The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1880-03-15
Denver Tribune.l
Beware of Experts"

AT one OF the passenger depots of this city
hangs placard, the offspring of a local wag,
which commands the public in three words to
Beware of Experts" At first glance it Is
amusing, but behind the bit of humor which
placed it there lies chapter of history with
which Coloradans to the manner bred, if not
born, are tolerably familiar. Let us turn a
few of its leaves and see what lessons of eau
ton they contain, applicable to the present
epoch of mining excitement 1t is only few
years since DR.. Lindermann, then director of
the United States Mint, visited, and in compa.
ny with select body of experts descended
into the very bowels of the great Comstock
bonanza. What they saw was embodied in
the directors report, made Immediately after
ward, and telegraphed all over the world. We
forget the number of millions which the. ex
perts told the director were sin sight" in the
mine, but it was enough to astonish and be-
wilder all mankind. AS one of the direct re
suits of the startling publication, thousands
plunged headlong into the strife for bonanza
stocks. The managers having unloaded at
satisfactory prices, the millions ''in sight" soon
melted away and the thousands of outside in
vestors took another plunge-into ruin.
Since the opening of the Leadville bonanzas
we have witnessed the rise of, not small
body, but regular swarm of "experts," most
of them born, reared, educated and disciplined
to mining pursuits in the city of New York,
where the advantages for thorough training
in underground investigation are supposed to
be superior to those of any other spot on the
American continent. A late number of a
prominent mining journal, published in that
city, gave conspicuous editorial announcement
of the dispersion of the expert cloud to the four
quarters of the different mining States and
Territories, and mildly predicted great results
when their reports should begin to come in
Some of them appear to have arrived, many
in brief by telegraph, followed by immense
folios giving opinions in erteRso. One of them
who had "been through" noted Leadyille
consolidation (owned chiefly by old Comstock
operators), reports fifteen millions "in sight"
Every Colorado man knows this to be false
statement, and believes the man who made it
to be either knave or fool. The entire
product of all the mines in Lake County for
last year, including estimates and few
calculations for dumps, was trifie over elev-
en- millions. We contend that at the present
stage of development OF the carbonate mines
no person. no matter how deeply skilled in the
science Of mineralogy, can compute the value
OF the mineral deposits in any one of those
mines. 1t is sheer nonsense or absolute de-
ception, which is worse, for an expert or other
individual to publish the statement to the
world that such and such mine has even one
million in sight. 1t may be there, but the
only test OF 1t Is the market return after it has
been sampled and sold.
One of the cloud of mining geniuses visit
ed a famous gold mine in a neighboring county
not long age and, stating that he came as the
professional expert of the parties to whom the
property had been bonded asked permission
of the owner, who happens to be a wealthy
Irishman and one of the best and most success
full mine managers in the State, to descend
into the lower workings for the purpose of
making his examination. 1t was readily
granted and orders issued to show him every-
thing. Then the expert had a proposition
to submit to the proprietor, as a condition pre-
cedent to favorable report. He wanted fif-
teen per cent of the purchase money in the
event of sale. He was promptly ordered out
of the shaft house and warned never to show
his face there again. We might fill column
or two with well authenticated exposes of ex-
perts, but Will give but one more at this time
A certain consolidation of properties was not
long ago offered in New York and company
organized with capital stock of several mil
lions. Experts were sent out, and in due time
returned with compact reams of statements.
Their finding was so favorable that one-half
of the stock was at once taken by syndicate
of capitalists. Neither of the properties re-
ported on has produced pound of marketable
ore for fifteen years, and the utmost efforts OF
the owners to find such ore have in every in
stance failed.
1t is stated as a fact that in many instances
the experts shipped to us from the East are
easily deceived and others purchased outright.
1t is probably true. Experience teaches those
who live on the soil and have passed through
the various stages of mining development in
Colorado that there are very few persons who
may rghttully claim tto oI ii knowledge Of ge-