The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1891-12-26
LEGITIMATE MINING.
re Is Now Hand in Hand with Other
wealth Producing Industries.


Wealth Producing Industries.
The general public east of the Mis-
souri, river has very faint and indefinite
knowledge of the extent to which legiti-
mate mining is carried on in the terri
tories west of the Rocky mountains and
ON the Pacific coast. Few people stop
to consider q think where the gold and
silver they handle come from. 1t may
be crop sown somewhere for all many
of them know. These are the ignorant,
unthinking class, of course, but there is
another more intelligent, not having the
excuse of ignorance, which loses no op-
portunity of railing against mining.
Even while handling the prodrA of the
business and experiencing it's benefits,
they not only decry mining, but do their
best to discredit all who are engaged in
the pursuit
This prejudice has grown out of losses
sustained by hasty, i'll advised invest
ments, taking the statements of ire
sponsible spectators as facts without
giving them the careful investigation
that would be given to any ordinary
business project submitted for invest
ment. This careless, hasty method of
investment naturally aed to losses, as it
would in case of equal neglect to give
time and attention to any other schemes
presented nearer home.
A want of knowledge of the business
! was more often the cause of the failure
to realize profits than the want of merit
of the property itself. A board of direct
ors composed Of men totally ignorant of
the proper method of working a mine,
hampering it with heavy expenses, ex-
travagant salaries, sending out sons and
relatives of the directors to take charge
of the property totally untitled, ignorant
of the first principles of mining, natural
ly involved waste Of money, expended
without Judgment and resulting in debt
and the ultimate abandonment of good
properties that in many cases, falling
into the hands of competent men, were
developed into paying snd profitable en-
| terprises
Such instances are numerous, but this
one experiment seemed to prejudice the
original investors against all further in
vestments in mining properties, who
were unwilling to believe that the fail
ure of the past lay with themselves and
not the properties they had owned.
The miners in the country west of the
Rocky mountains are today hand in
hand in prosperity with the vineyardist,
the great fruit raisers and the merchants;
in fact, he stands in the front rank of
profitable producers, while his prod
uct is permanent in its benefits and
never perishes. Every dollar he pro-
duces has value to the world
at large, and is that much added
to its wealth and circulating medium
in form to be seldom affected by
the change of dynasties or the downfall
of governments. There is always a
market and demand for his goods.
Ii capitalist contemplating an invest
ment in mining was to give the same at
tention to investigation that he would
in the purchase of piece of real estate
or any other investment, he would be no
more liable to losses; proper care, care
full investigation would enable him to
invest with equal Judgment.
A list of seventy-fve mines shows as
profits paid to the stockholders since in
corporation the enormous amount of
1885,, 100000, besides which there are
hundreds Of small mines not incorpo-
rated being worked as private ventures
of which product no note is taken, and
to the above we may safely add $1S, OOO,-
600, making a grand total of $150,000,-
600 as the result Of thinning" invest
ments.
1t is not q bad showing. How many
railroads would at present rate of profits
show equal results? And it must be borne
in mind that these mines are still pegging
away.-St. Louis Globe Democrat.