| Show GEORGE GRAHAM RICES PROMOTION OF IDAHO COPPER AND DAMAGE SUIT A boise idaho dispatch of the ad instant relates that state mine inspector stewart campbell has asked eral court of the idaho jurisdiction for an early trial in the libel suit entered against him by the idaho copper corporation in which damages amounting to are asked recently when mr campbell filed his answer to the complaint and to which the plaintiff has since demurred the wallace Nal lace idaho miner made the following reference to the case it is full of breezy reading and takes one george graham rice to task for being the promulgator of the scheme which campbell tried to head oft off by requesting the boston curb market to drop idaho copper from its trading list here is the way the wallace miner tells the story stewart campbell state mine inspector has filed his answer to the complaint om plaint of the idaho copper corporation in in the federal court at boise the suit against mr campbell in which damages to the extent of are asked is is the outgrowth of the action taken by the mine inspector in in asking the boston curb market to drop the idaho copper corporation from its trading list for the reason that it had not lot complied with the laws of idaho in which the corporations po rations property is located and that false and misleading statements were being published regarding the property notably through wall street iconoclast published in new york bork by george graham rice mr campbell through the attorney general of the state ate demurred to the complaint which was overruled by judge deitrich and he has now filed his answer through the same me channel it appears from the ruling of judge deitrich and d also mr campbells answer that the trial of the case will turn on the allegation that the inspector acted through ni malice alice that if the plaintiff company fails to establish that charge arge the case will fail the trial of the case is a matter of vital interest to the ali lining ling industry of idaho for if the idaho cop copper pe r corporation tin should be successful it will mean that the bars are down wn and that the laws of idaho afford no protection for the ie public against promotions of that kind pays respects to rice in the course of his answer which is quite lengthy mr ampbell Carn states that the high price of idaho copper sto stock ck after er listing on the boston curb was due to misleading re arts and information disseminated through the wall street published by george graham rice and in sup port of this he has this to say regarding the property and the representations made regarding it at the time the said stock was so selling as set forth in paragraph six six there had been practically no development thereon made by the plaintiff corporation that said property claimed to be owned by it was practically unworkable and to careful and thorough examination by reason of 01 caved workings and the property in such a condition that no reputable mining engineer could honestly represent it to be a mine of established value that it had been practically closed in 1901 and reopened in 1915 and then closed and practically no work done on it to date yet the said wall street iconoclast was setting forth in spectacular highly colored and misleading fashion statements calculated to establish in the minds of its readers that the said mining property was of immense established value among other things stating on march 17 1925 that As described by rice it is officially estimated that the indicated tonnage of the companas comp anys mine down to only the foot level is tons of 8 per cent copper ore valuing the copper in the ore at 12 cents a pound the net value of this ore body is per share on the shares of the company capitalization allowing for amortization since it is officially stated that with the experimental mill facilities now projected this tonnage is equal to many years supply we appraise the intrinsic value at a share this makes the net 1720 per ton and gives the ore body down to the foot level a net valuation of as and when mined milled and smelted smelter smelt ed company had short end that the said plaintiff corporation had issued all of its capital stock in payment for this property but the grantor had returned shares to the treasury thus retaining as his payment for the property shares of said stock that the company prior to april 16 1925 was under contract to sell the treasury stock so returned to it at ten cents a share all amounts over and above that going to brokers as their compensation that therefore when the said stock was selling as set forth in paragraph six for 90 cents per share the plaintiff corporation was receiving as defendant is informed and believes and therefore alleges only the sum of ten cents per share for such treasury stock as it was selling that said george G raham graham rice was extensively interested in stock of said plaintiff corporation as this defendant is informed and believes and therefore alleges and acquired the same at a price far less than the market value as set forth in paragraph six of said complaint and as this defendant is informed and believes was at all times prior to the dakof day of april 1925 and still is personally interested of the said stock and also in in a raise in the market price speculating and gambling in the same that any extensive demand for said stock which could be created through the instrumentality of his paper the said wall street iconoclast would bull the market increase the possibilities of sale as well as the price of said stock and thus permit without regard to the actual I 1 d development e or value of the said mining property claimed to be owned 1 by y the phin plaintiff tiff a large market value for the said stock thus enabling large profits to be made mad e therein knew rices record that this defendant well knows the general reputation graham rice bears in the mining which the said george industry that the said reputation was and is of such bad of fraud to character as to immediately cause st suspicion mining stock in in the sale sa e of with arise in connection any is the guiding or lead rice which the said george graham inspirit and the defendant was also familiar with the criminal 6 record of the said george graham rice originally named jacob herman herzig in in connection with financial operations and his several convictions and penitentiary sentences that defendant therefore believed it his duty to force compliance by said plaintiff with the law and prevent or render difficult a swindle being perpetrated on the ge general ii public with resultant injury to the idaho mining in industry 1 acted in good faith 1 the answer is generally a denial of all alle allegations 9 actions sel sei up tip in in the complaint and a presentation of facts to show that tala mr campbell was acting in good faith and in pursuance of his duties as inspector of mines in closing he asserts that it was his duty to secure compliance with the mining laws of the state and that as part of his duties he was required to protect both the reputation of the state of idaho in its mineral resources and the possible investing public in mining stocks and securities against corporations not complying with the laws of the state of idaho but owning property therein that believing that it was his duty as aforesaid by virtue of his position as state mines inspector of the state of idaho he acted in all of his actions and statements concerning the plaintiff corporation as complained of in the complaint of the tiff in his public capacity as such public official of the state of idaho and not in his private capacity and that in so acting his statements were and are privileged that at the time that his attention first was called to the failure of the said plaintiff to comply with the laws of the state of idaho and fairly and with the idea of securing a compliance by the said corporation with the said laws did notify the said corporation of its failure and attempted to have it comply with the laws of the state of idaho that upon its continued failure to do so and after investigation 6 as to the general character of the properties claimed to be owned by the plaintiff he secured information as to the misleading statements made concerning this property rop by its president and circulated through the said wall street iconoclast that knowing as hereinbefore set forth the general reputation as a fraudulent promoter of s said aid george graham rice this defendant felt that it was his im immediate duty to force compliance with the lassof laws of the state of idaho for the protection of the general public and the good name of the state of idaho and it was for this purpose that he published the statements complained of that lie he did so without malice without any intention i to injure the said plaintiff in any way |
