Worcester daily spy., 1860-02-28
REPUBLICAN STATE CON IN
COPPER STOCKS.

The Commercial Bulletin, Boston, speaking
of mining stocks, says eve hold and plain
ly aver, that speculation or custom, or what
not has exaggerated their value, and does ex-
aqgerate it grossly" There is no need of very
sharp eyes to see that this is true; and, we
will add that the words "what not" in the
Bnlletip's sentence, stand for whole world OF
mischief and villainy There is no where in
New England, if in the whole country, more
pernicious system of gambling, than the Bos-
ton trade in mining stocks. Honest and un-
suspecting men who have never looked into
the matter, do not understand its evil charac-
ter, and perverting influence.
The Bulletin mentions the following mining
companies, which, during the last ten or twelve
years have iourished in the Boston stock mar
ket, run their fast career, kept themselves In
countenance as long as possible, and then
broken down and become too worthless to be
used as fancies, to wit "The Ridge, Adven-
ture. Algomah, Ripley, Hazard, Albion, Por-
tage, Winthrop, Dana, Flint, Steel, N. West,
N. Western, N. American, Norwich, Aztec
Ohio Trap Rock, Gogebic, Howard, Bay State,
Star Shawmut, and we know not how many
mo re concerns" Quite recently, the shares
of some of these companies were current at
the brokers' board, being sold every day, and
constantly stimulated by big stories from the
mines, and confident pledges of dividends
"next year" They lived until assessment
could get nothing more out of them. Then
they disappeared. They will presently be
followed to the dust hole of oblivion by many
of the mining stocks that are now current
We do not deny that copper mining is a leg
itimate and useful business, nor that some of
the mines on Lake Superior may finally be-
come toerably good property. We are not
speaking against the mining business but
against the rascally stock gambling whichmul-
tiples mining companies for the purposes Of
speculation, and which deals in mining shares
in the most INSCRIPTIONS and irresponsible
way. The mining region is in Michigan
hese mining companies are all Michigan cor
porations but exist wholly in Boston and are
used there as the chief material for gambling
speculation. No human creature ever sees or
hears Of annually published reports of their
financial operations. They are irresponsible
in their proceedings, and really do more mis-
chief than could be done by as many lottery
Offices.
If this business must be continued in Massa-
chusetts, let us have laws to regulate it. If
hese foreign corporations must quit the state
W hich gives them existence, land where they
hold all the property they have or pretend tC
h lave and, for gambling purposes, take W
their abode in Massachusetts, let them be re
qnired 10 give strict account of themselves
and observe such wholesome regulations a
will make their presence here more tolerablt
Meanwhile, we counsel all persons who hav
money to invest, to let alone mining stock, S
long as there is in the world any other pun
C hasable property. For the benefit of such
we add the following paragraph from the Com
mercial Bulletin :-"Tbere is not, and neve
as, one chance in ten that an undevelopet
mine could be made to pay, even after tediou
expenditure of $150,0O0 to 100000. Hence
" hatever the sanguine or the speculative ma,
say, there is not one chance in ten that an ur
developed mine will ever be worth the none
spent upon it. What folly, then, to pay five
six, or ten dollars per share representa-
100000 to 100000 in good money! as
bonus for undeveloped mining locations.
This is said of the best and most hopeful {
these unproductiye concerns. What, then
should be said of the ninetenths of them, tina
are two hundred per cent. poorer than city lot
in the desert of Sahara?