The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, January 23, 1898, Page 37

-~ INMENSELY RICH MLVER MINE World-Famous Candela-| in the State of ‘ Durango, Mex. 1‘ ria The Property of the Candelaria i Consolidated Mexico Min- | ing Company. | | New Bonanzas of Rich Ore Recently Discovered—History of This Cel- ebrated Mine of Golconda. SE S | The most famous silver mine in the world to-day is the Candelaria, locat- | ed in the district of San Dimas, State | of Durango, Mexico. This celebrated | property was discovered and developed | over 100 years ago, but instead of di- | inishing in quantity its output has| increased with astonishing rapidity. | rich in mineral, this cele- brated property has for decades past | regarded as a veritable Golconda, | from which its glistening riches flow in-increasing streams. | La ndelaria” was discovered by | roving Spaniards about 1775. | Although worked for a period suffi- to indicate that the property | great value its vast re not reached until n Jose Zambrano secured con- | of the property. Although the | or of four other properties in | , the don devoted his exclusive n to the development of “La | leria.” Its output from that time 1807, when Don Zambrano died, was Within that period the don was of ic $11,000,000 in duty to the which then ex- e er Mexico. As the uty was one-fifth of the gross amount of all silver extracted, it follows that the colossal sum ,000,000 worth of the white met was taken from the mi owned by Don Zambrano. When he died, in 1807, the don left a magnifi- cent palace in Durango, large proper- ty interests in various parts of Mex- ico. and the comfortable sum of $1,700,- 000 on deposit in the Bank of England. From 1807 until the period "of the Mexican War of Independence, the his- ed in ob- v of “La Candelari: E intprvals rity. vorked at by Don descendants, but the mine caving in on all sides by rea- son of a flood of wate > mine lay tive for many years. In 1863, how- ver, the attention of American capi- lists was drawn to Me advantageous field for inves in the fall of that year the mine was purchased by an American syndicate. Many attempts were made to relieve the mine of water, but they were fu- tile. Another long period of inaction followed and the mine was practically abandoned until 1883, when it was pur- d by a few capitalistsof SanFran- isco, headed by Colonel Dan Burns. | e latest principles of mining were sagaciously applied, and in a compara- short time the property was re- lleved of the water which had retard- ed operations for 0 many years. On January 17, 1889, Colonel Burns reported to the directors that the Candelaria Consolidated Mexico Mining Company had, during the previous twelve months, taken out enough bullion vield a net coin. Sir yielded p to profit of $502,086 31 in gold e that time the mine has rincely profits and the amount A SILVER Gedl BT ; Iof 2t 4 it 7 i, /47 LN A Vs s IIII//II//////N L il S % .. k“ ) - NDAY, JANUARY 23, 1898. 37 ULLION FROM THE CANDELARIA READY FOR SHIPMENT. ’ VIEW OF THE TOWN OF SAN DIMAS AND THE OLD MEXICAN MILL. | of ore now In sight seems inexhausti- | for $8 a ton or les ble. The ore of this celebrated mine is what is known as free-milling and gold-bearing rock, which is worked up to 85 per cent of its assay value. The proportion of gold in the bullion aver- ages in value about one-third, while the ore has a uniform value of over $70 a ton, and can be mined and milled A system of tun- | nels extending to a depth of 3500 feet has been introduced, thereby dispens- ing with pumping and hoisting plants. All the power needed to stamp mills is developed by the water of a creek at the foot of the mines. The work of Improvements at the mines has béen steadil- pushed, so that to-day better equipped mining proper- ties do not exist. The topography of the ground renders the tunnel method of mining more feasible and less ex- pensive than any other, so that in the matter of expense of working “La Can- delaria” is unequaled. An immense tunnel was recently completed at vast expense, on a level 750 feet below the | present working tunnel, but the results work the" show that the funds devoted to this purpose were not misapplied. Assays of the ores unearthed along the route of this tunnel indicated a heavier per- centage of gold than was found in the Bonanzas above. The mine has thewon- derful propertyof increasingintherich- ness of output as the depth is in- creased. Immense storehouses of metal have been lately uncovered, and during the coming year tha company will be able to handle and work this ore. Should the ilts prove as satisfac- tory as is anticipated, a large mill will be erected on the ground. The officers of the Candelaria Con- solidated Mexico Mining Company are well-known capitalists and financlers of this city. D. M. Burns, president, and C. D. Waterhouse, vice-president, are familiar names in the business com- munity. George Gale is secretary. A. G. Scheindler, superintendent, and C. A. Hamilton, consulting engineer. The success of the Candelaria mine during the past few years has been a powerful stimulus in the development of the sleepy town of San Dimas, in which it is located. Employment is " given to hundreds of men in the mine and as the average Mexican miner does not believe in hoarding his earnings, all | their wages are spent in ways that satisfy the Castilian spirit and bring that prosperity which invariably ac- | companies the speedy circulation of | coin in mining communities. The of- ficers of the company are very popu- |1ar in San Dimas, the people of which look upon them as the promoters of their happiness and who are entitled | therefore to the huge measure of suc- \lcess which they enjoy. AT N S S DR. JOHN F. MORSE. Grand Marshal of the Jubilee Pgrade. Dr. John F. Morse, the Grand Mar- | shal of the Golden Jubilee parade to | be held to-morrow, is one of the most deservedly popular Native Sons in the | State. When the managers of the pa- | rade committee cast around for a suit- | able citizen to represent them for the | post of Grand Marshal it was the con- ; sensus of opinion: that this honor | should be conferred upon Dr. Morse. | He has always been prominently iden- | tified with all public movements which | would tend to bring the Golden State to a position in the front ranks, and | has even devoted his time to these af- | fairs when his business interests called him elsewhere. That his choice is a popular one is demonstrated by the fact that it gives universal satisfaction. No | better man could be found to fulfill the | duties, and if the parade is not a grand | success it will not be owing to any fault or lack of endeavor of his. Dr. | Morse has a handsome suite of offices n the Spring Valley Water Company’s | building, corner of Geary and Stockton | streets. His large and constantly in- creasing practice is a sure demonstra- tion of his worth and his ability as a medical man. Associated with him is Dr. Lehners. who is also most popular Golden with his large circle of friends. Dr. Morse, as Grand Marshal. will more than fulfill the expectations of his friends. b —_———————— LONG HOURS, SMALL PAY. Labor Commissioner Fitzgerald made an investigation yvesterday to learn the causes for the recent strike in the San Francisco Laundry which took place twe weeks ago. The operatives left work be- cause they claimed that the hours were too long. An understanding was had with the employers, and the strikers went back to work without much loss of time, and under the agreement the hours were shortened. The Building Trades Council asked that the strike be officially investigated. About a dozen of the female operatives were examined py the Labor Commissioner, and these facts were learned. Before the strike they worked sixty hours a week, and when the em- loyers increased the time to over seventy hours many of the girls became ill. In | fact, one-fifth of them was on the sick | list.” Several of those who were compelled | to labor seventy hours were under 18 ars of age, and the law prohibits opera- tives under that age to work more than | sixty hours a_week. | 'Since they have had the old time re- | stored there has been no sickness. The | investigation also showed that many of | the younger girls work for $7 50 a month, or about 2 cents an hour. The Labor Commissioner will lay the facts obtained before the convention of freeholders, with the view of having provision made in the charter regulating the hours of labor in laundri S — VESSELS FOR ALASKA. The Alaska Trade Committee is prepar- ing a complete list, with all the recent ad- ditions, of all vessels which will sail from San Francisco for the various ports of Alaska. The list will include the names of vessels, owners or agents, freight and passenger capacity, price ' of tickets, freight allowance and all other informa- tion of value to travelers to Alaska. A great many vessels which are known to be about to engage in the Alaska trade are being held under conditional charters and it is not yet possible to announ who will act as agents in booking pas sengers and freight, although there is no longer any doubt that they have been secured for the northbound ocean trade. In @ few days it is hoped that the com- mittee can show what amount of to: nage is actually under contract or regu- larly engaged in the Alaska trade and what wiil be the monthly capacity of pas- sengers and freight of all the vessels sailing from this port for Alaska. The Statement will also include all posiible information about the Yukon River poats and will be a valuable guide to travelers. CITY HALL DOME BE Such Are the Charge Contractor Daniel O’ Jury Report That Large Sums Collected for Work That Was Never Done. Charges Withheld by Jurors to Shield the Board of Supervisors. SLIPSHOD WORK ABOUNDS. An Appalling Story of Public Rob- bery Revealed for the First | Time. If the contents of a suppressed Grand Jury report are true the new City Hall domeisa | great shell beneath which unscrupulous con- tractors and threc-card montc artists have bunkoed the city treasury out of mearly twenty thousand dollars | Semeath the dim light of the dome, if D 0'Sullivan is right in the sweeping charges | made in the suppressed minority report, it was the custom of those who had undertaken to fulfill certain definite specifications to paim | off the most slipshod work i the worid as | first class. " The charges show that there were thousands of dollars coliected for work that was never | done at all, and that the Grand Jury itself suppressed the scandal in order to save their friends on the Board of Supervisorsfrom the disgrace of the revelations. The full story fol- lows: According to O'Sullivan the building of the dome and rotunda was the occa- slon of many fat-salaried positions and innumerable steals so disgraceful that some communities would spend thou- | sands of dollars to bring the thieves to | justice. { According to the story of the chair- | man of the Grand Jury’s sub-commit- | collec \ SHELL WAS Bl s Made by Juror and Sullivan in a Grand Was Suppressed. tee, appointed for the investigation of these frauds, thousands of dollars were d for work that no man ever pretended was done, while thousands more were expended for work that in no manner fulfilled the specifications. The San Francisco Novelty and Plat- ing Works had the contract. “Although nearly a thousand dollars per month were expended as salaries for watchmen and others to superin- tend the work,” sald Mr. O’Sullivan, “the greatest frauds ever seen abound on all sides, as the most casual exam- ination of the work and specifications will reveal.” Among other things the sum of $7500 was collected for copper and gold plat- ing, none of which work was done. Three thousand dollars was collected | for the building of a fire-alarm station in the dome. No such station has ever been built. If the accusations made in the report are true those who stole the money outbarted Black Bart. In places where the dome should have been furred and lathed nothing but plaster was placed against the stone and brick, as a result of which the lime has eaten through and the paint is crumbling away. For all this imperfect work no man ever forgot to collect the highest prices prevailing for first-class labor, according to specifi- cations. More than $1600 was paid out for in- ferior sheet iron work where there should have been steel beams and straps. This was in the upper dome, | themselves are of necessity a flagrant EATIT WHICH THE PUBLIC KOED OUT OF THOUSANDS violation of the trust imposed in those who did the work. The reason I have recelved for nét bringing the matter be- fore the eves of the tax-paying public is that the result and blame of the whole matter would rest on the shoul- ders of the Board of Supervisors, and as the Grand Jury at that time felt friendly, both as a body and as in- dividuals, toward the board the mat- ter was kept quiet, but in my report I asked for an examination by both tunda should have been gold-plated, and although the work was not done it was paid for. “The specifications called for a fire alarm station to be built in the upper dome, but the entire thing was omit- ted, and $3000 paid for the work. The stairs, which should lead from the dome into the basement, were never built, and the front stairs, which were to have been bullt from solid pieces, have been pleced from different colored stone. Throughout the entire dome and rotunda the work '~ way below the [ 44444444444 4444444444444 40440444444 omissions as the failure to build any stairway whatever. There should have been a cast iron base of known dimensions on each of the three floors of the rotunda. No such bases were constructed, but the ,contractor was paid the full amount | bring the matter before the public, I where the motions of the hand are sup- | posed to have been quicker than the eye. Under the terms of the contract nothing was to have been sublet with- out the consent of the architect. Frank T. Shea was the architect in this case. | Possibly he did not know the character of the men who performed their black art tricks in the dome. Specifications were also made for a stairway to the basement. The total sum called for in the contract was col- called for just the same as if bases as solia as Gibraltar had been built to stand the wear and tear of ages. The contract, which it is alleged was thus openly and shamefully violate® is a voluminous printed document of twenty-two closely printed legal cap pages, known as “Contract Number 84 —Rotunda and Dome.” A copy of it has been thoroughly marked, interlined and thumbed by. the chairman of the sub-committee that made the sup- pressed minority report. Being a prac- tical contractor, he is thoroughly fa- miliar with every detail of the work. Though not seeking any notoriety, Mr. O’Sullivan said yesterday that he could not remain silent any longer. He thought it a disgrace that the Board of Supervisors allowed the work to be done in the loose manner that was fol- lowed, and regretted that the Grand Jury that investigated the case sup- | pressed his report and allowed the | public to be robbed just for the sake of saving a few derelict Supervisors. He thought he would be as much to blame as any of the others if he should re- fuse to make known the facts of the case. His story is very interesting. He said: *I did not care to expose or speak of the minority report submitted to the Grand Jury, of which I was a member, on the 13th of last December, but as long as Captain Hobbs has seen fit to B R S S AR AR R R am willing to show where I think seri- ous changes, and, in places, omissions | in work, were dcne by the parties who held the contracts. I examined the dome from top to bottom, and the re. sult was startling, to say the least. The workmanship and the materials used do not come up to the standard as laid down by the specifications un- | der contract No. 84. “After submitting my report to the | Grand Jury, I was of the opinion that | T had done my duty, but the report has never come to light. The work omit- ted will amount to a much larger sum than the changes from the orders in * THE SUPPRESSED REPORT. specifications. case Sixteen cast iron columns, supp mounting inner glass dome.. Washing outer dome surface. Fire alarm station, upper dome. floor of rotunda .. Stairs and entrance to basement, et To the Hon. Grand Jury, San Francisco, Cal.—Gentleme tee to whom was referred an investigation of the manne contract for the performance of certain work in and about the rotunda and dome of the new City Hall, as included and called for in contract No. 84, had been carried out, desire to report the result of our examination. We have had the plans and specifications for said contract work at our disposal for some time, and we have carefully compared the work as done and accepted and paid for by. the city with that required by the plans and nd we find that said work plans and specifications, either as regard to the quality or value of the materials and workmanship; and we find that no authority has been given by the New City Hall Commission for such deviations. cork omitted or changed in character is as follow: Cast fron base in the three floors of the rotunda and grand sta(r; Thirty white metal capitals of columns rotunda, to have been copper plated at 3 pounds per square foot and then electrically plated with gold Twenty-three white metal capitals of columns copper plated at 3 pounds per square foot Oranmental belt on top of the marble wainscoting of lower rotunda, to have been white metal, copper plate same as above. Twenty-four chandeliers in rotunda % Six standards on newels of grand staircase Two rooms over Mayor’'s office, to have been Two new windows to have been put in over Mayor's office. Plaster cornices, with ornaments, in grand staircase Plaster cornices, with ornaments, in three floors of rotunda. Two mantels in rooms over Mayor's office Panels in grand staircase, to have been imitation marble. Steel beams and straps in upper dome ‘White metal copper plated ornaments between Minimum total value of work omitted .......... There are many other points which should be carefully examined into. 4 The workmanship and finish are very defective. tion by sworn experts should be had and a public investigation should be 4 held, so that the responsibility for thls flagrant violation of the contract 4 shall be placed upon the proper parties. + + San Francisco, Dee. 13, 1807, Your commit- in which the is not in accordance with sald The value of the lantern supporting in grand stalrcase, “furred and lathed. An exhaustive examina- 4 Respectfully submitted, D. O'SULLIVAN. + + LR R it i e aha e S S public and city representatives, and I think it should be done. “About $1000 a month was paid by the city to parties to watch the interests of the public, but their ideas of watching have proved to be rather slack, to say the least. The cast-iron columns in the three floors of the rotunda have turned out to be nothing but sheet-iron and they are at the present time sagging in. The ornamental belts on top of the ! lected without reference to such trivial | the specifications, but the Eha.nse- in | marble wainscoting of the lower ro- standard, and how any party under contract dared to leave out work which had been ordered and specified for, is more than I could ever under- stand. “It has proven to be a flagrant vio- lation of law and duty, and the city must take the consequences. I suppose the reason for the omissions and viola- tions of the contractors had been made public through the ill feeling ex- isting between the Grand Jury then in session and Attorney Creswell, the particulars of which are well known P e e e R AR S e S AR S At dhdhd | work. to the general public regarding the idea then brought forth to do away with the City and County Attorney and allow the District Attorney to carry on the work which was reported to be of a light character. “An idea of the inferior work which was done on the dome from the com- mencement can be gleaned when the matter of the stéel and iron work on the dome is looked into. The skelton or iron frame work was about finished when Contractors O'Connell & Lewis took it in hand. They refused to allow men to work there, as they claimed the work was poorly done, and that it might at any moment crash in. The first con- tract was signed and bonds given, but then a supplementary contract was entered into for the purpose of recon- structing the work, and although it was signed no bondsmen were chosen. The result was the old contract had to be fulfilled, and several thousand dol- lars were lost by them, which helped to break them up in business. “The plastering in the dome is an- other example of the steal. In place of the furring and steel lathing which was called for under the accepted specifica- tions, the plaster has been daubed on | the stone and brick work, and -a coat of paint was laid on. Now the lime in the mortar is coming through, and the paint is streaked with white, and in many places the work has been done over again. The stairs to the basement are not missed by those who hawe not | seen the .specifications, but there is a slight wonder lingering in the minds of those who are acquainted with tie The Grand Jury was not to blame for the neglect of duty, but the work should have been inspected by men who were trusted and who under- stood what inspection in the true sense of the term meant.” Captain H. H. Hobbs, who was fore- man of the Grand Jury at the time the minority report was presented, is of the opinion that the work done in con- nection with the City Hall dome is of a character to be scoffed at by every taxpaying citizen in the State. He also states that the report has never been made public, and the specifications calling for a certain class of work have been neglected and a cheaper and in- ferior grade of work and material was substituted in nearly every line of the building and furnishing throughout the interior and exterior of the building. “I am of the opinion that there is sufficient information concerning the work which was poorly done to startle those who -have seen the dome who were not aware of the change which has taken place in the construction ac- cording to the specifications present- ed,” said Captain Hobbs, “and I hope that information will be given to the public. The Grand Jury was not to blame In the matter. as Frank T. Shea, the architect, had the matter in his own hands. A minority report was submitted to the jury showing up the frauds which had been accomplished, but why it has not been made public heretofore is something I cannot tell. I am positive that the report submitted was. correct in every detail and some serious errors or changes have been made in building the much talked of City Hall d ~ London has 1330 miles of streets, | | Paris 600 miles and New York i75. NEW TO-DAY. healthy nervesand a clear brain 1t will notify you when to stop by removing the de- sire. Write for PROOFS of Cures. 4 SUDDENLY and rack the nerves. take BACO-CURO, (it gently weans). Tobacco The pleasure of living is in living well not living ill. Throat, mouth and eyes are ruined by tobacco | “ —the systenr is generally | poisoned by it. Don’t Stop Tobacco Use the tobacco you require and If you do this, strong, will result. ¢ %;Tormcntors It is the original Guarantee edy, (Money re- fundedif it failsto cure.) 50¢ or $1 boxes, 3 boxes (guaranteed cure) $2.50. If your druggist cannot Eureka Chemical and Manufacturing Co.. REDINGTON & CO. get it, we will send it. La Crosse, Wis. ,» General Distributors,