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Show 8 I BARTCH SHOULD RESIGN I If tho allegations raado in a circular issued by James P. Edwards, M. C. Van Ordcn, Will P. Smith, Geo. Slockott, F. Li. Van Orden, Nols Burk-man, Burk-man, B. J. Dubo, Thos. Pascoo. H. W. Hart, H. J. Vivian, M. J. Carroll, and j. F.' Jackson, all of Michigan, are true, and theso gentlemen seem to have authority for malting their statements state-ments which aro borne out in their assertions as-sertions by parties hero in Salt Lake City as to part of them at least, then Chief Justico Georgo W. Bartch of the Supremo court of this state ought to resign. j There is moro troublo in tho Shoba Gold and Silver Mining company and it centers around Justico Bartch and his son-in-law Child. It will bo remembered re-membered some time ago tho conduct of Justico Bartch was brought Into question in connection with tho Morrison Mor-rison mino and that attorneys Alviras Snow and W. H. Wllkins wero haulod over tho coals in tho Supremo court for filing documents attacking his standing as a judge. There was considerable con-siderable agitation at tho time, but Justico Bartch camo out of the affair all right, tho other members of tho Supremo court sustaining his reputation reputa-tion as a jurist and ordering that tho objectionablo matter bo stricken '.from '; tho flies. Now tho battlo Is renewed by tho gentlemen whoso names aro mentioned at the outset and thoy aro not in any wiso chary of statement, but call a spado a spado. In a circular letter issued "To tho stockholders of tho Shoba Gold and Silver Mining company" com-pany" tho signers sot out tho following: follow-ing: "Wo chargo tho present management manage-ment with: First, after throe and ono-half ono-half years of mismanagement, misstatement mis-statement of facts, all kinds of promises, prom-ises, tho calling of an assessment duo Fob. 15, 1905, of throe cents por share, amounting to $15,000, which in their call they stated would placo 'tho property in such condition that It can be made to pay its way in a short mio after tho mill is in operation;' and that 'Wo have secured the services ser-vices of an expert who, wo believe, Is thoroughly competent to save values and tho mill Is about ready for operation,' opera-tion,' (See circular accompanying tho first call) and having collected such assessment, of the misapplication of some of tho funds thus raised; of closing down tho mino indefinitely, and calling a second assessment of three cents per s-haro (for want of funds?) payablo immediately. All this in tho face of the fact that Supt. Floeter's report shows that from tho ICth of November, 1904, thp time ho took charge, to March 24th, 1905, tho entire expenditure at tho mino was only $5,537.71. "Second: Wo chargo them with tho diverting of treasury funds,, for: When the company was first organized with a capital stock of 500,000 shares tho Incorporators, or promoters, stated that 150,000 shares wero placed In tho treasury for tho "development of tho property and other promotion expenses. expens-es. For in their prospectus thoy explicitly ex-plicitly stated: 'Tho property consists con-sists of absolute ownership of thirty-one thirty-one claims, etc' This was confirmed by tho President of tho company, Judge G. W. Bartch, at a meeting of several of tho stockholders, hold in Houghton, Mich., on April 18,' 1903, whero ho positively asserted 'that tho company owned tho 31 original claims and others whloh tho company had sinco located, and that tho original claims had been paid for out of tho i 350,000 shares of promotion stock.' "Wo find from correspondence that thero was a bond of $11,000 on tho original 'Sheba' claims; that this bond was paid as follows: $5,000 in cash and $0,000 given in stock by tho Incorporators In-corporators and for which thoy took treasury monoy. As is shown by tho annual report of tho company, mado December 14, 1903, when inoy stato 'Paid Sheba bond $11,000.' "It has further developed that thero was also a bond of $19,500 on tho original Mammoth group of claims which has been paid as follows: Casli $2,000 Company's note to owner 3,000 Promotion stock for which promoters pro-moters took company's noto at 8 per cent Interest 14,500 Total $19,500 "They certainly had no moral right to divert theso funds, oven had thoy tho legal right, which we question.' "Third: We chargo them with unbusinesslike un-businesslike methods, for: Tho annual meeting which should have been hold December, 1901, was postponed sovor-nl sovor-nl times and apparently went by do-fault. do-fault. "Apparently no statement for tho year hns been prepared possibly (?) from tho fact that tho directors refuse to compensato tho secretary (who Is not a director), for his services nnd lie docs not seem to bo Inclined to sorvo without pay. Tho only Information Informa-tion that has been vouchsafed Is tho following 'curiosity' which was sent a stockholder seeking information. STATEMENT. " 'This docs not Includo sotno $17,-000 $17,-000 of bills payablo In notes, nor does It includo n floating indebtedness ot about $8,000. Thoro Is somo $1,270 also duo fronjtho soiling of treasury stock, and 'thero was a small amount of treasury stock in tho treasury at tho first of Dccombcr. Capital stock $500,000 $514,997.40, Mines and M. property. Cash 7,701.31 39,184.81, Dovolopmont. 2,078.42, Expense Ac'ct. 222.07, Workman's collcctlvo Ins. Treasury stock 00,470.82 50.25, Taxes. W. H. Child 1,795.80 71C.35, Interest. 13,423.21, Mill account. 35.00 Oro snmpllng. Ore shipments 1,009.58 $571,307.51 $571,307.51 "From this It would nppcar that tho company had received from treasury stock and oro salos tho sum of $01,-750.33. $01,-750.33. "And has oxpended in lcgltlfnato oxponsos $50,310.11, which would show a balanco of $5,440.22. Yet according to tho 'Statement' tho company hns a bills payablo account of somo $17,000 and a floating indebtedness of $8,000, "Sinco tho first of Decombor tho 'small balanco of treasury stock In tho treasury' must havo been sold, at what prico wo do not know, and an assessment of $15,000 has been col-lectcd; col-lectcd; theso amounts, with tho $5540.-22 $5540.-22 which should havo boon on hand would amount to In tho neighborhood of $21,000. Tho only legitimate ox-ponso ox-ponso which tho superintendent In his report has given nt $5537.71, and a fow other Incidentals which, all told, could not havo amounted to moro than $6,000, leaving a balanco of $15,-000. $15,-000. Yet tho mino has been closed down and another assessment has beon called. Why? It Is posslblo that thoy havo discovered Hint tho nHsoss- ; inont method is an enslor nnd spocdlor method of milking (or paying notes) than tho old and familiar ono of soiling soil-ing treasury stoclc. "Fourth. Wo charge them with incompetence in-competence ns mining ofllclnls: Aftor threo and a half years of tlmo and between $75,000 nnd $80,000 spont by theso men what hns boon accomplished? accomp-lished? A tunnol of somo 900 foot wns driven at a dopth that would, thoy stated, 'Intersect tho vein ton feet below tho bottom of tho old workings,' but which ns a mattor of fact, Instead of Intersecting below, in 70 foot nbovo tho bottom of tho main f-haft. A mill that according to official of-ficial stntomonts May 23, 1903, 'will bo started In ton days' and July 27, 1903, 'It is ccrtnln wo will bo shipping within tho noxt threo weeks nnd that tho mino from Hint tlmo on will take caro of Its If.' March 28, 1901, 'Mill O. , j IC 'Tho mill can mako a good prof- : t It nbovo our totnl oxponsos from now 1 on.' 'Wo hnvo plonty of oro and will ' 1 bo out of tho woods Boon.' Only this nnd nothing moro." J "At tho Instannunl mooting two gon j tlomen from tho Michigan district If wero added to tho directory. It was 1 not long beforo thoy wero sntlsflod K that If tho mino wns to bo mado a I success as a mino; not ns n stock 1 . Jobbery scheme, that other methods ft would hnvo to bo ndoptcd. Thoy in- I slstcd nnd through them, last Novom- U her, Mr. A. II. Flootor, n civil nnd 8 mining onglnecr, a grnduato of Mich- I igan Collego of Mines, nnd n mnn of ' B sovcral yenrs practical oxporionco ns a mill man and a mino superintend- 1 ont wns Induced to resign tho lucrn- ll tivo position which ho then held, and u wus employed ns superintendent, with 1 absoluto authority at tho mino (with-out (with-out which, under tho circumstances', I B ho refused to accept tho position) ox- ' copt as to tho amount of monoy to Jl bo oxpondod. Ho found things In a , doplorablo condition, but after a fow months' hnrd labor and tho dlschargo of Incompetents, succeeded In gotting tho mino nnd mill Into fair shapo, at tho 'enormous oxponso of about elovon 1 hundred dollnrs por month.' In thfa lattor part of January last Judge Bartch visited tho mino nnd In his t old stylo Intorforcd with tho ordor of : tho superintendent. Friction occurred oc-curred and on tho judgo's return to Salt Lako, ho resigned his ofllco aB V I! j president, nnrt proposed a joint tunnel for tho DeSoto and Slieba. This tun-i tun-i ncl would 1)0 about 2,000 feet long and ' would only Intersect the Slieba vein 1 70 feet below the bottom of tho shaft, i This proposition was opposed by SuiTt. $ Floeter, as well as by a Mr. C. Held, j a mining man, whom two of tho ill- rectors took to the mine on March ;j 1 and 2 of this year. When Judge ' :" Bartch resigned Mr. Q. W. Morgan i . was elected president and .on March 22 telegraphed to Mr. Flootor as fol-j" fol-j" , lows: 'Board directs you to I mined- j lately dlschargo men, close down ; mine and turn ovor all property to ' ' Jos. M. Organ, agent.' Such Is a sam- plo of their methods and management w . (?)" m .i Tho signers of tho circular then H. recommend tho olectlon of a board of f directors, a majority of whom shall bo residents of Michigan, where most of tho stock is held and suggest HB changes In method and management. B 'i In concluding thoy stato that "the I,1 commlttco would stato that every statement or lnferonco madu In this i. circular is true to the best of our knowledge and boliof and aro based 1 wholly on official documents, lottors nnd affidavits mado by responsible ' parties." In order to got tho stock voted i- right It is suggested that tho following , course bo adopted: "You aro particularly ronuestod to ' 'j seo if tho certificate of stock you own Is Issued in your namo. If It is not, , mako a memorandum of the stock, tak ing tho number of tho certificate and tho namo of tho person to whom is- I sued. Seo that tho certificate has p been signed by tho porson to whom f ; issued, fill in your namo aftor tho L words on tho back 'assign and trans it for to' and again aftor tho words 'con- i' stltuto and appoint.' Send tho cortlfi- b cato, accompanlod by your assessment , No. 2, to tho secretary of tho com- pany at Salt Lake City, Utah, by rog- ' j lstcred letter immediately, to bo trans- forred to you, for stock cannot bo ! voted upon except by a porson of rcc- ord. Bo suro to send your proxy to j'; John Slockott, Houghton, Mich., or to It J. M. Burdlck, of Now Brltian, Con. i But as Truth 'Understands tho mat- tor, tho action proposed In tho clrcu-i. clrcu-i. lar quoted will not end tho affair by any means. Truth Is told by thoso ' who profess to know that there will j bo legal action taken. It Is stated that 1 when tho company was in progress of formation that eastern men wero in- , " duccd to put monoy into tho enter- prlso by statements which wore mis- leading. For instance it is nl'oged that ' ; a part of tho dump of tho Sheba mine was on Do Soto ground, and that j Judgo Barton related to sovoral east- orners that It was necessary for tho n Shoba peoplo to own tho Do Soto. Several stockholders In this city will J - bear out tho assertion that thoy put ' 1 their monoy Into tho pool with tho un derstanding that It should bo used for this purpose. But Truth is informed that Judgo Bartch bought tho Do Soto himself. It is also charged that Child acted at least indiscreetly In tho mat- tor of tho salo of treasury stock. It Is related that largo blocks of tho stock wore sold at prices far and ' j away abovo what tho treasury re- eelved for it. In tho mnttor provlously alluded to: Tho Morrison mining caso, in which . Alvlras Snow mado some serious alio- ' gatlons, tho public scandal which re- 1 suited was of such a naturo that wo bollovo tho standing of Judgo Bartch . was lowered In tho community. If tho complainants In tho Shoba mini", . company caso proceed legally, ns it is -1 said thoy will, his reputation as a jur ist cannot fall of being damaged. The statomonts mndo by these men aro of such a naturo as to warrant thorn being considered grave In tho extreme. Wo suggest that Judgo Bartch should resign from tho bench if hn wants to bo a stock jobber. While there Is no law to prevent tho chief justice of tho Supremo court from investing in-vesting in mines or In other enterprises; enter-prises; while there Is no law to prevent pre-vent any high official from so doing, we, and most people agree with us, bollovo that It is in extremely bad taste so to do, because tho very naturo na-turo of tho engagement makes the floating of stock look like jobbery. In this caso Judgo Bartch Is, or was. one of tho management. Tho protest-ants; protest-ants; thoso who would reorganize the company, say that there has been "three and a half years of mismanagement, misman-agement, misstatement of facts, all kinds of promises," and the showing mado, as related by the figures of tho secretary, the son-in-law of tho one timo president, G. W. Bartch, seems to bear out tho assertions. Tho charge Is mado that tho funds of tho treasury wero "diverted." That Is wrongfully used. These funds wore collected for tho purposes set out. but it is said that tho statements wero not correct; that bonds existed of which tho buyers of stock know nothing, noth-ing, except that Bartch had said the company owned tho several claims "absolutely." As to tho unbusinesslike unbusiness-like methods, the fact that no annual mooting was held Is an omission which, If true, should bo corrected, and as to tho financial statement' rendered, ren-dered, wo cannot but agree with the protecting stockholders that it is a "curiosity." Truth Is informed that a stormy session between Bartch and a well known attorney of this city occurred somo timo ago In which tho latter Informed In-formed tho former that he, Bartch, could not use his official position to lntimldato htm, the attorney, and that tho judgo weakened when charged with conduct unbecoming a man in Us position. Truth is further informed in-formed that unless settlement Is mado of matters right soon, legal proceedings pro-ceedings will bo instituted and that thoso who propose starting them will Insist upon their not being stricken from tho files nor tho attorneys making mak-ing them being disbarred from practicing prac-ticing law. It Is again reiterated that Judge Bartch should resign from tho bench. If ho is going to continue hawking stock throughout tho east and getting into difficulties with his co-owners of mines and mills, tho sooner he gets down from tho judiciary tho better. Whilo It may not bo anything against tho integrity or tho ability of a judge of a high tribunal to be sued In a court of law, the very fact that this Is tho second time, slnco his election to tho exalted place ho occupies that ho and his son-in-law have been held up to public view as being engaged in questionable ventures nnd doing questionable things, it would seem that in justice to himself and to the peoplo whom ho servos ho should doff his ermine and take his chances In litigation like other men. If ho is vindicated ho can go on selling mines and mining stocks as before, because ho appears to bo doing pretty well nt that. If ho Is defeated in the action ho will have tho satisfaction of knowing know-ing that ho prevented tho stato from witnessing tho degradation of its highest' judicial officer. When Judgo John A. Marshall was elevated to tho Federal bench, wo are reliably Informed, ho sold out at ruinous ruin-ous prices all his holdings In mines so that not oven a shadow of suspicion could attach to him. Judgo Bartch seems, however, to look nt thoso things In a different way. |