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Show ME ALL RIGHT, HUT STOCK WEAK Persistent Knocking of the Goldficld Con. in East Is to Blame. STRINGS THAT THE TALENT HARPS ON Mysterious Weakness Is Made Clear by Correspondent of The Tribune. Special to Tho Tribune. GOLDFUSLiD, Nov., July 21. The failure fail-ure of Goldficld Consolidated to .show groater market strength. In the face of highly favorable reports from the mine workings and unparalleled results In operation, op-eration, has caused no end of speculation and wonder as to Hh cause, with no adequate ade-quate explanation offorod. Many and good reasons have been advanced why the stock should be selling for a far higher figure than the present quotations, but the fact remains that, according to accepted standards, tho stock has continued con-tinued to show a degree of weakness for which It has been Impossible to account In view of the volume of earnings and the promise of future dividends. As a matter of fact the dealings in Goldficld Consolidated have been of much loss volume thun has been generally supposedalmost sup-posedalmost too small to establish a rellablo market valuation and tho most casual scrutiny of the transfer sheets of tho New York slock exchango makes It patent that these transactions have not Involved any of the holdings of tn larger stockholders. Sales sheets of the big exchange for two representative and consecutive days recently showed sales or C19 and 138 shares respectively, at ol and 5D, ox dividend. The late sheets show no transactions In lots of more than 100 shares each and many or smaller amount. One obstacle with which the stock has had to contend and Its potency as an ob-stable ob-stable Is estimated varylngly is the persistent per-sistent hammering to which the stock has been subjected by a number of eastern east-ern curb brokers whose motive is not far to seek, so palpable Is their design to persunde their clients to Invest or speculate spec-ulate only In curb issues and to dissuade them from dealing In stocks listed on the big exchange, tho purchase or sale of which will yield no revenue In commissions commis-sions to these brokers. Theirs has not been an ordinary bear campaign, but In some Instances the house organ publications publica-tions and market letters of these brokerage broker-age linns, not content with suppressing fact's of value as news, have given the widest publicity to reports that departed widely from the truth, and this campaign Is still In progress. Measuring Ore Bodies. Another factor bearing upon this subject sub-ject may be the extreme conservatism of the Consolidated management, as cxempll-tled cxempll-tled by the consistent manner In which the actual performances of the property have exceeded all estimates, predictions and promises, and as shown more particularly partic-ularly bv the continued refusal on the part of tho company's engineers and managers man-agers to commit themselves to specific appraisement of the volume and value of ore reserves. The latter question is one upon up-on which the bears have harped endlessly, but one which need cause no apprehension apprehen-sion to the stockholders. In the annual reports for tho past three years the management man-agement has explained the Impossibility, by reason of the character of the deposits, de-posits, of placing a reliable appraisement upon ore bodies In this district. Under the head of ore reserves J. H. Mackenzie, managing director nnd formerly general manager of tho Consolidated, Consoli-dated, said: "In this property experience In etoplng has shown conclusively that on account of the excessive varlatlo value and the great Irregularity In form of the ore bodies, it Is Impossible to make nccurato estimates of ore reserves. The average grade of the oro produced is so largely dependent upon very rich Irregular streaks, which often traverse the ore bodies in many directions that only in very rare cases do samples from exposed ex-posed faces Indicate even approximately the average production of the stopes Moreover, the limits of profitable ore arc notj dependent upon' structural planes, but bwcII- and -pinch with but the most general gen-eral relations to the walls of tho veins, so that In few places Is It possible lo be certain of ore quantities a few feet beyond be-yond exposures." Conserving Bicher Ores. In an official report of the United States geological survey on the Goldficld district, Mr. F. L. Ransome says: "The quantity quan-tity of ore Is undeniably largo, but In no district arc the difficulties in the way of estimation greater, owing to tho Irregular Irreg-ular shape, erratic distribution and wide range In tenor of the pay shoots." The conditions thus explained, unlike those prevailing In most of the precious metal mines, together with the fact that little Is heard, as formerly, tho bodies of exceedingly ex-ceedingly rich ore being exposed, have had the effect of creating In tho minds of many pconle a doubt as to the ability of the Consolidated company to continue the payment of dividends at the present pres-ent rale of nearly 35 per cent annually. On the other hand, those who arc inorq, familiar with the operations and the proporlles have llttlo doubt of the company's com-pany's eventually paying tho present value of the stock, at least, at the rate of 50 cents per share quarterly. In the main ore channel largo bodies of excellent excel-lent ore have boon exposed to a depth of 1200 feet and developments on all levels continues to place moro ore In sight than Is being extracted. It Is said upon excellent authority that there is a large tonnage of high grade oro exposed In the workings which Is blocked out and left standing as it is the nollcv of the managpinont to mine all ore that can be handled at a profit in order to avoid a second handling, to mnlntaln the present pres-ent rate of dividends upon as low a grade of ore as possible and to hold the high grade material for further use In sweetening tho leaner oro as It Is needed need-ed for that purpose. This method of operation also makes for economy in no small degree by reason rea-son of the superior recovery effected und the lower cost Involved In the treatment of a medium grade product, the chief saving being, In the leaching and In the quantity of chemicals employed. Operating Oper-ating and reduction costs on a medium grade of ore have been reduced from over $11 at the flrsl of tin? current year lo about $7.S0 per ton and futher economies econ-omies hpj being effected Ore' exposures at and above a depth of 750 fct have surpassed all expectations and Iho results of recent development on tho lower levels lev-els are regarded as among the most Im portant In tho history of the properties. The best qualified authorities express confidence that the mines will continue to produce to a depth of fully 2000 feet. Dividend Record. On July 31. the Consolidated will pay Its twelfth dividend, and the sixth consecutive con-secutive quarterly disbursement at thf rate of 50 cents per share. Aflur this dividend is paid (he company will have a cash balance of approximately $1,088.-000, $1,088.-000, the largest post-dividend balance In Its history After the last dividend was paid, on April 30, the amount of cash on hand was about $1,612,000 and the report which will accompany the forthcoming dividend chocks, Issued as of June 30, will show not earnings for tho calendar quarter ending on that date of about $2,125,680 or $34B,000 In excess of the dividend requirement or $1,770,-571. $1,770,-571. This excess sum added to the former for-mer cash lalanco will show a balance for August 1 of nearly $2,000,000, and will bring the total dividend payments of the company lo tho sum or $1B,3GG,C09. Including the production made by lessees l these properties have produced oro val- ucd at an aggregate In the neighborhood or $12,000,000. That there will be any further recession reces-sion In the market price of Goldficld Consolidated Con-solidated ff-nms altogether unlikely as It also appoars to be highly Improbable that there will be a reduction in the rate of dividend payments for at least three or four years to come. A large part of tho property has been explored only at cnmparatl.vely shallow depth and every physical Indication points to the continuance contin-uance of the rich deposits at creat depth For example, the groat Red Top vein, the most consistently and uniformly productive pro-ductive on tho property, has been explored ex-plored and stoped only to a depth of W feet and Is but now being opened on the 750-foot level. This voln varies from 40 tp 100 feet In width, with the pay shoot up to 25 feci wide, and Iho ore Is exposed ex-posed In drifts In this vein almost continuously con-tinuously for 1600 feet. What may be tho condition In these veins at 1.200 and 1500 feet Is problematical, but there is no valid reason to doubL the continuity of the ore throughout the dacllc and latltu formations. |