OCR Text |
Show "Mining and Financial THE stock exchange, we learn from the dally papers, has st'artod on a bear hunt. Whether M or not the brokers return with the skin of the H bear, the diversion will be appreciated. Under H the rules of tho exchange there is no open season H for bears, but tho particular bear now being pur- H Bued is alleged to have behaved in an unbearlike H manner and thereby placed himself beyond the H pale of tho game laws. H The pale of tho gamo laws, it may bo ex- M plained, is not related to the bucket used for H bucketing orders. H However, to get back to our bear story; this H bear was a ready letter writer. Ho wrote a let- H tor whenever lie was ready without waiting for H anyone else to get ready. One of theso epistles H to the investors "was illuminated by the great H thought that if they sold their stock in a certain H iBsud tho price of that stock would go down. Anj H assessment was to be levied, the lettor saidj' H which -would helpthe decline along. So far therdr H was' nothing in tho letter to conflict with ursine11" B etiquette. If the facts were as stated it was the H duty of the bear, as a broker, to advise his clients. H But tho lettej- contained this paragraph: H "Why not get out now and buy in again on the M decline?" H This made it clear that tho broker was am- M bitious to load n scalping party. "Scalping" is M not a" polite subject for discussion. Its practice H is common enough and is not considered espec- H ially disreputable, but the brokers feel about it as H many persons feel about the teaching of sex hy- H giene in the public schools. H M Whatever may bo said of tho technicalities in H this case it surely isn't good business at this time H to discourage the payment of legitimate assess- H ments. Assessments are tho donations of an as- H sociation to a common cause and the man who H tries to evade his share of the obligation without H a good reason may properly be accused by his as- H soclates of "laying down." Assessments are the M means by which tho prospects of the state have H boon kept in operation during tho last year or H two and if everybody had tried selfishly to pass H tho burden to someone else the result to the min- H ing business, the miners and general business H would have been disastrous. M The saving virtue of the mining situation to- H day is tho confidence of prospect owners which m inspires them to go tho limit in promoting the de- M velopmont of their properties. If they should im- M bibe the doctrine that profits are to be found in H the stock exchange instead of in the ground, the H effect would be as detrimental to the exchange B as to mining. H H So our old college chum, Tony Jacobson, has H launched a now company at Altai What college? H Why, the school of experience. Tony has been a i diligent student there for tho last thirty years, H and is entitled to his diploma. Tho scene of H his latest venture is on the south side of Little H Cottonwood canyon, west of the South Hecla. The name of the new company is the "Sells," so H it ought to have a good show. Bi Since it has failed to bear out its original H promises the Alta Consolidated has lost much of M its interest for Mr. Jacobson. There 1b no de- H nying tho fact that, up to date, the Alta is a dis- H appointment. Some mistakes have been made, Hi but they have not been serious and do not reflect H on the Jacobson management. H It is hard to see how anjone could have done H more to win out there unless he could put ore in H the ground and Jacobson, wizard though he is, H doas not claim to be able to perform that trick. Hj He has come in for censure at various times be- H , cause, it was alleged, he made his enterprises M look better than they were. In the manager of a company that is not' a serious fault. 'A manager 1b expected to keep things moving and that cannot can-not bo done by pulling down the corners of the mouth and repeating a hard-luck story. I don't think anyone ever complained of tho manner in which the funds collected by tho Jacobson Ja-cobson companies were expended. There always was plenty of work to show for it and the stockholders stock-holders surely got a run for their money. If tho ore was not there and was shown not to be there no one is to blame. If he is entitled to anything, Tony is entitlod to praise for his success in carrying car-rying on the enterprise to the point of demonstration. demon-stration. It is to bo hoped he will be equally successful suc-cessful in financing his new mine and far more successful in finding things. Tho Sells Mining company 1b capitalized with G00.000 25-cent shares. Tho United States company seems to be having hav-ing considerable difficulty in finding new properties proper-ties to make up for the decreased production of the Centennial-Eureka. It is understood that tho showing in the Farragut group of claims was not what the United States people expected and that tho bond may not be taken up after all. The three drifts into tho King Williams have not brought any big ore bodies to light. Now it is said that the United States experts will extend their search as far east as the Tintic Standard and possibly ask for an option to give them a chance to develop the ground according to their own system. Outside of Tintic the big company is extending extend-ing its inquiries to many parts of the state. It has given some special atention to Box Elder county prospects, where it is supposed to have tied up some ground. The Centennial gained about three carloads on the last week shipments, but it still Is far behind be-hind the Mammoth with its thirty-four cars of shaft and dump oro. |