The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1882-11-17
Mining Property IN tho Rocky Mount
aims.

The belief is becoming widespread
that the business of mining as conducted
in the Rocky, Mountains IS Improbable.
Gold mining. unless in placer -greand,
has proved to be almost universally q
losing business. Silver mining compan-
| les, unless the veins worked be of phe-
nominal richness, pay no dividends to
their stockholders. At present there is
considerable excitement over some sup
posed discoveries of copper ore in Wy
Oming. The finders Of these copper
mines overlook the fact that q vein OF
copper ore situated in the Rocky Mount
aims, a region where the transportation
to the distributing points is controlled
by the Land Grant railroads, and when
from these points to the mines everything
has to be hauled in wagons, is worthless
and will not be worth anything until the
mines of Lake Superior, that practically
control the American markets, are ex-
hausted, and the management OF the
Land Grant railroads has been sharply
coerced by hostile and lawful legisla-
ton. @
What is the trouble with the Rocky
Mountain mines? There is no trouble
with the mines. The fault lies in the
management of the mines, mills and
furnaces. Capable mine managers are
scarce in the mountains, and able mill
men are still scarcer. Before the ma
jority of these mines can pay profit great
changes must take place. The mining
districts must have cheaper Transports
ton, cheaper labor. and better mining
laws--laws that will aid instead of re-
tarding the development of the district.
The fact that mine management is an
intricate business, requiring for success
rare characteristics of mind, must be
realized by mine owners. 1t is true that
there are hundreds of capable mine and
mill managers in the Rocky Mountains.
The majority of the really capable ones
were graduated from the works. But
for one competent man found in charge
of valuable mine there are five incom-
petent men having charge Of five equally
valuable mines. There is one success
and five failures on veins equally rich
and easy to work. A mine is not simply
hole in the ground, but it is an under
ground city, where contract work should
be used to break vein of ore. 1t is the
managers business to supply the in
habitants of this town with air, and
to cheaply transport and elevate the
ore they cheaplY break, and prevent
creeps, falls, brushes and flooding. He
should have thorough knowledge OF
the actual cost of breaking ore of differ
ent degrees of hardness, and this knowl-
edge should be supplemented with .
sound understanding of mechanics. A
mill man who understands his business
has of necessity to be chemist, and to
be able to turn his chemistry to practical
use. Not one so-called chemist in
hundred can do this.
A stock company is formed in a coun-
try town. The lumber merchant, who
has local reputation as an able finan-
cier, gained by a sharp deal in lath or
No. 2 single, is elected President. The
druggist, the owner of dead-shot liver
pill; the County Sheriff, long-legged
ignoramus from Kentucky, where he
was afailure as hemp grower; broken
drown saloon keeper. a couple of gro
cerymen. and few farmers fill up the
board of direction. Not one of these
men has the least idea of mining. They
buy prospect hole and claim to have
mine. They elect general manager
and he is sent to the mines. No care is
exercised in the selection of manager.
/ have known carpenters, saloon keepers.
coopers, blacksmiths, dry goods clerks,
drug clerks, coal dealers, drovers, indeed,
men from all kinds of occupations meta
phorically taken by the coat collar and
hauled from the region of agriculture to
the land OF mineral, and placed in charge
of mines. The only qualification the di-
rectors of mining company organized
in the agricultural districts expect in their
manager is that he be contented on wages
no larger than those received by clerks,
bartenders or journeymen workmen in
the town where the company was organ
led. "a mine is nothing but hole in
the ground" but it proves to be hole
that swallows all the hard-earned savings
of the directors and stockholders before
they realize that skill is required in the
management of the hole, and that the
manager they sent to the mine had not
brains enough to superintend the digging
of post hole, nor sufficient knowledge
of mechanics to enable him to run hand
coffee mill.
Again, these mismanagers of mines
are inflated with the importance of their
positions and they wish to have extern
sive works under their control. So long
before they have enough ore in sight to
Justify the expenditure, they recommend
the erection of stamp mill. The news
that the company is building a stamp
mill will help sell stock. The directors
agree to the expenditure. They are
probably sincere in their belief that there
is use for a stamp mill. The mill is
built. The manger of the mine thinks
he can run it. ..It is no trick to run
mill. Just shovel the ore under the
stamps and have plenty of water
and plenty of quicksilver. Any one
can run a mill;' and he is put in
charge of it in addition to the mine. He
knows nothing about mining. He knows
nothing about milling. He sinks all the
money the company can raise, and then
the mine suspends work. That is fair
history of the operations of hundreds OF
mines in the Rocky Mountains; and of
hundred mines so mismanaged ninety
five should have remained undeveloped
until wages fell and transportation
cheapened.-N. Y. San.
Celts and Celtic Dialects.