The weekly miner. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1878-1881, 1881-08-23
SECURITY AGAINST FRAUD.

- PAoHcoapau" shoo "o ~S"AAo
to fortify that the greatest general prosperit!
exists in mining communities where the in
terests of the people are most ~zealously guard
ed and protected against the designs OF I'm
principled sharpers. The miner, the bust
ness man, the mechanic, the agricultnrist, the
laborer and the capitalist have a joint inter
est on the side OF reputable dealing, and that
the community of which they form a part
shall not be impoverished through the prac-
tees of swindlers or the substance Of the in.
dustrious absorbed by the drones of society.
In the social economy it is manifestly best
that there be as few of the useless class as
pos, ible, for if one half of the community are
drones, it is obvious the other half must du-
plicate their labors in the struggle for exist
ence that the drones may live. Hence soci-
ETY. for its self-preservation has been gradu-
ally led up TO the necessity for laws for its
protection.
twenty-five years ago wildcat banks
abouLded and the country was flooded with
a currency that knew not that its redeemer
lived. We all know the result. The wide
spread distress which followed the free bank
ing system finally called for and effected its
adjustment. In many places banks cannot
now receive deposits of funds without pub
fishing statements from time to time regard
ing their s%olvency, and if these
prove to be false the makers are subject to
criminal action. Insurance companies are
compelled To furnish public information from
! which their s~oivency may be determined and
stock companies are required to make public
the operations, productiveness and nature of
the property which the stock represents. In
MANY other matters which appeal to the pub
lie for investment. all information touching
such investment is required to be
full, open, and explicit.
IN this Territory, in the absence OF laws
governing cases to which reference
has been made and Others of which mention
viii DE made, it is important that the force of
public opinion. operating against all fortuit-
Gus or doubtful schemes in which the people
have been or may hereafter be solicited to
take sock on mere trust or upon false repre-
seutat!ons. shall take the place OF law. In
lie case Of personal property, capable of &C
tual delivery, the buyer IS supposed to be
able TO see what lie is buying, but, even in
such cases there has been a marked modiii-
catun ut tie common law doctrine and there
is Row p"Gotiiued to be an implied guarantee
that the good. ale what they are represented
10 BE when a fair price is paid for them. But
tier" axe classes oi mixed property which
tl,,,S tni Saar ,u,, ,I.l, ,f l.Ai,,y I,,,,1I,t ~,
der the operation Of law. As an illustration
Of The idea Intended to be conveyed we may
point to the business Of running a paper mill.
We Viii say a number of men associate and
subscribe stock for this purpose. The manip-
ulalors assess The stock enough 10 suit their
purposes aud give company notes for as IN cl
more as the eXigencies Of their non -paying
business may demand. The law will pre-
sumo That when the notes mature and the
stock shall have been shut out by sheriff's
sale, that tue ~vereant creatures, who have
lost all they put III, ought to have known just
What they were doing, for while this same
provides guardians for persons Of an
sound mind it presumeS all others capable Of
managing their affairs. This hypothetical
case shows how a few men may acquire prop
erty in paper mills in which the bulk of the
capital 20 start the enterprise is furnished by
others. Such proceedings may be considered
legal, if they are not honest. We will
take another case. The history of railroad
building in the United States shows that a
very large number Of them have been con
StEIttpJ Nlt HpuL the Investment of a Anllar
by the nominal owners. A corporation is
upon 10 other capital than unscrupu-
ious financial talent. Subscription books are
opened along the line of the proposed road
among business men and real estate owners
who are supposed to be benefited by the
cvniiding dupes the road is commenced but
not completed. To do this requires the issue
OF first mortgage bonds, which are generally
su1ficleht. but sometimes the shrewd manipu-
!alors, 10 make the thing more binding, Issue
second mortgage bonds. The outcome is the
same AS i'll the paper mill case. The men
who put the actual money into the enterprise
never realize q dollar on their investment.
They are swiI,dled and the property, in the
end, finds is way into the hands of the sharp
manipulators.
This mode of procedure Is capable of ap-
p~ljca'ion to mauy other matters besides start
ing paper mills and building railroads. I'm
der it a few adrOit men, with nc other capi
tai than an air OF smartnoss and brazen AS
su!ance, may acquire title to valu able and
we'll equipped mining property. The way in
which this can be done may be illustrated by
supposing a case. We will take a mine whose
annual production, III the hands of expert
eneed miners, fixes its value at say S2J 900. |