The Editors' Mailbag

Urlyin OT riacer,

Cantactlr Mrmou Maker

ranTasnc money-ma Ker

“Would the PIM please settle an argument?” writes a resident of Wau NG “A friend of mine insists that Buloio Gold Dredging Ltd. established Placer. I say that Placer was started by BGD. Who’s right?”

We think you are both wrong— the establishment of the two Bonanzas, some 30 years ago, was almost simultaneous.

In the late 20’s, Mr. W. A. Freeman, who had connections with the Adelaide group which had taken over Cecil Levien’s farsighted Bulolo leases (incorporated as Guinea Gold, NL) went to North America. There he met an old friend, Mr. Charles A. Banks; and they jointly considered the merits of two propositions which had been put up to Banks—one in Alaska and one in Colombia. They turned down the Alaska one, but accepted that in Colombia; and, in that year, 1927, Placer Development was registered in Vancouver by Banks and Freeman. Freeman had an option over shares in Guinea Gold NL and when he returned, he took up those shares on behalf of Placer. At that time, Placer’s $5 shares were quoted in Sydney at 19/-.

Late in 1928, Messrs. L. A. Decoto, L. J. Joubert and Thomas Yeomans, for Placer, tested the Bulolo flats covered by the Guinea Gold option; and thus Bulolo GD, and Guinea Airways, were born.

The Colombia proposition became Asnazu Gold Dredging Ltd.; and Asnazu and Bulolo returned enorm ous profits t 0 P i aC er, and put the latter on top of the financial world, In the following quarter century, Placer obtained a controlling in terest in all kinds of mineral and oil enterprises, in North and South America and in Australia and New Zealand, and some of them gave fantastic returns.

Placer s issued capital never rose beyond 860,000 shares of $1 each and dividends have ranged from 50 per cent to 300 per cent, (last year).

Naturally, investors like the stock the other day, on the Sydney ex change, £l6/5/- was offered for one Placer share, the par value of is the Canadian dollar, or 9/-.

The wild bidding for Placer shares now has induced the Company to split each $1 share into three shares “of no par value ; and as soon as this is given effect to, this month, the new shares probably will go to £A6 or £A7 each.

Although Asnazu now is worked out and is being hqmdated, and Bulolo is within sight of the end, Placer has some very luscious m vestments elsewhere, and looks like paying these fantastic dividends for a long time yet. . , .

Sir Alport Barker S

pm Times

• “Rumour hath it that you have bought control of the ‘Fiji Times.

Congratulations to you anw This should give the Colony o good newspaper service, m nowadays is most necessary a resident of Suva.

Rumour, as usual, is a lyinn There were discussions lattf the subject, initiated while thl of our organisation was in H but before he could return ti ney, and deal with the mattt Alport Barker had completeos plans.

The outcome of the lattt; that Sir Alport retains com the publishing and printings ness he has directed persons! so many years; Mr. Moyle lur placed in charge as man editor; and Sir Alport anor Barker have gone abroad. : been attending an Empire' Union convention in Austm November.

The offices of The FijiW have been removed from the 9 Estate property at the core Victoria Parade and Gordon x to a new storey recently buu the printing and publishing! in Gordon Street. A fine nei storey building, to provide e needed shops and offices, ii erected on the Barker Estas> perty, facing Victoria Paradb Incidentally, Mr. J. K. Stoo was for many years a mene The Fiji Times and Her ah now has joined the joint ♦ staff of Pacific Publications I Sydney and Melbourne Puj Co. Ltd., which produces eig§ known monthly journals, in

Pim.

The "Resignation"

Of lan Downs

A New Guinea “Old-Timeis indignantly: “What is the I ing to say about the retires lan Downs from his pose District Commissioner in thex Highlands of New Guinesj hinted at something like 9 year ago, but no one tookx ously. However, another frt District administrator nco west, and none is saying T are all thinking.”

There now seems to be it that “young” lan Downs isai from the District Commissie of Eastern Highlands in II and will thereafter, in Easteo lands, join the ranks of the 9 (who already include othe:a high officials who left the l tration with a sense of fruai This retirement or resign (which is it, actually?) has 8 ceived with general Under Australian Territoio ister Paul Hasluck the Tern Papua and New Guinea haj3 virtually an outright dicto Under what now passes < mocracy, the world is in x ghastly mess, and there aroi

numbers of people who argue [a benevolent dictatorship is fetter than the average Western fenment, which usually is honey led with Socialism and ham ig by petty bureaucrats. So ie P-NG is lucky!

Itatorships notoriously dislike ndividualistic type of men, who rcheir heads up above the ruck, Hisplay a mind of their own, Depress views which are not in □ with those of the dictators, tors, you see, cannot be wrong, is so likely that it may be [as the rule that individualists jan Downs are sooner or later id out” by the dictators, it was why, a year ago, we ps t the disappearance of bowns when we saw that the I settlement policy of that le young man (which had all armarks of success) was in bt with the settlement policy bberra (which we regard as cavy and unimaginative), berra, of course, will say that b has reached retiring age, and I out at his own wish. But b merely bureaucratic cover ). ms still has the best years of fe in front of him; and if is one thing more than another the Administration of P-NG it is well-balanced, experi i quick-moving men of the type, in whom the civilians confidence. ise Minister would make every le effort to retain the services ti men, in the higher jobs, in of letting them fade away thus getting them out of irship’s hair) just when they their maximum usefulness, ne should prepare for Mr. k a list of officers who have eared in this way, over recent and let him apply the

ere Anyone

a Pre-War I Memory?

t do you know about the lari Hoerler, once a trader r ed by H. A. Markham?

Soerler’s son, H. A. Hoerler, is to trace his history and be glad to hear of anyone new his father or anything his life in the Solomons. In liar, he would like to estab i father’s nationality—at pre here is some doubt as to !r he was of German or stock. ler, Snr., traded in the > Java area and died at ibo, BSIP, on July 7, 1918, result of an accident with ite any old-timer help, either ti the PIM or by writing to loerler direct, at Put Put tion, c/o PO Box 37, Rabaul, ruinea.