Show idaho copper company played with fire and got burnt burne idaho copper company is now in receivership over an indebtedness of this corporation has hit the financial rocks behind this announcement is one of the most interesting stories of recent mining in the northwest only parts of which can now be told says mining truth of spokane carey H nixon a boise attorney is the receiver receiver me he is also secretary of the company and is a representative of the butler griggs faction but is not a director he was secretary and director of the old idaho copper company ltd which was merged with the idaho copper corporation controlled by george graham rice into the present idaho copper company two properties idle the receiver was appointed by judge B S varian at weiser on complaint filed by the boise association of credit men at council seat of adams county in which the companas comp anys red ledge and south peacock properties are situated operations were suspended recently at these properties but mining and milling continues at the iron dyke mine which being situated in oregon is not at present in charge of the receiver back of the receivership is a fight for control between the butler griggs group and george graham rice who is is alleged to have violated his contract to provide the company with cash to build roads and bridges and to develop the red Led ledge gemine mine rice controls the board of directors but cooley butler and 0 H griggs have a three year contract which gives them complete command of the mining and milling operations until the spring of 1929 rice has a long record of fantastic promotions and is still in conflict with new york idaho and federal authorities over the methods used to promote idaho copper corporation po ration before the merger when its only asset in the way of mining property was the south peacock an abandoned prospect in the seven devils near cuprum U S investigators out R H sayer a denver engineer accompanied by a federal ceolo geologist 6 has recently been at the south peacock gathering evidence to present in a proposed case against rice for misuse of the mails in the original promotion of idaho copper corporation more than two years ago new york state authorities have enjoined publication of rices tipster sheet the wall street iconoclast by means of which he had sold great quantities of stock in idaho copper corporation and more imore recently in idaho copper company wash sales on the boston curb have been alleged but no conviction has been obtained so far as present records indicate on this charge rice has continued his campaign however through b the wall street daily news which lie he purchased some months ago for exactly such use in case the iconoclast should be stopped stewart campbell state mine inspector of idaho called attention of boston curb authorities to misstatements mis statements appearing in rices promotion matter JE he ie also gave his objections publicity through mining truth and northwestern newspapers and the financial word and barrons barrens financial weekly picked up his fight stock in idaho copper company slumped from to less than a dollar campbell suit sui t appealed campbell was sued for libel by idaho copper company a against b ainest the protest of president griggs and treasurer but ler A verdict for in campbell the case was returned in federal court at boise and an appeal has been taken by the company to the federal appellate court at san francisco while the case now being worked up in new york deals with the old corporation certain statements in rices publications licati ons dealing with present conditions at the red ledge and iron dyke properties have also been attacked ore bodies indicated by diamond drill at the red ledge are said to have been described in the iconoclast as blocked out and statements of engineers and geologists relative to the prop property which has Z great potential value have been distorted the story has already been told of the connection of walter harvey weed with the rice enterprises and his efforts to get something for the old idaho copper corporation that would justify the elaborate means adopted by rice to promote it another past chapter relates to the suit brought against rices corporation by the old idaho copper company ltd dominated by butler and griggs for infringement of the name weeds effort to obtain a property of value for rice and butlers effort to get adequate capital to develop the red ledge finally brought about a consolidation of the two companies of similar name which had shortly before been at loggerheads logger heads was a last resort butlers alliance with rice came only after three years of heartbreaking heart breaking attempts to insure possession of sufficient capital to construct roads and open the red ledge deposit by a long working tunnel from eagle bar on snake river rices promotions hitherto have been based on holdings of fictitious or imaginary value and doubtless weed and butler hoped that when he had a property with a real mining in inin chance to handle his financing might be conducted with some higher regard for honesty than his previous custom had indicated the man rice has exceptional talent and an almost uncanny ability to obtain capital by posing as a victim of persecution prosecutors have made just enough errors to give plaus ability to his plea that he is the victim of an unscrupulous new conspiracy even the assistant attorney P general of york in a signed article in harpers magazine cc confused infused the old south peacock promotion with the present R red ed LW ledge br aruis bruis operation and made statements so unwarranted as to protests from legitimate mining men geologist misquoted the suspension of the iconoclast followed its P B tion on july 20 of a purported interview in which chUr dr F L laney geologist of the idaho bureau of mines and O cology is quoted as having said the red ledge of the idaho under op per company is the most promising copper prope property destined arty to development in the entire united states and is destine be the greatest copper mine in north america dr laneys landys comment on this is reser 1 I desire to state unequivocally and without any anade ally ina whatsoever 0 ever that I 1 have never at any tinie time stach such statement nor authorized anyone else to w I 1 anake of the statements on my behalf my impression ion u state red led ledge 9 e is a favorable one but the such brelet Pi positive tive of development of the property warrants no attributed ted to it as are anttn attn and unqualified assertions regarding me in the quotation cited above unie dr francis A thomson dean of mines at the sity of idaho and secretary of the state be of the asked george graham rice to permit a correction co false interview but rice never replied to dr Thom sons letter the basis for the misquotation appears to have been a conversation between dr laney and walter harvey weed or of 1 rices staff in which dr laney insists he specifically told mr weed veed that as a member of tile the bureau of mines and b geology 6 lie he is not permitted to give out statements or interviews for publication story of disagreement the complaint filed at weiser recites that the rice or majority faction of the board of directors consists of W H weed james dewitt andrews nash rockwood and samuel abbott ma maginnis innis all of new york while the butler or minority faction consists of cooley butler and 0 H griggs of los angeles and richard H johnson of boise it is asserted that the rice faction in violation of the agreement which left the operations in charge of the butler interests liane have caused more than to be expended on drilling and exploring other prospects probably meaning the south peacock thereby depleting the companas comp anys finances and bringing about a suspension of operations and an indebtedness of the complaint charges that this diversion of funds was wasi made nade so that rice might 1 make favorable com ments in the iconoclast whereby the stock would advance and fluctuate in value the stock of butler and associates the old idaho copper company ltd was es crowed and withheld from the market for three years from april 7 1926 the complaint alleges b dissensions arose in october 1926 and have been practically continuous since that date the complaint states it is also reported that the rice faction has refused to furnish a list of stockholders to the proper officers that the assistant secretary W L mckee was forcibly ejected from his office in jersey city and that minutes of directors meetings ios 6 have been prepared which were untrue designed 1 and intended to further the schemes of rice to the detriment of defendant the idaho copper company |