud n few a ermuce to lose considerable. Every kind of business throughout the city foels the influence of the prevailing depression on California Cali-fornia street. It is seen in the reduced re-duced clerical force of brokers; in the increaspd number of offices to let; in lessened patronage of places of amusement amuse-ment and gilded saloon?; in the retrenchment re-trenchment of household expenses and the increased number of boarders at the hotels and restaurants; in th restricted business of dealers in fancy articles; in the half time system introduced by gome of our manufacturers; in the difficulty of collecting overdue bills; in the abandonment of work at some of the Nevada mines, and reduced working forces of others; in the unusually un-usually large delinquent assessment notices, and the absolute relus&ls to pay further assessments; in the universal uni-versal cry for reforms in mine managements man-agements and expenses; and last of all in the dull condition of the real state market, and the reduced values which have been put upon various pieces by owners who are desirous of Belling. We know of instances in-stances where this decline amounts from 5 to 10 por cent. San Francisco Fran-cisco Bulletin. |