Evening star., 1896-09-26

MfTN vi Colorado which have
VIII Ill wv turned out millions.
" " Utahs vast wealth
of gold and silver is just beginning to be
known In all of the Rocky mountain
states new mines are being opened, and
within the next few years hundreds OF FOR
tunes will be made At the same time hum
dreds will lose the money that they put in
to mines and mining. and the old saying
that 1t takes 81 in work and losses to get
81 out of the earth will hold good. There
Is no business in which men will risk SO
much as in mining, and none into which
they will go SO blindly. Managed leg.ti-
mately and on business principles believe
the getting out Of gold and silver is more
certain Of profit than four-fifths of the
other businesses of the United States. How
few of our professional men make for
tunes! The statistics show that 30 per cent
of the merchants fail. l am told here that
more than IS per cent Of those who use
the same business judgment. care and time.
as are needed for other businesses. IN
working and dealing In mines, succeed. Ii
will seem strange to many people to think
that you can tell just what a mine Is
worth. Nevertheless this, to large ex-
tent, can be estimated by experts. Mines
are often sold for the amount of ore in
sight BY going down certain distance
on vein and by testing the rock at the
different levels you can tell almost how
much ore you are sure of getting out, and
you can buy the mine for this sum with a
big chance of getting more gold further
down. Good mines cannot be bought for
nothing, but properly purchased. many
show little chances of loss, with big pros
poets of fortune making in their develop
ment We now have a large class of men
who may be called mining investors. They
do not buy holes in the ground without
those holes have already produced gold or
silver in paying quantities. They have ex-
perts look at the mines and carefully in
vestigate the titles to them before they
purchase Many of them do not invest
until they have been here for six months
or a year, and they use the same care as to
mining that they would were they investing
in business property or putting their money
into manufacturing plant.
Some Paying Investments.
There Is a great fascination in mining
eculaticn. A good mine pays so well
and 50 fast that the temptation is great,
ard a mine which has produced something
and has good prospect for the future is
lot hard to sell 1 rode not long ago with
Col Dick Kerens, the railroad millionaire
and republican politician of St. Louis. from
his summer home In West Virginia to
Washington. During the trip he told me
Of an investment which James G. Blaine,
Stephen b. Elkins and himself made in
& silver mine at Leadville. 1T was" said
he, called the Small Hopes and 1t cost
US just about 100000 to buy it and develop
1t. You cannot imagine how fast the
money came back to us. We got $4,000 a
Gay, on the varage, out of the mine for
period Of more than four years and we
have already taken more than $4,250RO
worth of silver out Of it." Jay Cooke. after
his failure in business Ia New York, went
west to Utah and invested in a mine there
He brought into the deal the same careful
IN m md h1lc Inc ING h.
in selling hts government bonds, and when
he returned he organized a company to de-
velop his property, taking as his share one
fourth of the stock. That fourth, 1 am
told. paid him more than million dollars
and made him again rich. Senator Hearst's
millions were made in mines, and he kept
up his buying until the day of his death
He dealt In silver, gold and copper, and
made money in all. The Rothschilds have
1t is said recently bought his interests in
the great copper mine at Anaconda, Mont
paying S,NO,OoO for them. There are a
large number of men here in Colorado who
buy mines to develop them. and 1 believe
that men with capital can find plenty of
good Investments in the west today The
opportunities are by no means confined to
the Cripple Creek region nor to Colorado
Inere Is good mining territory In Montana
Nevada, Arizona. Utah and California, and
the right man with little money or mucn
money can do more business here Just Low
States.
Money In Mines.
By this I do not mean that money Is tn
De mace by careless speculate ton. Wherever
dollars are offered for cents, and big divi-
oends are guaranteed for small sum in
vested, 1t Is pretty safe to believe that the
matter Is gamble. There Is plenty of
money out here In Colorado and Utah. and
things of that kind are not going to waste
Many prospects, however. are offered for
E mr. rf hot hol~~
Two men may have what they think a
good thing, but may lack the money to de-
velop 1t. They will form a company, re-
serving certain part of the stock for
themselves, and selling the rest for devel-
Tment. If they are honest men they will
tell you that the matter is a speculation.
ard yon can find whether they are usin.,
your money In developing the property. If
they DO so you may be sure that their en-
tcrprise is legitimate one, and If it sue
ceeds you will get your share
But how" you ask, "shall find out
whether my men are honest or not?'
Well, in the first place, any man who in
vests much In mines ought to come out
here and stay long enough to know how to
5Ioge mine. He ought to look well before
he buys. and he should have the report of
a good mining engineer Or expert on the
property in which he invests. There are
number Of such men here, and you can
easily , hnd whether they are reliable. If
one wishes to invest in mines and cannot
! come to the west he ought to inquire as TO
! the reliability Of the party with whom he
deals through his banker. Any bank in
| the country can find out through the banks
OF the Rocky mountains as to the char
acter Of any of the men who are dealing in
| mines, and both the banks and the news
papers are ready and anxious to expose
| gambling speculations. The editors Of the
Cripple Creek and Salt Lake newspapers
/ have requested me to invite examination
OF men and property through them, ard l
| do not believe there IS a newspaper edito.
| in Colorado or Utah who would not give
an honest reply in such q case. and who
would not aid in exposingA fraud. In buy
ing mines the prospestusas Of the proper
| ties should give the nfme& Of all the mines
| owned by the company, They should state
gust what has been done as to the develop
| ment Of the mine, and what Is to be done
| with the receipts. Itemized figures and
| data should be given and the names and
! addresses Of all the officers. By means OF
such statements properly made little cor.
! respondence will give any one such an in
sight into the company as will show him
whether 1t is legitimate one or not. The
| chief judgment of a mine should be based
| first on the reputation of theRarties who
! own it, ard secondly whether the money
received is actually being put into the
| ground. -
| Swind1ing In Mines.
| In all mining camps some swindling goe.
on. Men will try to cheat in mining quit,
l 4