February 18, 1882





The Real Estate Recorb.





141





We have received a communication from a
source which claimR to be well informed, making
serious charges against the management of the
Standard and Bulwer mines. In effect it charges
that the Bulwer mine is being robbed for the
benefit of the Standai'd. It is alleged that the
Standard mine is managed wastefuUy by Superin¬
tendent Irwin, who is a partner in the lumber¬
yard which supplies the mine. It is also said that
some of the bullion was stolen and that the
cashier of a bank and one of the foremen of the
mills were implicated. The paper further charges
that for some time past the Bulwer has supplied
the ore for the Standard dividends. According
to this story, the veins of the Standard have a
westerly trend and run into Bulwer ground.
Bulwer being the oldest claim, this person states,
should take all the ore found. This document
goes on to say : " This explains why nothing has
been discovered in the drifts run from the Stand¬
ard vertical shaft eastward on the 500, 700 and
1,000 feet levels, while the drifts westward ou
those levels run only a short distance, when they
strike into Bulwer ground, which precludes their
finding any ore that depth for Standard. The
development in west cross cuts from Standard
shaft is nothing else than prospecting work foi-
Bulwer. On the 500 feet level, at a point 275 feet
widtii in the south drift, a west cross cut has been
run which is in 310 feet and now in Bulwer
ground; at a point 500 feet south a west cross cut
has been run 124 feet, which is almost in Bulwer
ground. On the 700 feet level a west cross cut
from Standard shaft has been run and is now in
436 feet, again in Bulwer ground. On the 1,000
feet level the west cross cut from shaft is in 376
feet, which is also in Bulwer ground. All this
goes to show that the^Standard mine is becoming
exhausted, and are going to make the most out of
its kind neighbor, which has been so good as to
jend them a helping hand in distress, until they
were well rid of their Standard stock. The grade
of ore in Standard is gradually running down, so
that at the last official report the pulp essay was
only $15 per ton, a value which is too poor
to mill when the cost of mining is $9 per ton and
of milling §11 (the price paid the Bulwer mill).
It is a well-kown fact that the Standard people
have sold all their Standard stock, and after
freezing out most all the old Bulwer stockhold¬
ers, have obtained fully three-quarters of that
stock—so if at some future day our friends, the
Standard stockholdei's, find their stock selling at
a song, aud Bulwer stock for a good round sum,
they need not be surprised."

The obvious intention of the above is to ad¬
vance Bulwer stock at the expense of Standard.
The writer is as wrong as he can be. It is true
that near the surface the veins do take a west¬
erly dip, as they do on the Comstock; but when
some distance in the earth they become vertical
and then their course is to the east. On the
Comstock the mines are being worked a mile and
a mile and a half to the east of the shafts which
were first sunk. Then, the writer does not seem
to te aware of the fact that the ownership .of a
vein follows the apex, that is to say, if ore was
found to run from the Standard into the Bulwer
mine as it gained in depth, it would belong to
the Standard until it was exhausted. The fact
is the Standard is an exceptionally well man¬
aged mine, although it is quite true that the
.=iuperintendent is a partner in a lumber firm
and that the incidental expenses are somewhat
too high. Still the fact cannot be gainsaid that
for five years and seven months the Standard
has paid regular monthly dividends, never less
than flfty cents a share, and for the last two
years seventy-five cents a share. Those who
purchased it at $35 or less have nothing to com¬
plain of. The Cooks still allege that there are
nearly three years'dividends in sight, and we
think they really believe so, as they seem to
be anxious to continue in the management.
Still we do not advise anyone to buy it. For
the last two years there has been veiy little
manipulation of the stock on the market. As
for Bulwer, it is paying regular dividends of ten
cents a month on the profits of its mill.   We do





not believe there is any pay ore in sight in Bul-
wsr, though some may yet be discovered in the
southern part of the mine. If all mining man¬
agements treated their stockholders as well as
did the officers df the Standard, mining shares
would be in much better repute than they are.

Private advices from Silver Cliff are not
reassuring. There are only a few men to work,
and they are engaged in picking selected ore.
t is supposed that some rock will be got to¬
gether that will make a vei-y good showing for
about thirty days, during which time the insid¬
ers will unload on the public. It is alleged that
James R. Keene made a deliberately false state¬
ment at the last annual meeting of the stock¬
holders, when he said that the fii'st run of the
mill had brought them $30,000. While he un¬
doubtedly believed in ihe property at first, he
has since been engaged in marketing the stock
whenever he could. The property is heavily
mortgaged to Keene himself, who to-day sub¬
stantially owns both mine and mill. But take
the rock as it comes in the mine, it does not
average $5 a ton. The whole Silver Cliff dis¬
trict is a failure.





ASSESSABLE MINING COMPANIES.

As there are literally scores of valuable mining
properties which are not developed because of
the impossibility of raising money, an effort is
to be made this winter to so amend the mining
laws of this State as to permit the shares of such
organization to be assessed for the development
of the mines. It is understood that Mr. Dorshei-
mer is preparing the necesrary bill. The Bull
Domingo, Big Pittsburg, Wyandotte, and indeed
a hundred other companies have come to a stand
still because of the impossibility of raising
money. An assessment of ten cents a share,
every quarter, would render productive many
properties which are now lying idle. The fol¬
lowing letter on this matter is from the pen of
one of the best known California mine owners,
now a resident of this city :
To the Editor Real Estate Record :

IVIining for gold, silver and lead is as much of
a legitimate business as the mining for iron or
coal—it takes gold or silver to open iron and coal
mines. There is a prejudice against mining en-
terpiises for tho developmenc of gold and silver,
and the question is, are they just—has not the
recklessness in which the public have gone into
the mining of gold, silver and lead the main
cause for the disappointments that have at¬
tended many of the enterprises that have been
floated upon the market? Are not our laws de-
flcient in regard to mining incorporations? The
State of California is doing more work towards
the development of the precious metals than any
other State in the Union. We very seldom see
any of the mining properties attached or sold out
by force sale. Why is this? The laws of Cali¬
fornia are such that any one that goes into them
knows that his obligations are such that he has
to pay for the development of tho property
bought, and the mine is worked npon a cash basis,
and he takes his chances—in the State of New
York he buys his stock and he wants it unassess¬
able. The consequence is that the work in the
mine is stopped until bonds can be sold at fifty
cents on the dollar, and by which process the
debt on the mine is augmented 100 per cent. We
have a case in mind. The Big Pittsburgh mine was
worked, and a debt of about §100,000 was created.
The company mortgaged their property for
$300,000, selling then- bonds for $150,000; the first
$10,000 received was sent out, and before they
had expended one half of the $10,000 a body of
ore was struck that enabled them to pay off $80,-
000 of their bonds. An assessment of ten cents
per share would have done the work and the mine
would have been out of debt. New York has
the capital and should be the mining centre, and
now that the Legislature is in session, let the
mining laws of the State of California be adopted
with any amendment that will make them
stronger, and be a safety to the stockholders.
We have talked with many who have gone into
mining properties with stock unassessable, and
they all say we do not want any more unassess
able stock that means bankruptcy.





ABOUT HOUSE HUNTING.

A gentleman, who, with his wife, has for some
time past been looking out for a house to purchase,
gave some of his experiences to the writer, which
may perhaps be worth reproducing here.

" Some time ago," said this gentleman, " I per¬
suaded my wife that it would be a good thing to
buy a house further up-town and to sell our old
one, which is situated below Fortieth street.
Now, my good woman is sensible, and even ex¬
ceptionally clever, but, as she is a woman, she is
whimsical. I could not get her to look at a house
east of Third avenue or north of Seventieth
street. She wanted it somewhere below this last
named street, on the east side of tho park. Now,
our means are limited, and we could not afford
to pay over a certain moderate flgure. In mak¬
ing the purchase, I wished to keep in mind the
value of the property as an investment, and I
asked myself, in every case, is thi.s a growing
neighborhood, and will this house rent for a sum
that will pay a fair interest on the investment ?
When I found the house that an.swered these con¬
ditions my wife always objected. The building
lacked closet room, the stairs were too narrow or
the dining room not large enough. She persisted
in liking houses that were near Third avenue, on
the side streets, and could never see any merit in
a house on Lexington avenue, because of the
great number of Hebrews who occupy residences
thereupon. Some little prettiness or convenience
inside the house would make her overlook such
serious objections as a stable in the immediate
neighborhood, or a tenement house but a short
distance away. And here let me remark that
landlords would do weU to pay more attention
to the interior look of a house if they wish to sell
or rent. My wife was quite enthusiastic about
one inferior house, as it seemed to me, because
the landlord had the wit to paper it nicely
throughout with the newest artistic designs. I
was struck, too, by some of the tricks of the
trade. I found agents who would give me per¬
mits to visit houses which were not for sale.
They had the name of the landlord all right, and
in some instances they were probably aware that
if he had a good offer perhaps he would sell; so
they sent their customers to look at the house,
hoping, that if it attracted their fancy, an offer
would be made which would lead to a bargain
and a commission. I have made up my mind,
after a very thorough search, that at the present
time there are no really cheap houses in New
York, and I suspect that when any real bargains
come to brokers' offices, these gentlemen are in
relation with capitaKsts who give them an extra
bonus on all property which is really sacrificed."





NOTES AND ITEMS.





L.





The Board of Assessors report that the number
of assessment lists on hand at close of the year
1881 was seventy-one, showing an aggregate of
$3,053,977.99, as against eighty-eight on hand at
close of the year 1880, aggregating $1,944,751.97.
The number of assessment lists received during
the year 1881 was ninety-seven, aggregating
$601,089.17.





Controller Davenport says that the number of
acres of land owned by the State in the counties
named are as follows: Clinton, 35,606; Essex.
137,161; Franklin, ]63-,9Sl; Fulton, 15,428; Hamil¬
ton, 160,010; Herkimer, 13,1-^2; Lewis, 3,164;
Montgomery, 16: Saratoga. 10,430; St. Lawrence,
4^,064; Warren, 24,507; Washington, 737; total,
600,236. He also reports that there is no reliable
information in his office enabling him to deter¬
mine what proportion of these lands are tim¬
bered, but that in his judgment the valuable or
immediately marketable timber has been removed
from a large proportion thereof.

A fertilizing company has purchased 1,400
acres of land near Islip, L. I., for $14,020.

No more street contracts will be awarded by
the Commissioner of Public Works until after
March 1st.

The Aldeiinen want every owner of a shop or
factory to keep on band on each floor of the
premises three or more ropes or chains of 100
feet in length, and to keep them in a conspicuous
place near the windows, to be used as fire escapes
in case of fitre.





Notice is given that an application will be made to
the Supreme Courton the 14th day of March, for the
appointment of Commissioners of Estimate and As¬
sessment, relative to the acquiring of land for a cer¬
tain park or square at the intersection of Sedgwick,
Mott and Walton avenues, in the Twenty-third Ward.





Judge Westbrook has issued an order authorizing
Eeceiver Nathan T>. Wendell to sell the real estate of
the Universal Life Insxirance Company.