Weekly Trinity journal., 1857-04-11
Money Making.


Correct principles, judcious economy, and
above all, the application of system and practical
knowledge in business is now the only DEPEND
cnce to make money. The principles Of political
economy should be studied by every one who
seeks to procure the most liberal reward for the
investment OF their capital, and the expenditure
of labor. Mining may be properly considered
the great staple business of California, and Just
in proportion every year as tire gold mines yield
does her trade flourish or decline The merchant
is compelled TO measure his capital and shape his
trade to suit the peculiar wants of the people in
the locality whore he establishes his business -
whether it be mining or an agricultural dis
trict. His chances to make or loose money is
governed entirely 10y circumstances over which
he has control. 1t is shear folly to talk about
this or that contingency springng up and ruinng
a business man. Every dollar has its proper
value whether rated by the amount of labor that
acquired it, or whether invested for a due con-
sidcration
A false system Of trade spread over the State
and in fact it may be said, prcdominated for the
first five years after the opening Of the gold
mines. 1t was not to be supposed that trade
thus opened upon pure visionary grounds and
conducted upon loose aad reckless principles
could possibly result in success as a general thing
On the other hand it had inst the reverse ter
mnaton. Under a disorganizcd system Of com
mcrce men become eager for wealth, and fol
lowed up the practice of taking the desperate
Al. l., a.
times to which we allude every merchant and ira
der combined speculation in almost all things
outside Of legitimate mercantile business. The
merchant constituted the banker, broker, real
estate agent, &c, &c. Money was plenty and
easy to get. The mere promise Of high rate of
interest was quite sufficient TO secure an immense
capital upon an imaginary security Men gaugcd
the magnitude Of their speculation and calculated
the extent of their income from the vast amount
which they so extravaganty invested without
practical knowledge or even due consideration
of what they were doing. The same system of
things prevailed with the mining community
The loose surface dirt Of the country in the min
eral districts was turned up and pro'p' ctcd-lttle
more than prospcctcd The miners as general
thing went to work as if they had but few
weeks to live and but a few days to acquire
fortune in. There was no tale too wild or vision
ary for their crcdence. Steady labor was not
considered the means by which wealth was to be
obtained The miners were as futtering and un-
settled as a Jock of wild pigons-thcy could not
endure the hardships Of remaining in place
' lion In of tbn Il Low W. 10
rewarded with the pitiul sum Of sixteen or twen-
ty-iye dollars. This to be sure considering the
times, aud the frequent occurrence OF men pick
ing up their piles without having labored for it
at all, infused into the minds of many the spirit
of wandering about in an unsettled manner, in
the hope Of finding a rich deposit of gold suii-
cicntly large to crafty their unreasonable cx-
pectaions. 1t is for us TO profit by the folly of
the past Gold is not to be gathered up now
over the face Of the country so easy as in past
years. Those times have gone by, but a brighter
day to the hope and honest expectations of the
laboring mansis dawning upon us. Men are not
so fcklc as formerly. A little labor now, or the
expenditure of q little money. does not alarm the
man of energy and enterprise in establishing
mercantile business or opening farm. Nor does
it prevent the systematic and intelligent miner
who commences his operations in the mines with
the determination to make money. The miner
who only feels himself temporarily fixed as SUCH
and hastcns over the ground with reckless
speed finds in the end that he has made bat little
progress toward securing the object for which he
toicd 50 hard hat with so little system and per
severance Where labor is applied in the proper
way and with fixed purpose to succeed in any
business. and more particularly in mining, it
never fails to bring home its ample reward, and
ia this consists the art of money making